“The new products are aimed at providing organizations, IT professionals and executives with improved opportunities for managing IT functions, expanding productivity and increasing revenue,” NetCom explains in an announcement. “NetCom Learning has been hosting a series of technology events as part of Microsoft’s What’s New in Microsoft Technologies providing an overview of the new products and capabilities.”

“Microsoft SharePoint 2013 training at NetCom Learning provides IT professionals with key training in IT communications for their professional development and provides the expertise their employers need to increase productivity, improve work collaboration, share knowledge within an organization, and move to a Cloud environment,” says CEO Russell Sarder.

Prerequisites include MCSA Windows Server 2012 certification (which covers Installing and Configuring Windows Server 2012), Administering Windows Server 2012, and Configuring Advanced Windows Server 2012 Services.

More details in the release.

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“At Samsung, our philosophy is to ‘design for humans’ and be ‘inspired by nature’. So by design our products are not just smart and easy to use, they also strive to achieve the highest environmental standards,” said Bill Skeates, Head of Sustainability, Samsung Electronics Europe. “Yes, our customers want to own a great smartphone, but they also want to be responsible consumers, and the Galaxy S III helps them to do both. Measuring the carbon footprint helps us to understand the environmental impact of our mobile phones and identify where we can continue to improve. Samsung aims to calculate the carbon footprint for all of its mobile flagship devices.”

Samsung began their journey into eco-friendly manufacturing in 2009 with the Green Management Strategy. Since then, the company has developed “innovative solutions for environmentally friendly products.” As such, the company “reviews the production, usage, and end-of-life disposal of its handsets.”

“The number of mobile devices, like smartphones in use worldwide is growing exponentially, so it’s important that they meet key environmental standards. We are very pleased that Samsung is showing industry leadership here,” said Darran Messem, Managing Director, Certification at the Carbon Trust. “Samsung not only submits its smartphones for independent assessment, but is also taking action to improve the environmental performance of its products.”

Samsung is expected to announce a new 10-inch tablet alongside Google at an Android event next week. The same eco-friendly manufacturing practices will surely be used in the creation of said device. It could be used as a good company image boost for both Samsung and Google.

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“This report dispels the notion that the best days for IT jobs have passed with the bursting of the .com bubble in 2000 and the practice of off-shoring today,”, the IT & Innovation Foundation stated.

With these jobs which were created, the sector is on the increase. As more advanced technologies sprout, along with new certifications necessary to understand these technologies, education has become more important than ever.

Microsoft realizes all of this, and anticipates that cloud computing will triumph–SQL Server 2012 is being billed as ‘The Cloud Ready Information Platform’ if that says anything–so the company has done a lot of work lately to make its certifications more relevant in the
cloud era. On that note, the company has announced a few paths to SQL Server 2012 Certification over at Microsoft|Learning.

The base SQL Server certification is now the MCSA (Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate).
If you you hold any MCTS on SQL Server 2008, you’re two exams away from the MCSA: SQL Server 2012.

Greenhorns will have to take three exams instead:

• Exam 461: Querying Microsoft SQL Server 2012
• Exam 462: Administering a Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Database
• Exam 463: Implementing Data Warehouses with Microsoft SQL Server 2012

See Microsoft’s page on the subject for the details.

Once you have the MCSA: SQL Server 2012, you might want to extend and specialize your knowledge a bit. You can do that by picking up an MCSE (Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert).
There are two to choose from:

• MCSE: SQL Server 2012/Business Intelligence
• MCSE: SQL Server 2012/Data Platform

The linked pages have all the details.

The Linux exam is aimed at junior administrators, and assesses whether the candidate is able to provide basic network security and support in their business environment. The Upward Mobility application contains just over 100 questions, with options to take a practice test using them, consisting of any number of questions and duration you wish.

Like the actual exam, the Application’s questions cover the following core knowledge areas: installation and management of Linux, system architecture, Unix and GNU commands, Linux file systems, the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard, and Linux compatible devices.

This application should not be used as your sole study aid in such a complex environment as Linux systems management, but is a definite must for quick study sessions while on the go. The price makes me want to purchase this application and I’m not even planning to get certified. You can pick this app up on Android for $4.99 where it is rated 4.9/5.

While you’re at it, check out Upward Mobility’s other study apps, which all come at a good price as far as practice exams go. You can find their full list of CompTIA study aids here or view all the exam training they offer here.

Of course, according to executive director of (ISC)2 W. Hord Tipton, as reported by SC Magazine, reports their accreditations are not suffering. Just in December of last year (2011) 3,700 exams where taken and those successful (about half) can expect to make an average of $98k annually as opposed to $78k without.

So, until the study is completed with the comprehensive certification values, which certifications should you attempt to fill your staff with? According to a report by WebWire you should aim for CompTIA Security+, CISSP and CEH. All three of these certifications show a comprehensive knowledge of cyber security. CISSP requires 5 years of security experience and covers 10 areas, while the CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker) covers “19 modules focusing on subjects like viruses and session hijacking.”

Say hello to the Preferred Marketing Developer Program. It’s designed to “bring developers to the right clients and making it possible for any brand or company to find consultants who can work with them to build comprehensive Facebook campaigns and presences.” This essentially means that brands can easily find the right company for the job while the company finds themselves decent work. It’s a win-win scenario for everyone.

The consolidation seems to have worked too since Facebook has seen 141 companies from 20 countries apply for the PMD program. This means that there are now 232 PMDs operating out of 35 countries. That’s a massive collective of developers that any client would love to have access to.

The new program doesn’t just stop there though. Facebook has made it faster and easier for developers to submit and find brands to work with. The first change is the way clients can find developers. The new search tool lets you find a developer by qualification, business model and customers served.

Developers can now show “specific expertise with Pages, Ads, apps and Insights” on their Web sites or the look up tool page. Here’s an example of how it will look on the look up tool:

To ease marketers and developers into the world of Facebook ad development, the company has created a new help page that features all the information you need to get started.

Finally, Facebook has revamped the submission form so that developers can apply whenever they’re ready. This is a massive change from before where developers could only apply during periodic rounds.

If you’re still not sold on the PMD program, Facebook has some stats to share on how the program has helped other developer groups grow and become more profitable. Vitrue, a Facebook marketing developer, grew from 66 to 180 employees in a year after joining the program. This allowed them to expand internationally by opening up five offices.

There are other success stories as well, but the main point is that this is an easy way for a developer to get noticed by large brands looking to get the word out on social media. Facebook is still a great place for businesses to push their brand and they need the talent of developers to make it happen. The PMD program seems to be the right fit for both parties.

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Preparing

I work in the Analytics interface every day, but I knew that in order to pass this exam, I had a lot more to learn and practice. To start, Google has helpful preparation lessons they call “Conversion University.” They are a set of videos broken into four categories:

• First Steps
• Interpreting Reports
• Fundamentals and
• In-Depth Analysis

The narrators do a good job of walking you through the interface and various reports, as well as the technical side of Analytics. However, it is a lot of information to take at once. If you’re like me and not a note taker, I’d recommend reading along using the “Notes” tab on the videos. This will help you absorb all the technical lingo, especially if you’re not very familiar with Analytics. There are 21 videos total, each anywhere from 3 to 10 minutes long. This makes it easy to take breaks in between studying.

Take note of areas you are still unclear of after watching the videos. Because in addition, you can use Google Analytics Help Center articles to supplement your areas of weakness. Note: if you use the new version of Analytics (released last November), make sure you are looking at the correct Help Center articles. The Conversion University videos are updated for the new version.

And finally, you can study and read all you want, but nothing beats experience. Go into Analytics after each video and practice what they demonstrate. Make sure you understand:

• various reporting tools
• goal setup and interpretation
• Analytics Intelligence
• difference between metrics & dimensions
• Analytics tracking, etc.

Taking the Exam

The Analytics certification exam was more challenging than the AdWords certification exams, but the process of taking the Analytics is a bit less stressful. It gives you 90 minutes to answer 70 questions, but you can pause the test at any point and have 5 days to take it from the time you start it.

There are several of the dreaded “multiple answer” questions that you will want to be careful with. So I suggest taking your time and answering ten to fifteen questions at a time, taking small breaks to give your mind a rest. I took the test in one night, but I still felt confident about all of my answers when it came time to submit.

In conclusion, this is another great certification from Google that ensures the qualified individual is well-versed in Analytics. But there is no reason you can’t pass if you are well prepared and are smart about how you take the exam. Good luck!

Look for the second part of my Google Analytics Certification Exam post later this week. I will talk about the importance of Analytics and the benefits of having the certification.

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