What can happen to future IT certifications

Today I want to share some reflections on what we can expect in terms of certifications in the networking area in the coming years.

I do not have or am referring to specific information on the orientation that manufacturers are giving to their certification programs, but rather to the current situation of information and communication technologies, and how we could expect that this will impact certification plans in the years to come. Communications technologies are at a particular moment in their development and deployment:

At a simplistic first glance, we can easily see that communication networks are progressively more extensive and complex.

Both in the public network (Internet) and in corporate and home networks, the number and variety of connected devices are growing rapidly. And the variety of technologies implemented, although it seems to be simplifying, is actually getting bigger and bigger.

Today homes are progressively more connected, vehicles tend to be connected, people are connected, companies are increasingly dependent on their communications systems, the Internet becomes ubiquitous and we have extended our regular connections to outer space (orbital space station , remote satellite system, etc.).

The implementation of the Internet of Everything is already a reality that many of us carry in our pockets in the form of smartphones, but above all it has a very important role in the reformulation of productive activities.

And to the Internet of Everything we must add connectivity everywhere, the 5G soon to be put into production, the convergence of OT and IT, automation, artificial intelligence, etc. All seasonings that enhance and accelerate the fourth industrial revolution.

Artificial intelligence, augmented reality, automation, virtualization are now also technologies that are used on the same network infrastructure. And with this increases the tendency to go from a traditional network management, basically reactive, to a clearly predictive management.

And when we project this trend to infrastructure and data security, here we are also moving from reactive approaches to a clearly preventive and anticipatory security management model.

This means, at the same time, new generations of devices and operating systems, new advanced management and monitoring tools, and consequently new ways of working.

In line with this situation, there are new specific technological proposals in the networking area:

A new architecture: Software Defined Network (SDN).

A new type of device: virtualized devices, virtualization-capable operating systems and automation.

A new network management model: centralized, proactive and predictive, based on applications, with a holistic vision of the network and that exploits the possibilities of big data and analytics

The technical certifications and training developed by the different manufacturers are prepared based on the job profiles to which they seek to respond. Those job profiles are changing today. From a management based on command line access, some graphical interface and SNMP-based monitoring, we are moving to centralized and automated management systems, based on applications, with multiple cross-information resources from multiple devices managed in an integral way.

In this context, there are capabilities on the part of the operator, the technician, which are beginning to stand out and that until now were not so relevant. The rote knowledge of commands and the mastery of manual procedures begins to no longer be necessary, at the same time that little by little the capacity for comprehensive understanding of the operation, creativity, the capacity for innovation and lateral thinking acquires relief.

This is why the knowledge and skills that should be required change. It is increasingly necessary to have:

.Deep knowledge of TCP / IP operation, associated protocols, and control plane protocols.

In-depth knowledge of the available features and their impact on the operation of the network.

Knowledge of the operation of both wireless and wired networks.

Knowledge of the basic principles of computer security and the different attack mechanisms.

Understanding of the dynamics of traffic flow within the network.

Ability to interpret monitoring results and alarms.

Configuration skills via command line or graphical interface lose relevance.

The importance of the interpretation and analysis capacity of monitoring tools is growing.

Advanced diagnostic skills are required via command line (show, debug, etc.).

Perhaps oversimplifying, I usually say that progressively it will not be as important to know how to configure OSPF by command line (an application will facilitate the task) as to be able to understand the impact, for example, of defining an area as stub and what is of expected to be displayed in the routing table and topology database. The problem will not be to become aware of the existence of a problem (another application will alert us and show the related information) but to understand the impact of this and have the necessary skill to determine what is the best solution. Does this mean that it changes the CCNA and CCNP certifications? I really don't know . I cannot affirm it or do futurology.

But what I am clear about is that this trend will at some point have an impact on the certifications of technologies related to the network infrastructure and its security. And if this does not happen, the labor demand will demand it.

Therefore, whether or not some certifications change, SDN, network programmability, Python (as a programming language), the new tools, are topics in which we must begin to train. This is only a personal reflection, I hope it is useful.