Microsoft Certified Architect qualification launches

Microsoft launched a new certification programme for senior IT architects yesterday [13 June], designed to test soft skills, such as  communication and leadership, as well as technical understanding.

The Microsoft Certified Architect (MCA) qualification, which covers non-Microsoft as well as Microsoft technologies, has been in beta testing for over a year, and is typically aimed at IT professionals with over 10 years of experience and three years as a practicing architect, the company said.

Certification is granted by a four-person peer review board, which assesses candidates' skills in seven areas: technical depth, technical breadth, communication, organisational dynamics, leadership, strategy, and tactics.

Microsoft said candidates must also demonstrate to the board that they can strategically balance business needs with technology to provide optimal solutions and must also display leadership qualities ranging from selling solutions to executives to mentoring staff.

The certification is available for three disciplines: "MCA: Infrastructure" and "MCA: Solutions", which cover the entire IT landscape; and "MCA: Messaging" , which assesses understanding of messaging systems.

Alongside certification, candidates also receive feedback from the review board, including advice on future career development. The structure of the new scheme was welcomed by Jim Wilt, chief software architect for Metrics Reporting, who earned a Solutions Architect credential early in the beta phase of the programme and has participated on four review boards.

"What I really like is whether you pass or fail, you get an hour to two hours of deliberation on your skills, what you do well, and what you need to do to improve yourself," Wilt said in a statement. "It includes what books to read, what classes to take, things in the industry you should do, and people you should shadow."

Microsoft said the new certifications would be useful for firms hiring high-level software architects. "Everybody can throw 'I'm an architect' on their business card or résumé, but how do you know they really are?" said Wilt. "The MCA credential gives you that discernment that this really is an architect."

In a similar move, IT trade and certification body Comptia earlier this month announced it would revamp its own Comptia A+ entry-level qualification for IT professionals to better assess their business skills as well as technical understanding.