Mile High Research

Projects

2013-05-16T09:28:00.000-06:00

Example Projects: Instructional Design & Product Video Production

Example 1: This creative learning solution is designed to motivate a time-challenged seismic interpreter to learn a new software application by reducing time away from the worksite; embracing each individual’s learning preference through multi-modality delivery; highly interactive eLearning including – videos, software simulation, quizzing and gaming. The trial version is the first of 10 course modules produced on Adobe Captivate.

TS-100e-0 Trial

Example 2: This creative information solution is designed as an interactive technical reference for a software product used in energy exploration. The goals were to high-grade existing product documentation and deliver using an interactive design. This project was produced on Adobe Captivate

Horizon Edge Stacking

Example 3: Product Video Production using Adobe Captivate and Camtasia Studio. Multiple examples.

New Software Features.

A Creative Learning Solution for Multi-generational Geoscience Audiences

2012-04-09T14:58:00.004-06:00

TerraSpark Geosciences® is not the iconic name a Chief Learning Officer or training industry professional might recognize. But the company’s new, in-house developed, blended learning solutions are as unique in the Exploration and Production (E&P) Industry as its breakthrough software for seismic interpretation. Seismic data is critical to energy companies seeking oil and gas reserves many miles underground, a daunting task involving terabytes of field data and months of data processing. It can be compared in many ways to CAT-Scan data used in medical applications, only applied to the planet’s subsurface. The Boulder Colorado based company flagship product Insight Earth^® enables geoscientists to rapidly interpret 3D seismic surveys and accurately identify, model and illuminate the most productive energy reserves.

Insight Earth addresses the most human-intensive and tedious aspects of 3D seismic interpretation. It is a step change in the productivity and accuracy that can be achieved by interpreters at a time when industry demand is increasing, and the supply of experienced and skilled interpretation professionals is low.
A recent survey by the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) indicates that the majority of geologists / geoscientists are within 5 - 15 years of retirement. Recently, the E&P industry has doubled-down recruiting efforts for young, “millennial” geoscientists. Accordingly, the challenge for instructional designers is to creatively find a way to design a learning solution that recognizes and embraces the diverse experience levels and learning preferences of this multi-generational audience.

Denny Schall, Director of Training at TerraSpark Geosciences, notes that for the company’s newest breakthrough product, the Shale Resource Play Toolkit, the training group would develop its own breakthrough learning solution. It would develop relevant and engaging solutions for its multi-generational user audience that would compel a time-challenged seismic interpreter to aspire to learn the new software application.

Denny stated that as part of the analysis phase of the instructional design process, user personas were developed to help understand and define the audience’s role, needs, existing knowledge, skills and learning preferences.

A persona is a tool used by instructional designers as part of audience analysis to describe users' goals, skills, abilities, technical experience and context. Personas are detailed descriptions of archetypical users constructed out of well-understood, highly specific patterns of data about real people. They put a face on the user - a memorable, engaging, and actionable image that conveys information to instructional designers about each typical user type in ways that other artifacts cannot.

Based on numerous audience interviews and surveys, TerraSpark decided to define two distinct personas based on the vastly different experience levels and learning preferences exhibited by the multi-generational learners in this role. TerraSpark’s instructional design team named the persona archetypes “Steven” and “Steve”:

"Steven” is a 20+ year Senior Seismic Interpreter whose experience with training is in a traditional classroom with an industry expert, interpreter/instructor. Also, Steven needs to be convinced that the effort to learn new software is worth the time away from his core responsibilities.

“Steve”, with 4 years as a Seismic Interpreter, prefers to learn by searching for the topics he needs, when he needs them. Classroom time is more about building his network with other interpreters and should be as short as possible. Steve wants a learning environment where it is easy and fun for students to learn from each other.

The results of the audience analysis phase set the stage for a creative blended learning solution designed to motivate a time-challenged seismic interpreter to learn a new software application by reducing time away from the worksite; embracing each individual’s learning preference through multi-modality delivery; highly interactive eLearning including – videos, software simulation, quizzing and gaming; post-class support that includes links to TerraSpark experts, global network of Insight Earth users and classroom video library.

The solution includes an interpreter learning path that begins by delivering introductory content in a unique, highly interactive, eLearning format. Course content includes ten short topical modules, three to five minutes in length, with three methods to accomplish each learning objective:

Demo It – The student views a short, narrated video presentation demonstrating how to achieve the learning objective.

Try It – The student is challenged to complete an assignment while in a simulated software session. Students can explore on their own while hints are provided as they progress through the learning objectives.

After a Demo It or Try It session, the student takes a short interactive quiz. Students who pass the quiz go directly to the next module. If they fail, they are directed to Demo It or Try It again.

Test – Students can choose this option to test outside of the training curriculum. If they pass, they go directly to the next module. Students, who fail, are directed to Demo It or Try It.

The final module includes an optional game. Game participants are challenged with advanced assignments providing a mix of task and situation analysis designed to challenge the student to demonstrate their newly acquired skills and knowledge. In addition to bragging rights, students with high game scores are recommended to advance to the next course in the learning path. Students with low game scores are encouraged to review course modules.

Next on the interpreter learning path is a one-day, hands-on, concepts class taught in a classroom/lab setting by TerraSpark’s most experienced seismic interpreters. The instructor can review student’s game scores to insure they are ready to fully participate with very little to no review of introductory content. An example shale play 3D seismic survey is used to demonstrate interpretation workflows and reinforce concepts during student labs.

An optional mentoring program concludes the interpreter learning path with TerraSpark’s expert interpreters mentoring customers on applying the concepts learned in class to their own seismic survey data on the job.

Students are provided post-class support that includes email support from their instructor, access to the eLearning materials including searchable classroom video library and are invited to join the Insight Earth Learning Network - a global community of geoscientists, geophysicists and geotechnicians using Insight Earth®.

Try a module here: http://terraspark.com/training/TS-100e/

TerraSpark’s Shale Resource Play Toolkit training program is currently in beta testing and will be available as part of the release of Insight Earth 1.7 later this year.

Tech innovation delivers new job roles for IT professionals in 2012

2012-01-02T01:38:00.000-07:00

While project managers and business analysts are predicted to be in-demand IT jobs this year, many companies may also be looking for cloud transformation officers and data scientists. Here are a few new job roles for IT professionals that are beginning to show demand.

Cloud Transformation Officer

As companies move from the client-server world to one where systems reside in the cloud, they're hiring professionals to oversee the entire strategy.

Whether the position's called director of cloud transformation, vice president of virtualization or cloud transformation officer, all of those titles are floating out there in the corporate world the job description remains roughly the same: Oversee all the moving parts required to make the move to the cloud.

Skills required

Companies are looking to hire people who can show that they've been able to plan, control and deliver complex, high-risk projects involving technology that's evolving even as the project is underway. They are looking for deep knowledge of the organization's applications and skills in negotiating with and managing vendors.

Once an organization successfully moves to the cloud, does the job go away? Given the complexity of the task, cloud transition managers can expect to stay busy for at least the next several years, before transitions are complete and the job morphs into one focused on maintenance.

Chief Social Media Strategist

Companies of every size and stripe are implementing ever more ambitious strategies involving social media, so it's only logical that they need technologists who can make the most of their investments.

Some of them are moving to hire people who understand both the marketing value of social media as well as its technical complexities, an acknowledgement that in most organizations social media has been under the purview of either ITor marketing. Now, some are putting a new crossbreed of talent into positions with titles like chief social media strategist, new media coordinator, and manager of social media.

The role isn't about sending out tweets and posting on Facebook all day, it's about leveraging technology to monitor online activity and interactions and to engage consumers.

Skills required

The ideal candidate is someone who has a strong background in business strategy and marketing with project management and business intelligence experience mixed in. Also, a technical background, with skills in HTML and Web development.

If that order weren't tall enough, companies also want candidates with proven experience. Strong candidates would have solid experience in marketing and could demonstrate the ROI of their past marketing projects,

Data scientist

Big data is on the agenda of nearly every future-looking business organization, for good reason. Organizations are drowning in the amount of data that comes in, but much of it is siloed - they have the information, but can't find it.

So enterprises need a new breed of worker who understands how to collect, interpret and analyze vast amounts of data in a way that's truly useful for making business decisions.

Skills required

Like many of the other hot jobs in IT, this specialty requires the right combination of business and technical skills. The ideal candidate needs to be familiar with analytics and marketing, as well as ultra-high-speed computing, data mining, statistics and artificial intelligence.

The ideal candidate is someone with an undergraduate degree in computer science and a master's in marketing with some operations management expertise.

Health Information Expert

As healthcare becomes an ever larger and ever more computerized industry, technologists are needed who can optimize the acquisition, storage, retrieval and application of health-related data. Ideally, health informatics experts will understand not only IT but the unique needs of the clinical care community.

Skills required

Like many of the other hot jobs in IT, this specialty requires the right combination of business and technical skills within a health care practice.

Training for Multiple Generations

2011-12-20T10:48:00.002-07:00

This is the first time in American history that we have five different generations working side-by-side in the workplace. Each generation has distinct attitudes, behaviors, expectations, habits, motivational buttons and learning styles.

If you are dealing with multiple generations in your workforce, what can you do to address these concerns? Different age groups espouse divergent values depending on what was happening in society when they grew up. For example:

The Greatest Generation (those born before 1928) are credited with saving the free world by fighting and winning World War II.
The Silent Generation or Traditionalists (adults born from 1928 – 1945; currently 66-86 years old) grew up during the Great Depression and World War II. The “silent” label refers to their conformist and civic instincts, which are an interesting contrast to the “noisy” ways of the Baby Boomers who followed them.
The Baby Boomer label refers to the tremendous spike in births that began in 1946 (right after the end of World War II) and ended in 1964 (currently 47–65 years old), around the time the birth control pill went on the market.
Generation X covers people born from 1965 through 1980 (currently 31-46 years old). This generation grew up during a time when the divorce rate doubled and many mothers left home to enter the workforce. Gen X’ers are often characterized as independent, pragmatic, and cynical; they tend to be mobile and highly educated.
Generation Y or the Millennial Generation refers to those people born after 1980-the first generation to come of age in the New Millennium (currently 16-30 years old). According to a recent Pew Research Center Study (2010), members of this age group tend to be “confident, connected, and open to change”. Many of them pursued higher education when they were unable to secure jobs out of undergraduate school; therefore, they are considered the most highly educated generation we have seen thus far.
Generation Z or the Digital Natives are children under 16 who have grown up with technology and will be entering the workforce in a few years.

How do employees in these different generations learn?

Communicate

Traditionalists and Baby Boomers generally prefer face-to-face interactions. Generation X’ers tend to use e-mail rather than telephone or in-person conversations. While many older employees tend to be threatened by social media (they may need coaching to help them realize its commercial benefits), Millennials trade lack of privacy for connectivity. They tend to have good relationships with their Baby Boomer parents and value communication; but it does not necessarily need to be face-to-face. They tend to prefer texting and may need to be taught e-mail protocol when they enter the workplace.

Manage/Receive Feedback

A recent study by Robert Half International and Yahoo! Hot Jobs indicates that Millennials would like to hear from their managers at least once a day. Business owners may need to coach Traditionalist, Baby Boomer, and Generation X managers to pay attention to this desire/expectation—instead of dismissing Generation Y employees as “too needy.” Millennials tend to perform best when they receive frequent feedback. Generally, they respond well to written self-assessments during performance review sessions.

Accomplish Goals/Objectives

All of us have heard complaints of the “poor work ethic” of the younger generations. This tends to cover Generation X and Generation Y. Traditionalists and Baby Boomers like to talk about working 80-hour weeks and often think X and Y employees should do the same to prove themselves. The difference is that younger age groups do not expect to be able to retire during their 60’s, so they are trying to balance their work and personal lives over the course of their careers. Many companies have found that offering flexible work schedules and increased vacation time are valuable incentives for these younger workers.

Get Ahead

Research (HR Magazine, May 2011) indicates that many Generation X employees feel squeezed by Baby Boomers and Millennials. With less Baby Boomers retiring early due to economic pressures, X’ers voice frustration with not being able to “move up the ladder.” Some businesses are responding by offering continuous career training and lateral transfers for this group. In addition, business owners can encourage managers to recognize Generation X employees for their unique perspectives and contributions (such as pragmatism and the entrepreneurial spirit) just as often as they praise Millennials for their technological savvy and openness to change.

In summary, it is better to address generational issues directly with your leadership team. Many companies are offering employee seminars as well to improve communication, productivity and profitability.

Announcing the 2012 Insight Earth Public Training Schedule.

2011-11-22T14:13:00.002-07:00

The 2012 Insight Earth public training schedule is now available. Courses are offered monthly at TerraSpark Geosciences offices in Houston, Texas and Westminster (Boulder area), Colorado.

TerraSpark leverages its unique blend of upstream industry experience, geoscience expertise and computer science skills to design and deliver role based training programs for:

• Seismic Interpreters

• Velocity Modelers

• Geotechnicians (Data Loaders)

• Well Path Planners

Our classroom training options range from developing competence in using Insight Earth software to advanced, scenario-based training to build vital skills and improve decision-making processes.

Insight Earth courses are modular in design, targeted to audience roles and skills to minimize students time away from the worksite. Hands-on industry relevant exercises are designed to reinforce classroom lecture and represent 50% or more of classroom time. Courses include a detailed course manual and access to the Insight Earth video library, a post-class resource that demonstrates each hands-on classroom exercise. Students are also entitled to 30 days email support from their instructor and are invited to join the Insight Earth Learning Network – a global community of practicing Geoscientist, Geophysicists and Geotechnitions using Insight Earth.

Instructor-led courses are also offered on-site at the customers facility and a train-the-trainer program is available. Contact training@terraspark.com for details.

Leadership: 6 Ways to tell if you are really in touch with your troops.

2011-05-12T10:13:00.000-06:00

Frank, an executive at a large company, made an impromptu appearance at a department meeting attended by 30 employees. He gave a rousing pep-talk that concluded with “I’ll support your decision to say ‘no’ to non-value-added projects.” With that, he departed to refrains of “Thanks, Frank!”

Here’s the part Frank didn’t see — the cynical comments making the rounds later that day: “So, what do you think Frank will say when I tell him ‘no’ to one of his pet projects? Like he’ll really ‘support’ me — he’s the King of Non-Value-Added Projects!”

Frank’s story highlights how a leader’s reality can be vastly different than that of his workforce. Most leaders think they’re in tune with their employees, but in many cases, they overestimate just how “plugged in” they really are. In Frank’s mind, he was being approachable and supportive. In contrast, others saw his remarks as disingenuous.

According to new research, Frank's not the only leader who has a perception problem. A poll conducted by Maritz Research revealed that only 11% of employees “strongly agree” their managers show consistency between their words and actions. Because employees judge their leaders’ trustworthiness largely by the consistency of words and deeds, this lack of congruence spells trouble for a leader’s credibility.

Why does this happen?

For one, it’s because there are multiple “realities” in any organization, depending on the role that one plays. Executives face the reality of bringing in profits. Midlevel managers juggle competing demands of company and employee needs. Front-line supervisors and employees must continually show productivity increases. There’s no one single “reality,” so effective leaders must know how to tap into the mood of all the players to stay tuned in.

How plugged in are you? Use this reality check to find out. Can you:

Write an e-mail without using a single buzzword? Words like “actionable” and “incentivized” make employees roll their eyes, and in the process, create distance between the leader and the reader.
Name at least five challenges your front-line employees currently face, and what’s being done to resolve them? No? Then it’s time to go out and learn about it firsthand.
List three examples of an employee productively disagreeing with you in the past month? If not, then people aren’t speaking up enough. This may signal that you are stifling conversation, which may lead to differences in perception of a situation’s reality.
Describe how a major company initiative will benefit not only outside stakeholders and customers, but the employees as well? If the focus is always on the external aspects of your company, employees will unplug and check out.
Cite several examples of how your thinking has changed due to employee feedback? Coming up short? Then it’s possible that there’s a gap between what you say about feedback and actually do to gain it.
Make the rounds; be not only accessible but visible. Do regular skip-level meetings - Talk with your employees – show them that they are your most valuable assets?

Even the most attuned leaders have an occasional lapse in awareness. Leaders who build these six points into their daily practices stand a much better chance of staying in touch with reality, and in the process, building trustworthiness with their followers.

People Management Lessons from Disney

2011-03-24T11:02:00.002-06:00

By Bruce Jones

During the first year Disneyland opened, not all of the employees who worked there were hired as Disney cast members. Walt had initially decided to bring in outside vendors to fill certain positions including parking and security. Soon after that decision he recognized he had made a mistake. “I couldn’t have outside help and still get over my idea of hospitality,” he said.

What Walt realized was that recruiting the right people and instilling in them your company culture is an essential part of building a unified workforce. He also created the model for hiring that remains the standard today—we hire for attitude, not aptitude. Today, Disney recruits, selects, and trains everyone who works with the company in the same way— whether cast members or third-party employees. Just as long-term care facilities integrate a wide-range of

employees carrying out a variety jobs, Disney uses its unique corporate culture to unite all workers in a common goal: to help the guest.

Walt once said, “I tell the security police that they are never to consider themselves cops. They are there to help people. The visitors are our guests. Once you get the policy going, it grows.” Sounds simple, doesn’t it? At Disney Institute, we help many organizations develop their own models and best practices for hiring and retaining highly-skilled employees who understand and convey the beliefs and values of the business to produce outstanding results.

RECRUITING THE BEST

Disney cast members aren’t just hired for a job; they play a role in the “show.” Every aspect of the casting (hiring) process is a presentation of the Disney culture. In essence, Disney begins the training process even before a new cast member is hired. For example, the whimsy of the casting building is designed to ease the minds of anxious applicants, while communicating our rich Disney heritage.

Early in the process, candidates can view a film depicting what it is like to work at Disney. The film also communicates conditions of employment. After viewing it, a small percentage of candidates self-select out of the process. This is a good thing, since those candidates might not be “right fit” for the culture—and Disney might not be right-fit for them. This process not only saves time and money, but it leaves the applicants feeling good about themselves and our company.

During the interview process, casting professionals will base the hiring decision on work experience, personality and educational background. By the time they go through their interview, candidates will have a basic picture of the company’s culture and

expectations.

The philosophies underlying the Disney approach have application to companies of any size. Consider the processes you are using and the messages you are sending to your potential employees. Are you communicating conditions of employment up front? Are you creating a positive environment that truly welcomes potential employees? Consider intriguing ways you can introduce applicants to your “conditions of employment” and your culture. You might simply write those on a piece of paper to share with potential applicants as was done by one small business owner.

UNDERSTANDING EXPECTATIONS

A key factor in employee retention is making certain employees understand what’s expected of them, and why the “rules” exist. A critical role of leaders is to communicate expectations to employees and for the communication to be consistent with actions. Communication is a reflection of the culture, so we ensure that the messages we send, the methods we use to send them, and the sources they come from, reflect the elements of our culture that we want to perpetuate.

More here: http://www.trainingindustry.com/media/3532077/disneypeoplemanagementlessons.pdf

7 Solutions for Workforce Training

2011-03-09T13:20:00.006-07:00

After a career in government service, Karen Gardner, former head of new agent training for the FBI, takes you along for the ride on her first 90 days in Corporate America. Whether you’re new to training or just looking for some new ideas, Karen’s seven solutions will help you keep your organization’s learning running on time, on track and on point.

In her article from the Winter 2011 issue of TrainingIndustry Quarterly e-magazine, Karen shares new lessons on everything from working with subject-matter experts to creating culture of collaboration.

Microsoft certifications won't boost your pay much.

2011-02-22T19:59:00.003-07:00

Image by o5com via FlickrMicrosoft certifications are dropping in value and provide a smaller pay boost than IT skills related to Cisco, Oracle, EMC, VMware, IBM, SAP and Red Hat technologies."So many people have Microsoft certifications that the gap between supply and demand is not that great, like it is with other certifications," says David Foote of the IT research firm Foote Partners.

More info here: http://www.networkworld.com/news/2011/021411-microsoft-certifications.html

The Six Factors That Drive Confidence in Leaders

2010-10-18T00:01:00.000-06:00

Image by euthman via Flickr

Here's some food for thought with the upcoming elections in mind.

For the past four years, Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government - Center for Public Leadership has conducted an annual public opinion poll to determine the sector leaders in which Americans have the most and least confidence and the factors behind those confidence levels. The 2009 results provide some pretty interesting conclusions.

First, the sectors where the confidence level in leaders are up in a statistically significant way over last year are the military, the executive branch and business. Those that showed a significant decline are medical, nonprofits and charity, state government, the news media and Wall Street. Based on an index where 100 indicates a moderate amount of confidence the only three sectors that scored higher than that level were the military, medical and nonprofits and charity. Of those three, the military is the only sector to score well above 100 on the confidence index with a score of almost 120.

According to the study, there are six key factors that have the greatest impact on Americans’ confidence in their leaders. These factors are:

Trust in what the leaders say
Competence to do the job
Working for the greater good of society
Shared values
Get good results
In touch with people’s needs and concerns

Given what’s happened over the past year, it’s not surprising that the military and the nonprofit sector leaders were in the top three. Likewise, when you consider the past year and look at the six most important factors, it’s easy to understand why the two lowest ranked sectors were the news media (balloon boy, anyone?) and Wall Street (how about those bonuses?)

Reading between the lines of the study, I see one other factor that’s not explicitly mentioned but I think comes into play. That factor is the perceived clarity and importance of the sector’s purpose and mission. If you download and read the study, it’s striking how much higher the leadership of the military and the nonprofit sectors are rated in all six key factors than are the leadership of other highlighted sectors. I asked myself “What do these two sectors have in common?” and clarity and importance of purpose was the answer.

To stand a chance of being effective, leaders must generate confidence in the people that depend on them. How do you think you stack up on each of the six key factors? How are you doing on clearly defining and communicating why what your organization does matters? If you were going to pick one factor in which you could improve, what would it be? What are three things you could do in the next year to move the needle in a positive direction?

In-Demand IT Credentials - Q1 2010

2010-03-29T18:05:00.014-06:00

Many of us have been looking forward to the economic recovery for so long, we're suffering from expectation fatigue. But by all indications, we're not in for a big bounce but a slow, steady, more measured rebound.

Researchers from Mile High Research announced today that data from a recent benchmark study shows steady growth in new job postings for a group of 45 In Demand IT Credentials.

“We have seen a 4.8% average weekly growth in internet job postings that specify our In Demand IT Credentials for jobs posted in the United States. A January 5th baseline of 4,144 job postings have grown to more than 6,800 job postings specifying those credentials in Q1 2010. IT Professionals who hold one or more of these credentials have skills that are the most in demand by recruiters and hiring managers in the USA today.” - Denny Schall, Chief Learning Officer at Mile High Research.

Certifications from Microsoft, International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium (ISC)², Cisco, CompTIA and Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA), make the top 10 list of IT Credentials In-Demand for jobs posted in Q1 2010.

The Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) certification ranks number one with 819 average weekly job postings. The enduring strength of Windows Server 2000 and 2003 in the market suggests that demand for related expertise will continue for many years to come.

The Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA), Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) and Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) credentials show unique value as the only certification sponsor to have three levels of credentials in the Top 10 In-Demand credentials for Q1 2010.

The Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) from (ISC)², Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) and Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) from ISACA and also Security+ from CompTIA show the importance of security credentials in the IT market today. Of special notice is ISACA's Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) credential that achieved 117% growth, the highest growth rate of the top 10 In-Demand IT credentials in Q1 2010.

Finally the A+ credential from CompTIA, the most often specified companion credential continues to show great value for credential holders.

Mile High Research is a research and consulting services resource focused on the commercial training industry. Our research has successfully helped technology companies position learning services as a strategic business enabler. Mile High Research provides technology companies and industry associations’ daily industry updates, strategic insights and actionable intelligence through the Authorized Education and Training Network community site on Linkedin.

Please address questions about this posting to 5280research@gmail.com

Are IT Credentials Relevant & Respected?

2010-03-22T00:01:00.001-06:00

Over the past several months, Mile High Research has been conducting a study on the value of IT certification programs. We recently surveyed over 200 IT Professionals, Hiring Managers and Recruiters as part of our study. When asked what their biggest concern regarding the value of IT certifications, comments relating to the credential relevancy and respect were overwhelming top of mind.

IT professionals said:
Do employers really care about certification?

Recruiters said:
Does having a credential really mean candidates have the skills?

Hiring Managers said:
Does having a credential really mean candidates can immediately apply the skills necessary to be productive on the job?

The context for relevant and respected IT credentials -

Relevancy - is the ability of an IT certification to correctly assess the needed skills and the candidate’s ability to successfully apply them on the job. The certification is updated to latest technology release and emphasizes both the primary technology skill set and the job role of the individual. Employers can expect credential holders to have the skills and be productive immediately for jobs specifying this IT credential.

Respect – Industry respect for the credential is a hot issue for both credential holders and credential sponsors. IT credentials that are genuinely obtained, enhance the credibility and respect of the credential holder and the credential itself. Certification sponsors that have active, visible and enforced programs in place to punish cheaters and shut down braindump sites have credentials that are respected.

Mile High Research would like to know - What do you think?

Please take our poll to the right or provide comments below.

Research Document: In-Demand IT Credentials

2010-03-15T23:55:00.005-06:00

Benchmarking High Value IT Certification
Programs – March 1, 2010

A study by Denny Schall, Chief Learning Officer - Mile High Research, LLC

This research is targeted for Certification Sponsors.
New research study by Mile High Research benchmarks 45+ popular IT credentials from 10 certification sponsors to learn specifically from the highest performers and document insights into the following:

What makes the high performers different?
What are the business processes they engage in that seem to give them their edge?

Key Findings:

Three Critical Elements Of IT Certification Value
Four Key Factors Driving In-Demand Value
In-Demand Pace Setter IT Credentials
Top IT Skills Represented By Pace Setting Credentials
Top 10 Fastest Growing In-Demand Credentials
Top 10 Job Titles Specifying Pace Setting Credentials
Top 10 Cities For In-Demand Credential Jobs
Top 10 Companies Hiring In-Demand Credential Skills
Companion Credentials Add Value To Pace Setting Credential
In-Demand Contender IT Credentials

In Demand IT Credentials – Benchmarking High Value IT Certification
Programs – March 1, 2010

Price $1,500 USD
Format - PDF
Length - 26 Pages
Available - March 8, 2010
Licensed Use – Restricted to internal company use only

To order: Contact our research staff at 5280research@gmail.com for details.

STUDY PURPOSE
Benchmarking allows us to learn from the practices and business results of other companies. Learning from other companies may well lead to conclusions about what practices are reasonable or common, or what results are minimally acceptable or on target. However, clearly the most widely recognized and popular form of business benchmarking seeks to learn specifically from the highest performers. What makes the high performers different? What are the business processes they engage in that seem to give them their edge? These are the questions we have been trying to answer for the last two months with our In-Demand IT Credentials Pace Setters Research Program.

This study benchmarks 45+ popular IT credentials from 10 certification sponsors and assess their demand value in the current job market. Mile High researchers tracked the number of new job postings specifying the credentials to identify the In-Demand IT Credential Pace Setters and Contenders for 2010.

Certification Sponsors In this Study

Cisco Systems
CompTIA
Global Information Assurance Certification (GIAC)
Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA)
International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium (ISC)2
Linux Professional Institute
Microsoft
Oracle
Redhat
Sun Microsystems

IT Credentials In this study

CISSP Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)
CCDA Cisco Certified Design Associate
CCDP Cisco Certified Design Professional (CCDP)
CCENT Cisco Certified Entry Networking Technician (CCENT)
CCIE Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE)
CCIP Cisco Certified Internetwork Professional (CCIP)
CCNA Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA)
CCNP Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP)
CCSP Cisco Certified Security Professional (CCSP)
CCVP Cisco Certified Voice Professional (CCVP)
A+ CompTIA A+ certification
Linux+ CompTIA Linux+ certification
Network+ CompTIA Network+
Security+ CompTIA Security+ certification
Server+ CompTIA Server+
GIAC Global Information Assurance Certification
CISA Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA)
CISM Certified Information Security Manager (CISM)
LPI Linux Professional Institute Certification
MCA Microsoft Certified Architect
MCAD Microsoft Certified Application Developer (MCAD)
MCAS Microsoft Certified Application Specialist (MCAS)
MCDBA Microsoft Certified Database Administrator (MCDBA)
MCDST Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician (MCDST)
MCITP Microsoft Certified IT Professional credential, or MCITP
MCM Microsoft Certified Master
MCPD Microsoft Certified Professional Developer (MCPD)
MCSA Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator (MCSA)
MCSD Microsoft Certified Solution Developer (MCSD)
MCSE Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE)
MCTS Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS)
MOS Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS)
OCA Oracle 11g DBA Certified Associate
OCE Oracle Certified Expert
OCM Oracle 11g DBA Certified Master
OCP Oracle 11g DBA Certified Professional
RHCA Red Hat Certified Architect® (RHCA)
RHCE Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE)
RHCSS Red Hat Certified Security Specialist (RHCSS)
RHCT Red Hat Certified Technician (RHCT)
SCEA Sun Certified Enterprise Architect (SCEA)
SCJA Sun Certified Java Associate
SCJD Sun Certified Java Developer (SCJD)
SCJP Sun Certified Java Programmer
VCDX VMware Certified Design Expert (VCDX3)
VCP VMware Certified Professional (VCP3)

About Mile High Research
Mile High Research is a research and consulting services resource focused on the commercial training industry. Our research has successfully helped technology companies’ position learning services as a strategic business enabler. Mile High Research provides technology companies and industry associations’ daily industry updates, strategic insights and actionable intelligence through the Authorized Education and Training Network community site on Linkedin.

Please address questions about this report to 5280research@gmail.com

Good News For IT Skills

2010-03-01T00:02:00.010-07:00

News from Mile High Research March 1, 2010

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Here's some good news on In Demand IT skills. Researchers from Mile High Research announced today that data from a recent benchmark study shows steady growth in new job postings for a group of 45 In Demand IT Credentials.

“We have seen a 6.8% average weekly growth in internet job postings that specify our In Demand IT Credentials for jobs posted in the United States. A January 5th baseline of 4,003 job postings have grown to more than 6,300 job postings specifying those credentials as of March 1st. IT Professionals who hold one or more of these credentials have skills that are the most in demand by recruiters and hiring managers in the USA today.” - Denny Schall, Chief Learning Officer at Mile High Research.

Top 10 In Demand IT Credentials

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Top 10 Summary
Certifications from Microsoft, International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium (ISC)2, Cisco, CompTIA and Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA), make the top 10 list of IT Credentials In-Demand for jobs posted since the beginning of this year. The benchmarking study was conducted by Mile High Research as part of a research project assessing the value of IT certification products. Over 45 IT credentials from 10 IT vendors and industry associations were included in the study. Mile High researchers did a mashed-up of the credentials with job postings from an internet job board and tracked new USA based job postings specifying the credentials weekly from January 5th. Our researcher captured, analyzed and ranked these credentials to produce a group of "In Demand IT Credentials".

The job posting numbers represent the average weekly number of job postings where one or more certification credentials were specified as minimum or preferred credentials on internet job posting.

"These IT Vendors and Industry Associations have obviously make a connection between their certifications and employers – that connection is value." - Denny Schall, Chief Learning Officer - Mile High Research.

The Top 10 In Demand IT Credentials

# 1 Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE)
Vendor – Microsoft Learning

The Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) certification shows clients and employers that you are skilled in designing, implementing, and administering infrastructures for business solutions based on Microsoft 2000 Windows Server and other Windows server platforms. Implementation responsibilities include installing, configuring, and troubleshooting network systems.

The enduring strength of Windows Server 2000 and 2003 in the market suggests that demand for related expertise will continue for many years to come. IT Professionals looking to certify on newer Microsoft technology should consider Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) and Microsoft Certified IT Professional credential (MCITP) ranked #13 and #14 in our survey.

Top 3 MCSE Hiring Cities
Washington, DC
Houston, TX
Chicago, IL

Top 3 MCSE Hiring Companies
Robert Half International Inc
Dell Computer Corp.
CyberCoders

More MCSE info here

# 2 Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)
Vendor - (ISC)²

Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) is an independent information security certification governed by the International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium, commonly known as (ISC)². As of October 10, 2008, (ISC)² has reported certifying 61,763 information security professionals in 133 countries. In June, 2004, the CISSP program earned the ANSI ISO/IEC Standard 17024:2003 accreditation, the first IT certification to have done so. It is formally approved by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) in both their Information Assurance Technical (IAT) and Managerial (IAM) categories. The CISSP has been adopted as a baseline for the U.S. National Security Agency's ISSEP program.

Top 3 CISSP Hiring Cities
Washington, DC
New York, NY
Atlanta, GA

Top 3 CISSP Hiring Companies
Northrop Grumman
CSC
Deloitte & Touche

More info here

# 3 Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA®)
Vendor – Cisco Systems

Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA®) validates the ability to install, configure, operate, and troubleshoot medium-size route and switched networks, including implementation and verification of connections to remote sites in a WAN. CCNA curriculum includes basic mitigation of security threats, introduction to wireless networking concepts and terminology, and performance-based skills. This new curriculum also includes (but is not limited to) the use of these protocols: IP, Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP), Serial Line Interface Protocol Frame Relay, Routing Information Protocol Version 2 (RIPv2),VLANs, Ethernet, access control lists (ACLs).

Top 3 CCNA Hiring Cities
Houston, TX
Washington, DC
San Jose, CA

Top 3 CCNA Hiring Companies
Robert Half International Inc
Northrop Grumman
CSC

More info here

# 4 Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP®)
Vendor – Cisco Systems

Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP®) validates the ability to plan, implement, verify and troubleshoot local and wide-area enterprise networks and work collaboratively with specialists on advanced security, voice, wireless and video solutions. The CCNP certification is appropriate for those with at least one year of networking experience who are ready to advance their skills and work independently on complex network solutions. Those who achieve CCNP have demonstrated the skills required in enterprise roles such as network technician, support engineer, systems engineer or network engineer.

Top 3 CCNP Hiring Cities
Los Angeles, CA
New York, NY
Houston, TX

Top 3 CCNP Hiring Companies
Robert Half International Inc
Teksystems
CyberCoders

More info here

# 5 CompTIA A+
Vendor – CompTIA

The CompTIA A+ certification is the industry standard for computer support technicians. The international, vendor-neutral certification proves competence in areas such as installation, preventative maintenance, networking, security and troubleshooting. CompTIA A+ certified technicians also have excellent customer service and communication skills to work with clients.

CompTIA A+ is part of the certification track for corporations such as Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Cisco and Novell. Other technology companies, including CompuCom and Ricoh, have made CompTIA A+ certification mandatory for their service technicians. More than 700,000 people worldwide have become CompTIA A+ certified since the program’s inception in 1993.

Top 3 A+ Hiring Cities
Washington, DC
Arlington, VA
Dallas, TX

Top 3 A+ Hiring Companies
Robert Half International Inc
Excell Data
Dell Computer Corp.

More info here

# 6 Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE®)
Vendor – Cisco Systems

The Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) certification is accepted worldwide as the most prestigious networking certification in the industry. Network Engineers holding an active Cisco CCIE certification are recognized for their expert network engineering skills and mastery of Cisco products and solutions. The CCIE community has established a reputation of leading the networking industry in deep technical networking knowledge and are deployed into the most technically challenging network assignments.

The program continually updates and revises its testing tools and methodologies to ensure unparalleled program quality, relevance and value. Through a rigorous written exam and a performance based lab, the CCIE program sets the standard for internetworking expertise.

Cisco introduced the CCIE certification in 1993 to assist the industry in distinguishing the top echelon of internetworking experts worldwide. Today , CCIE certification holders represent less than 3% of all certified Cisco professionals and less than 1% of the networking professionals worldwide.

Top 3 CCIE Hiring Cities
San Jose, CA
Los Angeles, CA
New York, NY

Top 3 CCIE Hiring Companies
Teksystems
CyberCoders
Bradsby Group

More info here

# 7 Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA)
Vendor - Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA)

The Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) is ISACA’s cornerstone certification. The CISA certification has been earned by more than 70,000 professionals since inception and is for the IS audit, control, assurance and/or security professionals who wish to set themselves apart from their peers. Since 1978, the CISA certification has been renowned as the globally recognized achievement for those who control, monitor and assess an organization’s information technology and business systems.

Top 3 CISA Hiring Cities
Mc Lean, VA
Washington, DC
Atlanta, GA

Top 3 CISA Hiring Companies
Deloitte & Touche
MBA IT Consulting Services, Inc.
Sapphire Technologies

More info here

# 8 Certified Information Security Manager (CISM)
Vendor - Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA)

The Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) certification is a unique management focused certification that has been earned by over 10,000 professionals since its introduction in 2003. Unlike other security certifications, CISM is for the individual who manages, designs, oversees and assesses an enterprise's information security program. CISM defines the core competencies and international performance standards that those who have information security management responsibilities must master.

Top 3 CISM Hiring Cities
Washington, DC
Los Angeles, CA
New York, NY

Top 3 CISM Hiring Companies
MBA IT Consulting Services, Inc.
IBM
GNS, Inc.

More info here

# 9 Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator (MCSA)
Vendor – Microsoft Learning

The Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator (MCSA) certification helps validate your ability to manage and troubleshoot network environments in the Windows operating system. It reflects a unique set of skills required to succeed in a variety of job roles, such as systems administrator, network administrator, information systems administrator, network operations analyst, network technician, and technical support specialist.

The enduring strength of Windows Server in the market suggests that demand for related IT expertise will continue for many years. IT Professionals looking to certify on newer Microsoft technology should consider Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) and Microsoft Certified IT Professional credential (MCITP) ranked #13 and #14 in our survey.

Top 3 MCSA Hiring Cities
San Diego, CA
Washington, DC
Aberdeen, MD

Top 3 MCSA Hiring Companies
Robert Half International Inc
ACS, a Xerox Company
Technisource

More info here

#10 CompTIA Security+
Vendor – CompTIA

The CompTIA Security+ certification designates knowledgeable professionals in the field of security, one of the fastest-growing fields in IT. Security threats are increasing in number and severity, and the gap between the need for security professionals and qualified IT personnel is the largest of any IT specialty, according to a 2008 CompTIA study. Even in a troubled economy, most businesses plan to maintain or increase their investment in security.

CompTIA Security+ is an international, vendor-neutral certification that proves competency in system security, network infrastructure, access control and organizational security. Major organizations that employ CompTIA Security+ certified staff include Booz Allen Hamilton, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Motorola, Symantec, Telstra, Hitachi, Ricoh, Lockheed Martin, Unisys, Hilton Hotels Corp., General Mills, the U.S. Navy, Army, Air Force and Marines.

Top 3 Security+ Hiring Cities
Arlington, VA
Washington, DC
Fort Belvoir, VA

Top 3 Security+ Hiring Companies
Northrop Grumman
Information Management Group
CACI International, Inc.

More info here

Mile High Research benchmark information
The benchmark study is part of a research project assessing the value of IT certification products from IT vendors and industry associations. The project is producing rich qualitative and quantitative information that will be used to create reports, provide strategic insights and actionable intelligence to the IT certification community.

“This study is different from those produced by other researchers as it assesses value from the perspective of the IT job hunter, recruiter and hiring manager.” - Denny Schall, Chief Learning Officer at Mile High Research.

Hiring managers specify the minimum skills and experience level required to be considered for employment opportunities on their teams. They can specify a skill level and in some cases an experience level by aligning to an IT credential they know will validate the skills needed and provide immediate applicability and productivity to their teams. IT vendors and industry associations that provide relevant and respected certification programs are valued and specified by hiring managers

Recruiters can use the IT credential to validate and assess candidates capabilities. A valued benchmarking tool to screen candidates and then focus their recruiting efforts on attitude and aptitude. Recruiters who specify IT credentials on job descriptions, take the unknown and uncertainty out of skill evaluation and submit candidates with a proven level of technical proficiency to hiring managers.

Benchmark Scope
A complete list of the IT credentials included within the study are shown below. A study summary including full credential rankings, trends, insights by vendor and related job posting data (company and location) is available for purchase from Mile High Research. Contact our research staff at 5280research@gmail.com for details.

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Is your Learning Services business model optimized for your charter?

2010-02-22T00:01:00.000-07:00

Lets start by looking at some information from a recent benchmarking study completed by Mile High Research. Our study looked at several global learning organizations within the technology industry and identified four primary business models in use.

Four Primary Business Models - Learning Services:

Cost Center
Cost Recovery
Profit Center
Hybrid

The learning organizations charter is the primary driver of the appropriate business model(s) for Learning Services. It is common for many learning organizations to utilize multiple business models depending on factors such as audience (Employees, Customers, Partners, Community), budget transfer policy, level of finance support and back office capabilities to name a few.

Cost Center Model – Usually used for employee and some types of partner training. A fixed budget amount is available for all training expenses. Training management is measured on their ability to get the maximum return while staying within a fixed budget. Often used for mandatory or required training programs. A metric commonly used to understand business value using this model is cost per head or cost per student hour of delivery and reduction over time. Goal for this model is control of fixed expenses.

Cost Recovery Model – Can be used for any audience, but generally used for employee and partner training. An example - training delivered by a vendor / 3rd party, you charge the audience for the actual cost incurred. Sometimes a slight incremental “tax” is charged to cover the learning organizations over head expense. The benefit over a cost center model is that your training budget can scale up or down based on need and assumes the employee or partner department has budget and transferees the funding (sometimes a tricky thing). A metric commonly used to understand business value using this model is cost per head, cost per student hour of delivery with reductions over time and financial proof of the learning organizations non-profit status. Often used for technical or specialty training. Goal for this model is to cover expenses.

Profit Center Model – Generally used for customer training, but can be used for all audiences. This model positions Learning Services as a product, a line of business managed to a profit and loss (P&L) statement. Revenue and margin goals are established and training leadership's performance is measured on plan vs. goal aligned to the companies financial reporting calendar – quarterly / annually. Obviously the goal of this model is to deliver revenue and margin value to the corporation.

Hybrid Model – A popular business model for multi-audience (Employee, Partner, Customer, Community) is a blend of the aforementioned models. Learning and Development teams, whose charter is to cover multiple audiences, could apply a different model to each audience or type of training. Example, Cost center for compliance training, cost recovery for technical training, or profit center for all non-compliance training.

As you might expect, each model has trade offs and thus every element or lever available within the business model must be thoroughly understood to provide maximum optimization.

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Lets take a closer look at a real example of a Learning Services organization in the technology industry using the profit center business model. The primary charter of this organization was to grow revenue and margin. Mile High Research performed a targeted business model assessment and delivered a strategic insight summary of the current state highlighting the following charter challenges:

Learning Services Charter Challenges (Current State)

Revenue Growth

Low Attach Rates
Channel Sales In Decline
Growing Gray Market Competition
New Product Time To Market (Too Slow)
Products Needed To Be Localized For International Marketplace
Product vs Value Focused Marketing
Go-To-Market Strategy Not Well Defined

Learning Services Charter Challenges (Current State)

Margin Growth

Delivery Strategy Not Aligned To Opportunities
Paying Above Market Rate For Delivery Services
Product Mix Predominately Instructor Led Training
Paying Above Market Rate For 3rd Party Learning Content
Under performing Pricing Strategy For 3rd Party Learning Content

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The Learning Services product lines include; Instructor Led Training (ILT), Education Consulting, Certification and eLearning. The financial aspects of the business model highlight % of overall revenue and gross margin % by product mix – current state vs year 1 projected (optimized) state. You begin to see the impact of the business model optimization work completed for this client. The product mix has been rebalanced and gross margin gains by product line representing a variety of initiatives including reduced delivery cost, changes in go-to-market focus, product packaging changes, product localization, value focus and price adjustments.

"Mile High Research can assist learning leaders to select and optimize a business model for their learning charter." - Denny Schall, Chief Learning Officer at Mile High Research.

Our targeted Business Model Assessment Service provides a comprehensive review of the learning organization business models and assesses the current state of results vs our industry benchmark companies. Deliverables include a strategic insight summary of the current state and defines actionable recommendations to further enhance business results in alignment to your charter. Assessment and recommendations are based on our benchmark data and best practices research within the learning industry.

Contact Mile High Research for further information.

How does your learning organization add business value?

2010-02-15T17:24:00.035-07:00

Image by Alex Osterwalder via Flickr

In today’s economy .... you better have a quick, clearly articulated response!

Lets start by looking at some information from a recent benchmarking study completed by Mile High Research. Our study looked at several global learning organizations within the technology industry and identified four common corporate level business objectives that drove the Learning Services charter.

Corporate Business Objectives - Driving the Learning Services Charter

1. Grow Product and Services Revenue – Learning Services can enable buyers to deeply understand how to use, apply, and customize the product or service purchased. As customers better understand the details of a product, they identify new opportunities and buy more. As new product features and models are announced, highly trained customers will advocate to acquire them and can more rapidly adopt them into their environment.

2. Grow Contribution Margin – Learning Services can be a high-margin business. Many technology companies use their customer training businesses as a proﬁt center. Learning Services are offered to customers as another line of business similar to Support, Professional, Managed or Field Services generating incremental revenue and contribution margin. A well managed Learning Services business within a technology company can return comparable contribution margins to a Professional Services practice.

3. Grow Product Adoption – Learning Services are often used as a strategic adoption enabler to reach new audiences. Many technology companies target academic institutions offering no or low cost software and learning content to faculty and students. This may include entry level certification credentials seen as a value add to students formal academic achievement. Technology companies are now targeting the primary and secondary education market (K-12), introducing their brand to future technology evangelist.

4. Improve Customer Satisfaction - Learning Services can enables buyers to effectively utilize the products and services sold by a corporation. Research shows the better a customer understands how to use a product, the higher their level of success, overall satisfaction and are inclined to recommend that product to others.

Some learning organization are blessed with a charter that focuses on impacting one or two of these corporate level objectives. Others have a more complex charter that includes impact to all. Learning leaders, tenured learning staff and corporate stakeholders were asked to stack rank these objectives and describe their rational.

Our study concluded that 46% of learning organizations studied had charters that were clear and aligned with both staff and corporate stakeholders.

Clear Charter – The charter of the learning organization was clear with business value well understood throughout the organization. Corporate stakeholders views of the business value potential was in alignment with the learning organization. A scorecard tracking key performance indicators (KPI's) goal vs actual was established and monitored as part of the learning organizations metric review cadence. The KPI's were visible at the corporate level with summary level detail reviewed quarterly.

The balance of learning organizations studied (54%) had charters that were in transition or not clear. Survey results and interviews correlated two major themes by audience. Learning leaders most often ranked financial goals #1 and #2 while corporate stakeholders ranked adoption and customer satisfaction as the top corporate goals impacted by learning services. Tenured learning staff was split between the two major themes.

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In Transition – The charter of the learning organization was clear with business value well articulated but not yet fully understood throughout the organization. Corporate stakeholders understood the charter as articulated by the learning organization but had varying views of the business value potential. A scorecard with key performance indicators (KPI's) had not yet been finalized. Our analysis also reveled that smaller learning organizations (<100)>

Not Clear - The charter of the learning organization was not clearly understood throughout the organization. Significant differences exist between stakeholders understanding of the learning organization charter and views of its business value potential to the corporation.
Note: If the charter of the learning organization was considered “In Transition” by members of the learning organization for more then 6 quarters we placed it in the “Not Clear” category.

An effective charter will help guide an organization and ensure that its members understand its purpose and stay on track to accomplish it. It establishes a common language, between the learning leader and other corporate leaders. This can serve the learning leader well when it comes time to justify investment in the learning services business to stakeholders. Or when you find yourself in the elevator with the CEO or CFO and they ask the question, “So how does your learning organization add business value to the corporation?”

"Mile High Research can assist learning leaders to clarify their charter and develop compelling business value statements for their learning organization." - Denny Schall, Chief Learning Officer at Mile High Research .

Our targeted Learning Charter Assessment Service provides an comprehensive review of the learning organization charter and assesses the current state of real and perceived strategic business value delivered to the corporation. Deliverables include a strategic insight summary of the current state and defines actionable recommendations to further enhance the business value potential of the learning organization. Assessment and recommendations are based on our benchmark data and best practices research within the learning industry. The assessment can be completed in as little as three days.

Contact Mile High Research for further information.

In Demand IT Vendor Credentials

2010-02-01T21:12:00.017-07:00

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"Early data from our benchmarking study on the value of IT Certifications show that credentials from Cisco, Microsoft and PMI lead the rankings of in-demand vendor credentials," - Denny Schall, CLO Mile High Research.

We are 30 days into a study of more than 40 IT credentials from 10 IT vendor and industry groups. One part of our study involves a mash-up of these credentials on 3 different internet job boards. We used the credential as a required key word (Match Key Word) and looked for new jobs posted over the last 30 days on Dice, Monster and Career Builder. We are currently tracking over 5,000 new job postings that specify one or more certifications as minimum or preferred credentials for the job.

Here are the top credentials with 30 days of job postings. Data shown here is based on information from Dice's internet job board.

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The value of an IT certification has been debated over the years with several conclusions that vary from nil to indispensable. Most seem to view the value of certification through their own eyes. Our research to date involves IT professionals, IT vendors, IT service providers, recruiters, hiring managers and leadership responsible for the P&L of IT learning services business. We look for this benchmarking study to provide strategic insights and actionable intelligence to certification vendors to better positioned their products especially with recruiters and hiring managers. Ultimately we seek to understand the best practices of certification vendors who ensure their certifications are relevant, respected and highly valued by employers and IT professionals.

As mentioned in my last post, Mile High Research will continue to monitor the numbers throughout 2010 as part of a funded research project on the value of IT Certification.

In Demand IT Credentials

2010-01-18T17:47:00.011-07:00

This is the 2nd week of our study of more than 40 IT Certifications from 10 different IT vendors mashed-up to three internet job boards. We used the credential as a required key word (Match Key Word) and looked for new jobs posted over the last 14 days on Dice, Monster and Career Builder. Summary results are shown below:

Note: See Updated Post for latest information.

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Certification credentials from Microsoft, Cisco, (ISC)2, CompTIA , Project Management Institute (PMI) and ISACA, make the top 10 list of IT Certifications In-Demand for new jobs posted over the last 14 days. The job descriptions specified one or more certifications as minimum or preferred credentials for the job posting.

"These IT Vendors and Industry Associations have obviously make a connection between their certifications and employers – that connection is value,"- Denny Schall - CLO, Mile High Research

Note: Although PMP is not specifically an IT Certification, it often is a companion requirement for many IT jobs. That's why our top 10 list 11 Credentials.

Last week many readers asked for more information on other credentials that are part of our study. Here are the early (preliminary) top 20 with 14 days of data. A full list of credentials and vendors will be available at the end of our study.

Rank Credential Company
0 PMP PMI
1 MCSE Microsoft
2 CISSP (ISC)²®
3 CCNA Cisco
4 CCNP Cisco
5 CCIE Cisco
6 A+ CompTIA
7 CISM ISACA
8 CISA ISACA
9 MCSA Microsoft
10 Security+ CompTIA
11 CCVP Cisco
12 MCITP Microsoft
13 MCTS Microsoft
14 CCSP Cisco
15 MCSD Microsoft
16 CCDP Cisco
17 VCP Vmware
18 MCDBA Microsoft
19 RHCE Redhat
20 MCAD Microsoft

As mentioned in my last post, Mile High Research will continue to monitor the numbers throughout 2010 as part of a funded research project on the value of IT Certification.

The value of an IT certification has been debated over the years with several conclusions that vary from nil to indispensable. Most seem to view the value of certification through their own eyes. Our research todate involves IT professionals, IT vendors, IT service providers, IT staff hiring managers and leadership responsible for the P&L of IT learning services business.

Top 10 In-Demand IT Certifications

2010-01-11T19:56:00.024-07:00

Image by Gadget Virtuoso via Flickr

Want to have a lively debate with the IT Community? Ask them, “What's the top 10 IT certifications in demand - right now?”

If your looking for an emotional response, you will get a lot of input (boy did we find that out). If you like to base your results on data, it's not hard to find - lets take a quick look.

As part of an on-going research project at Mile High we did a mash-up on 40 different IT Certifications from 8 different IT vendors on 3 different internet job boards. We used the credential as a required key word (Match Key Word) and looked for new jobs posted over the last 7 days (January 4-9, 2010) on Dice, Monster and Career Builder. Summary results are shown here and we thought we would provide a quick peek at the results.

Note: See Updated Post for latest information.

Click on chart for larger view

Certifications from Microsoft, Cisco, (ISC)2, CompTIA and Project Management Institute (PMI), make the top 10 list of IT Certifications In-Demand for new jobs posted over the time period. The job descriptions specified one or more certifications as minimum or preferred credentials for the job. Certifications for the top 20 list would also include IT vendors Red Hat, VMware and Oracle.

"These IT Vendors and Industry Associations have obviously make a connection between their certifications and employers – that connection is value,"- Denny Schall - CLO, Mile High Research

Note: Although PMP is not specifically an IT Certification, it often is a companion requirement for many IT jobs. That's why our top 10 list 11 Credentials.

Mile High Research will continue to monitor the numbers throughout 2010 as part of a funded research project on the value of IT Certification.

The value of an IT certification has been debated over the years with several conclusions that vary from nil to indispensable. Most seem to view the value of certification through their own eyes. Our research todate involves IT professionals, IT vendors, IT service providers, IT staff hiring managers and leadership responsible for the P&L of IT learning services business. If you would like to know more about our work let me know @ denny.schall@gmail.com

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6 Hot Skills for 2010 – Do your credentials and experience position you for success?

2009-12-24T11:00:00.000-07:00

Image by dmondark via Flickr

According to Computerworld's 2010 Forecast survey, this year's hiring plans certainly aren't at 2009 levels. Less than 20% of the 312 IT executives polled said they plan to increase IT head count in the next 12 months, compared with 26% in the previous year. And nearly 20% said they plan to decrease their IT head count.

For IT professionals who are either looking to get back into the workforce or mulling moves to greener pastures, here are the six types of skills most in demand among survey respondents who said they expect to hire IT workers in 2010.

1. Programming/Application Development
Among companies that plan to hire, the top reason for doing so is to meet demand for new systems and projects. That could be why programming/application development is the skill set that's most in demand, by far, according to Computerworld's survey.

"We're actually seeing new projects get the green light," says Dave Willmer, executive director of IT staffing firm Robert Half Technology. Quite possibly, he says, these were projects that were canceled at the end of 2008, only to be revived for 2010. The wave of new projects is also leading to demand for application developers who can double as business analysts and project managers, Willmer says.

Specifically, companies will look for developers with knowledge of .Net, Java, Web development, open source and portal technologies such as Microsoft Corp.'s Sharepoint, says Willmer, who is a Computerworld columnist.

Demand is growing for people who know specialized programming languages like Ruby on Rails and AJAX. There aren't many jobs that require those skills, but the number of openings has increased since January 2009.

Employers would like to find a "hybrid" software developer who can also serve as a business analyst. They need someone who can talk to the business and be a requirements gatherer, project manager and software developer, all rolled into one. They also needs developers with open-source expertise - a rare talent, as well as professionals familiar with Microsoft tools for the ERP and marketing intelligence sides of the business.

Willmer says it makes sense that companies are looking for developers with skills in other areas, such as business analysis or even quality assurance, since employers are concerned about the cost of talent. Obviously, they're making sure they get the most out of their resources.

2. Help Desk/Technical Support
It's no surprise that there will be strong demand for the people who make the help desk hum in 2010, says Tom Silver, senior vice president for North America at Dice Holdings Inc., which operates Dice.com and other careers Web sites. The need for support technicians tends to reflect general business conditions, he says. "As the business starts to improve, companies hire more people, which increases demand for help desk staff," Silver explains.

Willmer says he's already seeing a rise in demand for help desk and support skills, especially among companies that cut too deeply in this area in 2009. "They can get away with it for a certain time period, but it eventually catches up and affects revenue," he says. Instead of offering full-time positions, however, some companies are hiring on a project basis, he adds.

3. Networking
The demand for networking professionals, Willmer says, is likely connected to the growing complexity of networks and to the stresses placed on them by virtualization and newly popular approaches to application delivery, such as cloud computing and software as a service.

Network will be a big area of focus in the coming year. Energy Northwest is making increasing use of video and voice over its IP network, so it will need network, voice and radio engineers to handle upgrades and ensure compliance with new federal mandates. One of those mandates requires the company to move from wideband to narrowband radio frequencies.

Scottrade will be dabbling with a converged infrastructure in the next 12 months, driving a need for people with a mix of server, software and networking skills to support networked storage and server devices contained in a single chassis. This will change the market for the type of people they need. It won't be just a guy who knows EMC and Hitachi storage, but someone who knows server, storage and networking all in one device. They will need a guy who says, “The network has a problem here.” But when he traces it down, the problem is due to a lock on a table in the storage device.

4. Project Management
Silver sees project management as an area that is growing in importance and a good avenue for technology professionals interested in building up their careers. Professionals who understand technology and how it fits in the overall business strategy are the ones who add the most value, get paid more and have the most fulfilling careers.

5. Security
Willmer sees a relationship between demand for security skills and the still-shaky economy. "The biggest threat to companies is breaches by their own staff," he says. "When you throw in changes to the staff and disgruntled employees losing their benefits or facing the threat of being laid off, you increase the chances of network fraud or security infringement."

Employers are concentrating on hiring people with cybersecurity skills. Ten years ago, they didn't worry about things like passwords. Now they are making sure they support complex passwords.

6. Business Intelligence
Computerworld's survey respondents ranked business intelligence skills as No. 6 in importance.

Employers would like to find data architect to help with conversion from nonstandard business intelligence system and miscellaneous reporting tools to an enterprise standard. More important than a BI expert, though, are programmer/analysts who can relate the nitty-gritty of data tables, database joins and data structure to business requirements. That's what employers are finding to be more valuable to them at this stage in getting BI established and used by a business.

So how do your credentials and experience stack up?
You will need the relevant formal education, certifications and experience to win these opportunities. Make sure your resume supports these requirements, your key words target the technology acronyms, your certification credentials are current and you will be positioned for success in 2010 – Best of luck in the new year – Denny

Hot Skills for 2010

2009-12-03T09:05:00.007-07:00

Image by davdunc via Flickr

IT consulting firm Foote Partners, has once again gathered and analyzed data from several sources, including technology spending projections from major research firms along with wage and salary data gathered through interviews with IT managers and professionals. It's produced a list of the IT skills commanding the highest pay premiums during the previous quarter.

In addition to its reflective look, the firm also projected the certified and non-certified technology skills that will be highly coveted by employers over the next three to six months. Here are the top five skills in each category for 2010:

Non-certified Skills

SAP SRM (Supplier Relationship Management)
Linux
SAP SCM (Supply Chain Management)
C++
Microsoft Commerce Server

Certified Skills

Red Hat Certified Engineer
Cisco IP Contact Center Express Specialist
GIAC Certified Incident Handler
Systems Security Certified Practitioner
Cisco Certified Design Expert

I found several things on this list to be odd - like C++ and would have expected to see more certifications supporting Healthcare IT, SaaS, Cloud Computing etc. I suspect this list is much more reflected then looking forward.

Cloud Computing 101 - HP SchoolCloud

2009-11-19T09:36:00.002-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

Hewlett-Packard had a mega-briefing this week about thin client and client virtualization technology. One of the “products” that the company’s partners should consider studying most closely is something called HP SchoolCloud.

As you might gather from the name, this is an offering that ascribes to the cloud philosophy of aggregating applications and IT services in a central server location. In this case, it is a private cloud that a solution provider can assemble for a K-12 school using HP servers, thin client hardware and a service called ClassLink that serves out applications and data to students, administrators and teachers.

The touted benefits include cost savings in terms of management, better visibility into what students are actually doing with their assignments, and the ability to accommodate more individualize learning needs. Remote access support allows the same audience to grab information from their home computer (ANY home computer, even a Macintosh).

The Hudson Falls Central School District, which is one of HP’s poster accounts for this technology, went from managing 1,400 computers to running their applications off 10 servers. Here’s a video with more information about the account.

And here is more information about HP SchoolCloud.

Some of the solution providers that I speak with in the course of my journalist and analyst life question their role in cloud computing, suggesting that they’ll be cut out of the equation. HP SchoolCloud is a great example of why this thinking might be short-sighted. The real opportunity isn’t in selling cloud to your existing customers. Yes, you may lose some of them. The magic lies in all the new prospects you’ll be able to reach through innovative applications of the cloud concept.

TrainingIndustry.com announces – 2009 Top 20 IT Training Companies

2009-11-18T21:00:00.000-07:00

TrainingIndustry.com announces its second annual Top 20 List for the IT Training market. IT training companies on the list represent the best in class organizations focused on the IT skills marketplace as determined by TrainingIndustry.com.

“TrainingIndustry.com’s review committee worked to ensure a comprehensive view of the IT training sector to include companies that demonstrate outstanding capabilities in the design, delivery and management of training services,” said Doug Harward, Chief Executive Officer of Training Industry, Inc. “Companies recognized are those that focus on providing great training programs and lead the market in their approach.”

This year’s list only includes IT training companies who provide training services beyond their own company’s IT related products.

Selection to this year's Top 20 Companies in the IT Training Industry was based on the following criteria:

o Commitment to the IT training industry
o Industry recognition and innovation
o Talent of corporate leadership and professional staff
o Revenue generated or company size
o Potential for growth in IT training services
o Strength of clients
o Demonstrated leadership in shaping the IT training Industry
o Geographic reach

Congratulations to:

Aptech Global Learning Solutions
ExecuTrain
Logica
Element K & NIIT Limited
RWD Technologies
Learning Tree
RedHat
QA
Citrix Systems
InfoPro Learning
CGS - Computer Generated Solutions
Sun Microsystems
Global Knowledge
SkillSoft
Kaplan IT Learning
HP
Dell Education Services
New Horizons Computer Learning
IBM
Fast Lane Consulting and Education, Inc

The 2009 Top IT Training Companies list is intended for the buyer of training services, to help in the procurement process when evaluating a vendor.

For additional information on Top 20 – IT Training Companies, email info@trainingindustry.com

Cisco Education Specializations Help Customers Identify Qualified Learning Partners

2009-10-26T16:26:00.008-06:00

Image by densaer via Flickr

Earlier this month, Cisco announced the availability of Cisco® Channel Education Specializations. The newly released specializations help customers identify Cisco Learning Partners that offer advanced training expertise in specific, sophisticated network technologies.

Andres Sintes, global director, Worldwide Learning Partner Channel for Cisco, said:

“As Cisco continues to focus on an architectural view of the network, the launch of these education specializations will identify Cisco Learning Partners with specific knowledge and skills in technology areas that are more crucial than ever. With this advanced training achievement, Learning Partners will be able to differentiate themselves and can further demonstrate their expertise in providing advanced technology training, which in turn enables Cisco customers to deploy specific technology and business solutions with greater confidence.”

As a select group of partners authorized by Cisco to deliver technical, certification, product and solutions training, Cisco Learning Partners are uniquely qualified to develop, customize and deliver market-leading training on the latest advances in Cisco technology to customers and partners worldwide.

Key Facts/ Highlights:

Cisco Channel Education Specializations recognize the ability of participating Learning Partners to sell and deliver, using certified instructors, the complete set of Cisco authorized courses and certifications specific to a Cisco advanced technology.
Learning Partners that achieve one or more advanced Education Specializations are highlighted in the Cisco Channel Partner Locator, enabling the identification of Learning Partners with specific expertise to deliver advanced technology training.
There are more than 350 Cisco Authorized Learning Partners globally.

Specializations:

There are four levels of technology specializations (Entry, Express, Advanced and Master), each representing greater capabilities in sales, technical and lifecycle services.
Education Specializations are aligned with the Cisco Channel Partner Program advanced technology specializations.
Education Specializations are earned by Cisco Authorized Learning Partners who meet requirements in two key areas: training/exam requirements and role requirements within the company.

The following Channel Education Specializations are currently available:

Education Specialization-Advanced Data Center Network Infrastructure
Education Specialization-Advanced Data Center Storage Networking
Education Specialization-Advanced Routing and Switching
Education Specialization-Advanced Security
Education Specialization-Advanced Unified Communications
Education Specialization-Advanced Wireless LAN

For more information vist Cisco at: http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/le27/learning_learning_partner_connection_home.html

Microsoft Releases 1st Windows 7 Course

2009-10-12T09:24:00.003-06:00

Image via CrunchBase

The first training course for the first certification offering for Microsoft's Windows 7 to be released next week - Installing and Configuring Windows 7 Client - Course 6292A will be released on October 22. This course helps students prepare for the Exam 70-680, TS: Windows 7, Configuring.

This three-day instructor-led course is intended for IT professionals who are interested in expanding their knowledge base and technical skills about Windows 7 Client. In this course, students learn how to install, upgrade, and migrate to Windows 7 client. Students then configure Windows 7 client for network connectivity, security, maintenance, and mobile computing.

Audience Profile

This course is intended for IT professionals who are interested in:

Expanding their knowledge base and technical skills about Windows 7 Client.
Acquiring deep technical knowledge of Windows 7.
Learning the details of Windows 7 technologies.
Focusing on the "how to" associated with Windows 7 technologies.

Most of these professionals use some version of Windows client at their work place and are looking at new and better ways to perform some of the current functions.

At Course Completion

After completing this course, students will be able to:

Perform a clean installation of Windows 7, upgrade to Windows 7, and migrate user-related data and settings from an earlier version of Windows.
Configure disks, partitions, volumes, and device drivers to enable a Windows 7 client computer.
Configure file access and printers on a Windows 7 client computer.
Configure network connectivity on a Windows 7 client computer.
Configure wireless network connectivity on a Windows 7 client computer.
Secure Windows 7 client desktop computers.
Optimize and maintain the performance and reliability of a Windows 7 client computer.
Configure mobile computing and remote access settings for a Windows 7 client computer.

With fewer than two weeks until Windows 7 is out, interest in the operating system is spiking. I expect quick and broad adoption of Windows 7. I also expect high interest from IT professionals wanting to obtaining Windows 7 certification to differentiate themselves and get a edge on those not so eager or able to invest this early.