July 13, 2009

Saying it is responding to strong customer and market demand to recognize the architectural expertise of network designers, Cisco introduced the Cisco Certified Architect: the highest level of accreditation achievable within Cisco Career Certifications.

The certification recognizes the architectural experience and
competency of network designers who can support the increasingly
complex networks of global organizations and effectively translate
business strategies into evolutionary technical strategies. It stands
above the expert-level CCIE certification in terms of difficulty, with
an emphasis on expertise in network infrastructure architecture and a
proved ability to work with executive-level customers to ensure that
business requirements are incorporated into successful designs.

As for the process, the certification will be administered as a board
exam. Candidates will propose and defend an architecture solution to a
set of business requirements; they will then be asked to modify their
proposals on the fly based on additional requirements presented by the
board. Prerequisites include a CCDE (Cisco Certified Design Expert)
certification, about 10 years of industry experience, and acceptance
into the program via an application process.

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