11/7/2007 -- One of the biggest certification shakeups in 2007 has to be the decision of the larger vendors (namely, Microsoft and Cisco) to stop supporting both VUE and Prometric testing, and instead exclusively support one or the other.

As a result, press releases and communications have sometimes sounded a bit odd. For example, on Oct. 30, Cisco sent out a press release about the localization of CCNA/CCENT exams (which I'll discuss below) that jumped topics in the middle and included this nugget:

"Additionally, Pearson VUE, Cisco's primary exam delivery partner, will add new testing facilities to accommodate growing regional demand. Since January, Pearson VUE has activated 69 testing facilities in mainland China, bringing the total number of test centers in the country to 211."

Intrigued (and curious about how meaningful -- or meaningless -- those numbers may be), I went to www.vue.com and chose Locate a Test Center, then narrowed the results to centers that offer information technology exams under Cisco. I searched for all the sites within a number of countries, then divided that amount into the latest population numbers available for each country, according to the CIA's The World Factbook.

I discovered that Australia has a ratio of 1 testing center for every 537,741 residents. That turned out to be very close to the average. The ratio for Bermuda is low at 1-33,082, while France's ratio is rather high at 1-1,044,491. Canada's ratio is about 1-347,000. And for the United States, the ratio is around 1-370,000.

I then highlighted all the locations in China and found far less than the 211 stated in the press release. In fact, only 17 locations showed up (the same number that showed up for India, surprisingly). China, according to July numbers, has a population of 1.3 billion. With 17 testing centers, the ratio is 1-77,755,993 -- and even if you go with the 211 testing centers from the press release, you still end up with a ratio of 1-6,264,701.

I'm not sure that a ratio of 1 testing center to every 6 million people is something to be that proud of just yet.

Three Cisco Exams Retiring
Nov. 6 marked the retirement of three Cisco certification exams: INTRO 640-821 (which was tied to course INTRO 2.1), INCD 640-811 and CCNA 640-801 (both of which were tied to course ICND 2.3).

Replacing them are exams on newer technologies: INCD1 640-822, INCD2 640-816, and CCNA 640-802, respectively.

All Cisco certification exams are now available worldwide exclusively through VUE testing centers, and you can find more information about all the Cisco certifications here.

Cisco Extending CCNA Localization
Cisco also recently announced that upcoming localized versions of the Cisco Certified Networking Associate (CCNA) certification exam will be made available between now and early next year.

Translated versions of the exam that will be made available by the end of this year are:

• Japanese (Dec. 1)
• Simplified Chinese (Dec. 8)
• Spanish (Dec. 28)

And early next year, localization will be done in:

• Russian (Jan. 11)
• French (date not announced)
• Korean (date not announced)

The Cisco Certified Entry Networking Technician (CCENT) exam is also being localized on the same dates as the CCNA.

Technology Pioneer: E. Clarke Porter
One of the not-quite household names in technology belongs to E. Clarke Porter, who nevertheless has had an enormous impact on certification as we know it.

Long associated with testing, he developed the first electronic testing system in 1979 for the National Association of Securities Dealers. He was also a founding member of what was once known as Drake Prometric (now Thomson Prometric) and convinced Novell that proctored IT certification through Prometric centers was worth trying. Prometric's CNE certification became the catalyst that propelled the certification market for over a decade.

After leaving Prometric, Porter co-founded Virtual University Enterprises, better known as Pearson VUE. VUE was one of the first companies to use the Internet in the testing process, allowing for self-registration, appointment changes and so on.

Today, Porter serves as the co-founder, CEO and chairman of Integral7 (www.integral7.com), a company that provides credentialing management software and services for certification. Porter is responsible for "executing its strategy to provide enterprise credential management and verification services that unleash, enhance and protect the value of certification and licensure programs."

Book of the Week: 'The World Is Flat'
In keeping with the global theme of this week's first item, let me introduce you to the one book everyone should read: Thomas L. Friedman's The World Is Flat. Originally published in 2005, it's since been updated and expanded. Friedman has now rearranged some of the chapters and added two new ones to make the "Further Updated and Expanded" version (or Release 3.0).

If you read absolutely nothing else, the second chapter alone -- The Ten Forces That Flattened the World -- make the book worth purchasing. Here, Friedman discusses how such things as Apache, workflow software, Netscape and so many other technologies have turned the world into the level field it is today.