In the past couple of years the industry recognized that a single VMware certification–the VMware Certified Professional (VCP) –was not sufficient to encompass the wide range of competencies customers’ VMware teams require. The introduction of the VMware Certified Design Expert (VCDX) recognized the pinnacle of VMware design knowledge. But a wide chasm remained between VCP and VCDX.
Very few customers and partners require the full-time support of a VCDX. Most customers with even a modest VMware environment know the VCP certification does not measure enough design and administration skills. To address this, in 2011 we saw the introduction of the VMware Certified Advanced Professional (VCAP).
As a member of the VMware partner community, I can tell you EMC highly values the VCAP certification for our pre-sales roles. As a hiring manager, I consider the VCP the minimum proficiency for anyone that will sell into today’s enterprise. But technical sales experts and evangelists that brandish the VCAP-DCD or VCAP-DCA can engage in deep technical discussions on customers’ virtualization plans. This is a great asset if you want to work for infrastructure vendors, resellers, or integrators.