4/12/2012 -- On April 11, Microsoft announced that it was changing its certification offerings to directly address the growth of the cloud. Microsoft believes that the cloud represents the future and that it is positioned to be the primary certification vendor for technologies associated with it.

The MCSE certification -- one of the most recognized in the industry -- is being rebranded from "Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer" to "Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert." This not only represents the change to viewing the cloud as the solution, but it also gets away from the word "engineer," which has caused IT vendors headaches over the years.

The best way to think of MCSE is as a certification sandwiched between two others. One level below MCSE (to use an education analogy, think associate level) is the MCSA -- Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate. Certifying at this level authenticates base-level skills and serves as a stepping stone (and a required one, at that) toward MCSE certification.

One level above MCSE (to continue the education analogy, think graduate level) is the MCSM -- Microsoft Certified Solutions Master. This is a modification of the MCM that existed.

An outline of the changes, including a useful graphic of facts about Microsoft certification, can be found here. Emmett Dulaney