1/7/2002 -- I'm often asked about the state of the IT job market and the role that technical certifications play in it. A common topic of conversation recently has been the IT downturn -- or the "bursting of the tech bubble," as it's often called. This phrase has been used on thousands of pink slips across the country, from PETsMART to Webvan. It doesn't seem long ago that all you had to do was stand on a chair and yell "e-business!" and someone would come along with start-up funds. These days, however, that same word is a cold many businesses don't want to catch.

It is at these crucial times that you, as an IT professional, can take the lead in developing and promoting new e-business strategies and concepts. Armed with innovative ideas, and a certification to back your expertise, you have the chance to help a company out of its Internet rut. Being that this is a CompTIA-focused column, we'll take a look at this organization's title in this area, e-Biz+.

What Is e-Biz+?
e-Biz+ started out as a Gartner Institute certification under the name "e-Business Fundamentals." The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) acquired it last year and renamed it with the "plus" moniker.

The e-Biz+ exam is a bit different from some of the other, more technical CompTIA certifications such as A+ and Network+. Its purpose is to enable certification candidates to demonstrate their comprehension of basic e-business strategies and processes. One of the distinctive things about e-Biz+ certification is that it's marketed to both technical and non-technical professionals. It can be an asset to technical professionals, such as network administrators who work in e-business environments or IT project managers who administer large-scale e-business projects. In addition, it can benefit non-technical professionals, such as business analysts working on IT projects or individuals working in the finance, management or customer service department of a company's e-business infrastructure.

The exam covers the following four domains:

1. Fundamentals (20 percent)
2. Strategy and Planning (20 percent)
3. Initiatives and Implementation Considerations (38 percent)
4. Infrastructure (22 percent)

The e-Biz+ exam (EK0-001) costs $190 (until Feb. 1, when it will rise to $199), features 60 questions, and is available through VUE and Prometric testing centers. All questions are either multiple-choice with at least four possible choices or "point-and-click" graphic questions. Of the multiple-choice questions, there are a mixture of "choose one" and "choose more than one" questions. You have one hour to complete the exam, and you must score at least 67 percent to pass.

Lexus and TiVo: Critical Thinking for Tough Times
At this point you might be asking what you can do with an e-business certification during these tough economic times? With this title e-Biz+ certification, you'll telling prospective employers that you possess the ability to formulate innovative approaches for conducting business despite market trends and economic crises. Consider, for example, the recent advertising campaign by Lexus that featured a series of television commercials for users of TiVo, the digital video recorder. A popular feature of digital video recorders is that they enable viewers to skip over commercials. Obviously, this upsets some people in the advertising industry. In an attempt to reduce the number of people who bypass their ads, the folks at Lexus produced a series of television commercials from which viewers were to extract clues. Once they had all the clues, viewers could enter their answers via the Lexus web site in hopes of winning a new vehicle. The reaction was overwhelming, drawing a response from almost a quarter of all TiVo subscribers. (Typical television advertising, by contrast, is considered successful with a response rate of around one percent.)

This example represents an innovative shift in Web and television market strategy as a result of having to negotiate a problem. Thinking like this will be required for manufacturers and retailers to get out of their economic slump. Companies will be looking for innovative individuals with the right mindset to develop new approaches to current e-business problems. And eBiz+ certification will go a long way in illustrating to future employers that you have what it takes.

Sample e-Biz+ Questions
The following questions, excerpted from the eBiz+ TestPro:

1. The McGregor Trading Group wants to enforce security policies at the boundary between its enterprise network and the Internet. Which of the following could serve as such a boundary?

A. IPSec
B. Firewall
C. USB
D. Trojan horse

2. Which of the following is like an electronic credit card, establishing your credentials when transacting business over the Web?

A. A digital certificate
B. A private key
C. A public key
D. A login password

3. You run the Accounting department for an e-tailer that sells novelty, limited-edition baseball caps. The caps are manufactured only after the orders are received. The process, from online advertising to online purchase (including payment via credit card) to e-mail acknowledgment of purchase to manufacture to shipping and receipt by customers) usually takes three weeks. When can you legally charge customers' credit cards for the product?

A. You can charge a customer's credit card just as soon as you receive authorization from the bank that issued the card
B. You can charge the customer's credit card any time that is convenient to you. Any time after you receive authorization (if you even require that; if not, any time after the customer gives you the number and expiration date), you can submit the transaction to the card-issuing bank for payment to your account.
C. You can charge the customer's credit card after you have completed the pick, pack, and ship process.
D. You can submit a credit card transaction to the card-issuing bank only seven days after the customer receives the goods by post or other verifiable delivery method.

4. Which of the following are third-party entities that manage and distribute software-based services and solutions to customers across a WAN from a central data center?

A. Internet service provider
B. RAID 5 providers
C. Application service providers
D. Common Gateway Interface providers

5. Your company wants to include in its online catalog of book reviews short quoted excerpts from a copyrighted source. During a planning meeting, you tell the Webmaster that the quotes are possible for inclusion without violating copyright law if they fit into which exception?

A. NAFTA
B. Fair Use
C. X-WTOcr
D. Regulation E

Answers
1. Answer B is correct; a firewall is a system (or combination of systems) that enforces security policies between two or more networks. Examples of firewalls include routers with access control lists, dedicated hardware boxes, and certain software. Answer A is incorrect; IPSec is the IP Security Protocol, which is a set of open standards that provides security (data confidentiality, data integrity, and authentication between peers) at the IP layer of the OSI reference model. Answer C is incorrect; a UPS is an uninterruptible power supply, which is a backup power device (used in case of power failures). Answer D is incorrect; a Trojan horse is a type of computer virus that appears to be a legitimate program (but which is likely to do damage by destroying files and causing physical damage to disks).

2. Answer A is correct; a digital certificate is like an electronic credit card, establishing your credentials when transacting business over the Web.

3. Answer C is correct; e-tailers cannot move money from credit card transactions into their own accounts (although they can put a hold on funds) until after completing the pick, pack, and ship fulfillment processes. This is in contrast to brick-and-mortar stores, in which delivery and payment usually happen simultaneously (allowing for instant credit card purchase-price transfer to the merchant).

4. Answer C is correct; application service providers (ASPs) are third-party entities that manage and distribute software-based services and solutions to customers across a WAN from a central data center.

5. Answer B is correct; the Fair Use exception (section 107) of the copyright law allows for the use of short quoted excerpts from a copyrighted source in a review or story. Answer D is incorrect; Regulation E, which is promulgated by the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, regulates electronic funds access.

For more about e-Biz+, visit www.comptia.org.