CompTIA Server+ Gains Acceptance from IT Professionals in First Six Months; Compaq, Intel, CDW, HP, Novell and Others Jump on Server+ Bandwagon.

Business Editors, High-Tech Writers

OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 27, 2001

Six months after its introduction, the CompTIA Server+ certification has gained broad industry support by IT professionals as an important entry point to jobs and fresh career opportunities. Industry leaders are supporting this new baseline measure of competence in server technology in response to the increased use of servers to support business operations.

"Just as CompTIA developed A+ certification to help address the need for skilled technicians in the personal computer industry, we introduced Server+ certification to address the explosive need for skilled technicians in the server market," said John Venator, CompTIA president and CEO. "We believe in a few short years the Server+ certification will become the benchmark of distinction for professionals helping to keep more than 30 million Web servers worldwide operating at peak efficiency. This certification not only opens new career opportunities for IT professionals, it also assures employers of a recognized level of competence from applicants."

Since the launch of the new certification in February, Server+ has received industry-wide recognition with companies such as Compaq, Intel, CDW, HP and Novell requiring technicians to be Server+ certified.

Pete Bolliger, worldwide training manager of Adaptec, says, "Adaptec considers the Server+ program to be an important first step for any IT professional that supports server technologies. Achieving the Server+ certification demonstrates that a person possesses the skills and abilities necessary to perform basic server support and provides a foundation for further professional growth through specialized training programs."

Intel, a cornerstone supporter of the CompTIA Server+ certification, recently transitioned its Intel Certification Program to require that all Premiere Providers be Server+ certified. "We expect the Server+ certification to be adopted quickly in the industry," said Jeff Milburn, Server Certification Training Manager, Intel. "The Server+ certification provides an industry-standard validation of basic server-building skills, and sets a baseline for a candidate's knowledge of integration, management and service. Using Server+ as a transfer credit allows Intel Certification to focus on developing candidates' server integration skills to the next level."

According to Christian Brown, Channel Support Consultant for IBM, "Server+ helps professionals and the industry as a whole by eliminating training redundancies. It helps the individual to focus on the service elements common to all manufacturers, which results in major benefits for the technician in terms of a wide view of hardware. OEMs also benefit since they reduce training costs and have a standard for candidate evaluation. IBM sees an opportunity for CompTIA Server+ to become a worldwide education entry point for all OEM server service training."

For a current list of companies offering training to individuals preparing for Server+ certification, please visit: http://www.comptia.org/sdm/search/ftr/ftr_template.cfm.

About Server+

The Server+ certified hardware specialist focuses on solving complex problems to ensure servers are functional and applications are available. This specialist has an in-depth understanding of planning, installing, configuring, and maintaining servers, including knowledge of server-level hardware implementations, data storage subsystems, data recovery, and I/O subsystems. The Server+ technician knows the interrelationships of all parts of the server system and understands the ramifications of their actions. The Server+ certified individual performs independently 80% to 90% of the time, solves complex problems, and may seek assistance from systems support for particularly challenging issues. The recommended experience for Server+ certification includes: 18 to 24 months in the server technologies industry; Hands-on experience installing, configuring, diagnosing, and troubleshooting server hardware and NOS issues; At least one other IT certification such as CompTIA A+, Compaq ACT, Novell CNA, Microsoft MCP, HP STAR, SCO, or Banyan; And the ability to communicate and document effectively.

Server+ is the newest member of CompTIA's certification family. This certification deals with advanced PC hardware issues, such as RAID, SCSI, multiple CPUs, SANs - and more. There is currently nothing in the industry like this that is vendor neutral, and there is a broad range of support for this initiative, including core support by 3Com, Adaptec, Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Intel, EDS Innovations Canada, Innovative Productivity, Sybex, Marcraft, Heathkit, and Course Technology. If you would like to learn more about the reasons behind Server+, and what advantage there is to becoming involved, please see the Server+(TM) White Paper (Requires Adobe to open) or visit http://www.comptia.org/. For more information, please contact Mrs. Phaedra McLaughlin at [e-mail].

About CompTIA

CompTIA, the Computing Technology Industry Association, is a not-for-profit trade association providing the technology community standards in the areas of Internet-enabled service provision, e-commerce, vendor-neutral technical certification, CRM, public policy, workforce development and training. Representing the converging computing and communications market, CompTIA has more than 8,000 corporate members in 60 countries, and thousands of individual professional members. Almost half a million individuals worldwide have earned CompTIA certifications. More information is available at www.comptia.org and www.xspertise.com

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