SAN JOSE, Calif., Oct. 28, 2014 – Cisco is announcing today the introduction of new Service Provider Mobility Specialist certifications and updates to its CCIE Service Provider Written and Lab exams geared for Service Provider network engineers.

By 2020, there will be an estimated 50 billion objects connected to the Internet. Service Providers are in an enviable position, sitting at the center of the Internet of Everything (IoE), bringing together people, processes, data and things to make networked connections more relevant and valuable than ever before. In addition, exponential increases in network load continue due to hyper-growth in the number of connected devices and applications with high-bandwidth requirements, such as video, as well as demand for anytime, anywhere access. As a result, the core network engineering job role is evolving in breadth with new technologies, network architectures, network services and managed services being deployed and requiring support. Moving forward, expanded skill sets will be needed to troubleshoot, implement, optimize and secure these new and increasing data flows. Other major areas, such as IoE, Data Center and Cloud, are creating yet more pressure on the core network engineer to continue to evolve and expand their technology skillsets.

Explosive consumer adoption of cellular devices is driving the rapid growth in existing CDMA and UMTS (GSM) networks, as well as the build-out and migration to faster 4G LTE based infrastructures. As Service Providers rapidly evolve their network infrastructures to support this new demand, their success increasingly depends on whether their IT and networking professionals have the sufficient knowledge and skills required to deploy and maintain them.

NEWS FACTS:

• CCIE Service Provider v4.0 Written and Lab Exam Updates
  • Availability date of the new v4.0 Written and Lab exams is May 22, 2015.
  • The Lab exam format is composed of three modules delivered in a fixed sequence: The eight hour Lab exam format now starts with the Troubleshoot module, followed by a Diagnostic module, and concludes with a Configuration module.
  • The entire Lab exam is delivered using a 100 percent virtual or software-based platform to better emulate the complexity and scale of a Service Provider backbone environment.
  • The exams will focus more on conceptual design technologies, implementation and troubleshooting, rather than evaluating specific hardware platform knowledge.
  • The written exam number has changed from 350-029 to 400-201 to align with the new prefix exam numbering structure.
• Cisco Service Provider Mobility CDMA to LTE Specialist Certification
  • The Cisco® Service Provider Mobility CDMA to LTE Specialist certification validates a Service Provider Network Engineer's knowledge and skills required to understand components, technologies and architectures that are found in Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) and Long-Term Evolution (LTE) packet core networks, plus migration from CDMA to LTE evolved packet system.
• Cisco Service Provider Mobility UMTS to LTE Specialist Certification
  • The Cisco Service Provider Mobility UMTS to LTE Specialist certification validates a Service Provider Network Engineer's knowledge and skills required to understand components, technologies and architectures that are found in Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) and Long-Term Evolution (LTE) packet core networks, plus migration from UMTS to LTE evolved packet system.
• Service Provider Network Engineer and Network Operations Job Roles
  • Based on market evolution and significant customer input, key attributes from the CCNA-CCNP-CCIE Service Provider Operations certifications will be integrated into the CCNA-CCNP-CCIE Service Provider (Network Engineer) certifications.
  • CCNA-CCNP-CCIE Service Provider Operations certifications will officially retire on January 31, 2015.
  • To learn more, please visit: https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/community/service-provider-portfolio-announcement

Tejas Vashi, director of marketing and product management, Learning@Cisco, said: "As the Internet of Everything continues to take shape, Service Providers have a unique opportunity to provide new and profitable services. To do this, SPs need to embark on a strategic journey to develop and deploy the Next Generation Internet based on an elastic, intelligent and programmable architecture. As these organizations adapt to address new opportunities, success increasingly depends on whether their IT and networking professionals are able to remain current with evolving industry job roles. Today's announcements are designed to enable IT personnel to drive business value for their employers and help eliminate the skills gap, preparing today's workforce for tomorrow's job roles."

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