By Steve Philp, The Open Group
With the launch of the new Open Group website this week, we have taken the opportunity to rebrand our two skills- and experience-based certification programs. The IT Architect Certification (ITAC) program has now become The Open Group Certified Architect (Open CA) program. The IT Specialist Certification (ITSC) program has now become The Open Group Certified IT Specialist (Open CITS) program.
The new website (and our new logo for that matter) places much more emphasis on the word “Open”. This is one of the reasons for us changing the names away from something that is not readily associated with The Open Group (i.e. ITAC) to something that is more recognizable as an Open Group certification, i.e. Open CA. However, besides the name change, there hasn’t been any changes made to the way in which either program operates. For example, the Open CA program still requires candidates to submit a comprehensive certification package detailing their skills and experience gained on working on architecture-related projects, followed by a rigorous peer review process.
The Open CA program still currently focuses on IT-related work. However, the architecture profession is constantly evolving and to reflect this, The Open Group will incorporate dedicated Business Architecture and Enterprise Architecture streams into the Open CA program at some point in the near future. Our members are working on defining the core skills that an architect needs to have and the specific competencies one needs for each of these three specialist areas. Therefore, going forward, applicants will be able to become an Open CA in:
- IT Architecture
- Business Architecture
- Enterprise Architecture
There are approximately 3,200 individuals who are certified in our Open CA program, and by broadening the scope of the program we hope to certify many more architects. There are more than 2,300 certified IT Specialists in the Open CITS program, and many organizations around the world have identified this type of skills- and experienced-based program as a necessary part of the process to develop their own internal IT profession frameworks.
Open CA and Open CITs can be used in the recruitment process and help to guarantee a consistent and quality assured service on project proposals, procurements and on service level agreements. They can also help in the assessment of individuals in specific IT domains and provide a roadmap for their future career development. You can find out more about our programs by visiting the professional certification area of our website.
Steve Philp is the Marketing Director for the Open CA and Open CITS certification programs at The Open Group. Over the past 20 years, Steve has worked predominantly in sales, marketing and general management roles within the IT training industry. Based in Reading, UK, he joined the Open Group in 2008 to promote and develop the organization’s skills and experience-based IT certifications.
