Even as competition continues to heat up in the server virtualization world, virtualization market leader VMware continues to dominate in yet another area of the technology - certifications. Love 'em or leave 'em, those pieces of paper in the IT world can sometimes help an organization track down and identify key employee candidates to fill much needed positions. And right now, it can be frustrating and difficul Even as competition continues to heat up in the server virtualization world, virtualization market leader VMware continues to dominate in yet another area of the technology – certifications. Love ’em or leave ’em, those pieces of paper in the IT world can sometimes help an organization track down and identify key employee candidates to fill much needed positions. And right now, it can be frustrating and difficult for an organization to find “virtualization experts”, so finding potential candidates with a certification certainly helps.And VMware is further adding to their growing list of certifications. Recently, the company announced a new addition, the VMware Certified Design Expert (VCDX) on VMware Infrastructure 3. This certification is an advanced certification program for VMware Authorized Consultant (VAC) partners who are already VMware Certified Professionals (VCP) and who want to take their VMware virtualization expertise up a notch. The new VCDX program is for architects who design VMware enterprise deployments. The program measures technical professionals’ abilities to assess their customers’ needs and teaches them to design VMware Infrastructure deployments for an enterprise datacenter, as well as implement, test, document and then present the design. As of now, this certification represents the highest level of technical expertise in VMware virtualization. To become a VMware Certified Design Expert, candidates must complete four core validation components: Must be certified as a VMware Certified Professional (VCP) on VMware Infrastructure 3. Pass the VMware Enterprise Administration Exam. Includes live labs and tests a higher level of skill set than the exam for VCP on VMware Infrastructure 3. Pass the VMware Design Exam. This exam focuses on actual design scenarios and contains simulations and situational questions. Submit, present and defend a successful VMware Infrastructure design and implementation plan.The Enterprise Exam is available this month, and you can already view the blueprint for it. More information is available on VMware’s certification Web site. Software Development