Training and skills development are key indicators of IT team success. Make sure that the technology professionals you hire and supervise can take your organization to the next level. Learn how Microsoft Certification can help you optimize the use of Microsoft tools and solutions.
As an IT department manager, one of your biggest challenges is ensuring that your IT team has the IT training, Microsoft certifications, and skills it needs to get ahead. Now more than ever, the technology professionals you recruit, hire, and supervise need to make a direct impact on productivity, business efficiency, and the bottom line. Take advantage of Microsoft Certification, IT training, guidance, and resources to help optimize your technology investment.
IT projects and challengesWhat are you working on? Cutting costs? Consolidating infrastructure and simplifying data center management? Supporting end-users? Improving communications and collaboration? Review IT job role recommendations and key learning resources to help your IT team get the job done.
Special offersGet your team certified with a Microsoft Certification Exam Pack for IT managers. Save 15 percent on a specially priced 10-exam voucher pack that includes free retake offers.
Resources and educationIdentify certified candidates and develop the right IT skill sets on your team. Use these resources, tools, and educational materials to help ensure that your team is maximizing its potential.
Advisory councilsMeet the professionals. There are two advisory councils that represent the IT manager community: Team North America and Team Europe.
Live Meetings for IT managersJoin a Live Meeting designed specifically for managers of IT professionals and developers.
Learning SolutionsInvest in skills development. Help drive immediate gains in employee productivity, organizational efficiency, and competitiveness. Solutions include several programs, as follows:
Find out more about the value of Microsoft Certification l Sign up to receive offers exclusively for IT team managers l Get answers about training and certification
Review the following projects and find the one that is on your priority list—we will help you make sure that your team is ready to get the job done. A highly skilled and trained IT department is optimized, runs efficiently, and can successfully implement and support key applications and technologies. Review the recommended job roles to see the training resources and certifications that map to specific IT needs and Microsoft technologies.
Consolidate and virtualizeConsolidate and virtualize servers, desktops, and applications so you can lower hardware, facility, and energy costs.
Recommended job roles:
Improve communications and collaborationHelp keep your costs and security concerns under control by removing the barriers between your employees, partners, and customers.
Recommended job role:
Optimize your desktop environment Save money, enhance security, streamline management, and boost user productivity virtually anywhere.
Modernize your serversEliminate server sprawl, cut hardware and energy costs, and help improve IT reliability, security, availability, and scalability.
Make better decisionsGet the right information to the right people, in the right place, at the right time to make the critical decisions that keep your business competitive.
Connect systemsBuild organizational efficiencies by implementing the right solutions within your organization across all web and client user experiences.
View video: What Hiring Managers Need to KnowView a short, interactive video to learn more about current Microsoft Certifications, how to match a job role to the relevant certification, how to identify qualified candidates, and more.
Whether your team needs to update skills, prepare for deployment, or validate training, Microsoft Certification can help your team get ahead.Explore these resources to find out how your organization can use certification to boost productivity and get the most out of your technology investment.
Understand the value of certification
Hire and retain top professionals
Take advantage of other resources
White papers and articlesLearn how performance improves when IT team members hold Microsoft Certifications.
Redmond Magazine: Certification Matters: Why IT Managers Should Care PDF file (1.58 MB) XPS file (1.68 MB)
IDC Whitepaper. Value of Certification: Team Certification and Organizational Performance PDF file (154 KB) XPS file (190 KB)
Get More Bang for Your Buck with a Microsoft-Certified Staff PDF file (315 KB) XPS file (335 KB)
A Comprehensive Look at the Value of Microsoft Certification PDF file (662 KB) XPS file (865 KB)
Career Factor: The reality showFollow the real-life struggles and successes of Simon, a principal software engineer who wants to get his team certified to meet Microsoft Partner competency requirements. Follow Simon and eight others as they work to start or improve their careers in the IT world.
Learn more about Simon on the Career Factor website
Video: IT Interview Gone WrongWatch this humorous video to see how a certified candidate compares with other job seekers.
Why hire an MCP?When you hire a Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP), your company benefits from a technically proficient professional who has hands-on experience and in-depth knowledge.
Microsoft CertificationsExplore Microsoft Certifications that will benefit your business.
Video: Renegade Retention Strategies for a Top Performing IT StaffView this presentation by John Reed, executive director of Robert Half Technology, to learn about:
Innovative ideas for re-engaging, motivating, and retaining essential IT staff
What IT employees value most in their jobs
Creative approaches to compensation, benefits, training, career advancement, and work-life balance
Video: Microsoft Certification ‒ What Hiring Managers Need to KnowView this quick and interactive video to learn about:
The current Microsoft Certification family
How to match an IT job role to the relevant Microsoft Certification
How to identify qualified candidates
IT Hiring Manager KitRead this guide to Microsoft Certification, specifically geared to hiring managers and recruiters. PDF file (2.82 MB) XPS file (1.5 MB)
Post jobs and view resumesPost jobs and find Microsoft-certified candidates for your IT and developer positions.
Visit MSEmploy (Msemploy.com)
Visit Career Builder (CareerBuilder.com)
IT manager special: Certification Exam PacksGet your team certified with a specially priced 10-exam voucher pack that includes free exam retakes.
Exclusive offersSign up to receive offers and resources exclusively for IT team managers.
Learning Plan for IT managersThis Learning Plan is intended to help IT managers, CIOs, and other IT decision makers learn about the latest line of Microsoft server technologies.
Core Infrastructure Optimization: Learning SnackWatch this Learning Snack to learn how the Core Infrastructure Optimization (Core IO) model can help organizations improve the current state of their IT infrastructure in terms of cost, security, and agility.
Find a Microsoft Learning PartnerFind classroom and online training offered by Microsoft Learning Partners in your local area.
Visit our Born to Learn blogVisit Born to Learn for the latest news about training and certification.
Live Meetings for Managers is a Microsoft Office Live Meeting series created specifically for managers of IT professionals and developers. Attend a Live Meeting or view the following recordings to learn more about training, certification, and tools to improve team performance.
Upcoming events
(Note On-demand recordings will be available approximately three weeks after the event)
Title
Register for event
Windows 7 is ushering in a new era on the desktop. Many organizations have not updated their desktops in many years—since their original Windows XP deployments. And during this time, many important components have changed and progressed. This means that the task is not as simple as replacing Windows XP with Windows 7. Rather, you need an optimized desktop solution to easily take advantage of all of these technologies and help enable your desktops to be productive long into the future. Stephen Rose will show you how to weave technologies such as Windows 7, Microsoft Office 2010, the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP), and desktop virtualization technologies into a coherent desktop strategy.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011 at 8:00 A.M. Pacific Time
(What time is this in my region?)
Join Ruth Martin, Microsoft Technology Advisor, for a discussion around BPOS and how cloud computing will change the game for IT managers and organizations. Ruth will address what you need to think about from a business perspective, what skills are necessary, and how to look at your team’s roles/responsibilities in the new light of the cloud.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011 at 8:00 A.M. Pacific Standard Time
Are you facing challenges getting your staff the skills and training they need? In this meeting you will learn the about the various remote training options that are available to you and hear about some of the best practices for planning and executing a successful remote training initiative. You will see how real companies have leveraged technology and smart planning to reduce cost and increase training efficiency and effectiveness.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011 at 8:00 A.M. Pacific Standard Time
Learn how to use Microsoft Virtualization technologies to solve business problems with a mobile workforce and achieve rapid return on investment (ROI) benefits. Technologies include Hyper-V, Remote Desktop Services, MED-V, FTP-FX client, and System Center Virtual Machine Manager. The session will also provide training and certification plans for further learning.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011 at 8:00 A.M. Pacific Standard Time
View on demand
What Can SharePoint Do For You? Improve Productivity, Efficiency, Agility
Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 helps you cut training and maintenance costs, save time and effort, and focus on higher business priorities. Learn about best practices and what you need to do in order to plan, deploy, manage, and support this product.
Watch the recording
Download the Microsoft PowerPoint slides (PPTX file, 759KB)
Download free sample e-book chapters:
SharePoint 2010 Administrator's Companion (PDF file, 3.9MB)
SharePoint 2010 Administrator's Pocket Consultant (PDF file, 1.4MB)
Renegade Retention Strategies for a Top Performing IT Staff
As the economy improves, organizations must take steps to avoid losing their top performers. Hear about specific, innovative ideas for re-engaging, motivating, and retaining essential IT staff.
Developer Certifications (and Why Your Team Needs Them)
Did you know that Microsoft Certifications for developers are growing faster than Microsoft Certifications for IT professionals? Learn about new training and certifications for developers and why certification is important to your development team.
Download the Microsoft PowerPoint slides (PPTX file, 965KB)
Download the free e-book Moving to Visual Studio 2010 (PDF file, 965KB)
What to Expect from Windows Server 2008 R2: The Top Line View
Get an inside look at the major changes in Windows Server 2008 R2. Find out how the long-range benefits of Windows Server 2008 mesh with your organization’s future plans.
Whatever Happened to the MCSE? (and What’s This MCITP?)
Ken Rosen, Senior Director of Community and Evangelism for Microsoft Learning, explains how some of the current Microsoft certifications —Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS), Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP), and Microsoft Certified Professional Developer (MCPD)— measure up and work together to help you identify skilled candidates and validate knowledge of current Microsoft technologies.
The Truth About Certification Exams
Join psychometrician Liberty Munson for a behind-the-scenes look into how Microsoft works to help ensure that certification exams are a valid measure of technical skills.
The Business Value of Windows 7 – Training for ROI
Robert Kratzke explains how training and MCTS and MCITP certifications on Windows 7 can help insure a successful implementation and provide a faster return on your investment.
Exam Forensics and What Microsoft Is Doing to Catch the Cheaters
Join this Live Meeting to hear what Microsoft and other organizations are doing to protect certification from "brain-dump" providers, proxy test-takers, and score-report fraud. Get a better understanding of the value of Microsoft Certifications.
Get Ahead with Microsoft Software Assurance Benefits
Learn how to lower your training costs and ready your team for Microsoft technologies by maximizing your Software Assurance benefits, including training vouchers, services for deployment, and much more.
Best Practices in IT Staff Skills Development
Join Keith Mayer, Microsoft Certified Learning Consultant, to discover how enterprise organizations are successfully leveraging Microsoft training and certification resources to build structured IT skills development plans.
Purchase a specially priced 10-pack of Microsoft Certification exam vouchers.Microsoft Certification exam vouchers are a flexible and cost-effective way to help certify your IT or developer team. You can distribute vouchers individually to help get team members up-to-speed on new technologies, provide vouchers to groups that are preparing a deployment, or even use certification to help validate skills acquired in training classes.
Includes a free Second Shot retake with every exam.If your employees do not pass the Microsoft Certification exam on the first try, they can retake the same exam at no additional cost to you!
Certify your team! Save 15 percent: Purchase 10 exam vouchers, including free Second Shot retake offers.
Open the Prometric order form and complete the following steps to purchase your exam packs.
Create your account. You will need to supply a user name and password.
After completing the Prometric form, you will receive an email message confirming that your account was created. You must validate your account by clicking the link included in your email message.
Sign in to your Prometric account.
Manage your account information (provide your company and account details).
Click New Order in the left navigation pane:
Voucher group code: 3V
Client name: Microsoft
Click Search
Select IT Manager – Exam 10 Pack
Enter your method of payment.
Note You can use the same user name and password to track your order history and to place your next voucher order.
Distribute your exam vouchers codes within your organization.
If individuals do not pass an exam on the first try, they can schedule a retake exam by using the voucher code from the initial exam.
View all answers
Q. What is the Microsoft Certification exam voucher 10-pack offer?
A.
Team managers can purchase a package of 10 Microsoft Certification exam voucher codes at a 15 percent discount. Each voucher code entitles the user to a Second Shot retake exam. The exam voucher package must be purchased through Prometric, in accordance with Prometric’s payment policies. Prometric will send voucher codes directly to the manager.
Purchase an IT manager Exam Pack now (Prometric.com)
Q. How does the 10-pack work?
Each 10-pack includes 10 unique voucher codes that can be distributed at your discretion. You can give one voucher code to 10 different individuals, or give multiple voucher codes to a few team members. Each team member who receives a voucher can use the voucher code when scheduling the exam through Prometric.
Q. What is the timeframe of the offer?
You must purchase your Exam Pack before June 30, 2011.
Q. What exams can be taken with this voucher?
Each IT manager Exam Pack voucher is valid for any retail Microsoft IT professional, developer, project management, or Microsoft Dynamics exams available at the time of registration. Academic exams are not valid.
Q. When do the exam vouchers expire?
The exam vouchers expire one year from the date of purchase. All exams, including retakes, must be taken on or before the expiration date. After the vouchers expire, they can no longer be used.
Q. Who can use these vouchers?
IT manager Exam Pack vouchers must be used by employees or contractors associated with your organization. You cannot resell these vouchers under any circumstances.
Q. How does the Second Shot work?
If your employee took an exam by using an IT manager Exam Pack voucher code and did not pass, that same individual can register to take one retake of the exam by using the same voucher number given with the initial exam.
Q. When can my employee retake an exam?
All retake timeframes are subject to compliance with the Microsoft Certification Exam Retake rules, which state:If you do not pass an exam the first time, you may retake it at any time. If you do not achieve a passing score a second time, you must wait at least 14 days to retake the exam a third time. A 14-day waiting period will be imposed for all subsequent exam retakes. If you have passed an exam, you cannot take it again. Beta exams may be taken only once.The exam vouchers expire one year from the date of purchase. All exams, including retakes, must be taken on or before the expiration date. After the vouchers expire, they can no longer be used.
Q. Can discounts be combined and stacked?
No. Only one type of discount voucher can be used for each exam. This offer cannot be combined with any other offers or promotions.
Q. Can vouchers be resold?
Any resale of vouchers is expressly prohibited. Vouchers cannot be redeemed for cash, credit, or refund.
Q. What if I have other questions about this offer?
Visit our Get Answers page for additional information and resources about Microsoft Certification and this offer.
Click the following Live Chat button to contact a member of the Microsoft Training and Certification Guidance Team.
Note JavaScript must be enabled in order for you to participate in Live Chat. At this time, Live Chat is available only in English.Hours of operation:Monday through Friday, 5:30–17:00 (5:30 A.M.–5:00 P.M), Pacific Time Zone, continental United States
Members of the Microsoft Learning IT Manager Advisory Council represent IT manager interests and those of the IT community as a whole. The primary objectives for this group are to provide feedback about key Microsoft Learning strategies and products, and to help managers recognize the value of certification. Members share their insights and experiences as IT managers. They are the voice of the community as we develop offers, tools, and materials exclusively for IT managers.
The IT Manager Advisory Council meets in person and via Office Live Meeting four to six times per year. Each member serves for a period of 18 to 24 months. If you are interested in being considered for a position on the IT Manager Advisory Council, download the profile form and save it to your computer. After you complete the form, email it to the person indicated in the profile form.
Team Europe
David AndersManager IT, FDP-Bundestagsfraktion
Nikolaos BalotisAthens Stock Exchange
Simon DavisTeam Manager, Remsdaq Limited
Birgir GunnlaugssonIT Manager, N1hf
Steve MeynsCIO - IT Manager, Skynet
Lorenz MuellerManager, CIO
Thomas Mueller-LynchTeam Manager, Siemens
David NudelmanCIO, Acecla Technology Ltd.
Ole Pallesen JensenSystems Architect, ZitCom A/S
Marcus RobinsonManaging Director, MRICT
Jakob SchwartzSystems Architect, ZitCom A/S
Martin StricklerHead of IT, Uster Technologies AG
Lucy WaideDirector of ICT, Stephen Perse Foundation
Udo WiegaertnerDirector, conplement AG
Team North America
Hector CurielCXO, Computotal CSI
Teresa DavisSupervisor IT Systems & Infrastructure, LCRA
Shelley FediganPresident & CEO, Advanced Technologies Experts, Inc.
Suzanne GeorgeMOSS Development, Silicon Laboratories
Nicolas HussonPrincipal Consultant, NH Consulting
Bob WillerVice President, Technology, Student Voice
Andrew WestDirector of Information Technology, Algiers Charter Schools Association
Douglas SpindlerTechnology Instructor, Diablo Valley College
Phil OleaCXO, Phil Olea Technologies
Daniel PanessitiSr. Consultant, Accenture
Andres PinoPresident & CEO, IT College
David LevinSystems Integration Manager, CompuCom
Lee McGovernVice President, Markit
