|
Certification
brings justifiable reward.
TOGAF
certification has been available for some time now and interest
in it has been growing over the years. There are many reasons for
why a budding or experience enterprise architect may want to consider
certification.
WHAT
DOES TOGAF CERTIFICATION ACTUALLY MEAN ?
When you get TOGAF
certified, you are on the fast track to a successful career path.
This certification shows that you have conformed with standards
on an international level. It means that you can prove to your employer
and consequently to those you will use your services, that you have
taken a professional and commercially responsible approach to providing
Enterprise Architecture project services, support or consulting.
WHY
BECOME CERTIFIED?
TOGAF
certification demonstrates clearly to your employer, to your peers
and any person or organisation requiring your services, your commitment
to your profession as a discipline. In particular, it demonstrates
that you possess a body of core knowledge about TOGAF
as an open, industry standard framework and method for Enterprise
Architecture.
WHY
DO I NEED TOGAF AS A FRAMEWORK FOR ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE ?
TOGAF
has been developed through the collaborative efforts of 300 Architecture
Forum member companies from some of the world's leading IT customers
and vendors. It represents best practice in architecture development.
The use of TOGAF
as the architecture framework will allow architectures to be developed
that are consistent, reflect the needs of stakeholders, employ best
practice, and give due consideration both to current requirements
and to the likely future needs of your business.
As architecture
design is a technically complex process, TOGAF
plays an important role in helping to "de-mystify" and
de-risk the architecture development process. TOGAF
provides a platform for adding value, and enables users to build
genuinely open systems-based solutions to address their business
issues and needs.
WHO
BENEFITS FROM TOGAF ?
Both individuals and organisations benefit from TOGAF
certification and it is something that is available to both individuals
and organisations.
Individuals
can become certified by attending a training course coupled with
passing an examination test. Organisations, on the other hand, can
have their products, such as TOGAF
tools, training courses or services, certified.
The individual
seeking certification
- Any individual
who plans to undertake or is currently undertaking the design
and implementation of an enterprise architecture for the support
of mission-critical business applications
- Any individual
that is seeking boundary-less Information Flow can use TOGAF
to define and implement the structures and processes to enable
access to integrated information
- Any individual
that designs and implements enterprise architectures and want
an assurance of a design and procurement specification that facilitates
an open systems implementation.
The organisation
seeking certification
- Any organisation
that undertakes or is planning to undertake the design and implementation
of an enterprise architecture for the support of mission-critical
business applications will benefit from use of TOGAF
- Any organisation
that is seeking boundary-less Information Flow can use TOGAF
to define and implement the structures and processes to enable
access to integrated information within and between enterprises
- Any organisation
that designs and implements enterprise architectures and want
an assurance of a design and procurement specification that facilitates
an open systems implementation.
WHY
IS TOGAF CERTIFICATION IMPORTANT?
TOGAF
has been used successfully around the world and has emerged as one
of the most widely accepted methods for developing enterprise architecture.
The existence of a certification programme provides a stronger incentive
for organisations to standardise on open method for IT architecture
and avoid a lock-in to any proprietary methods provided by major
consulting firms.
Organisations
can base their IT architecture on an open, industry standard method,
which works with all major frameworks, and can procure tools, training,
and the services of consultants (individuals and integrators) with
confidence, on the basis of certified conformance with the TOGAF
standard. It is an important step in making Enterprise Architecture
a well-recognised discipline, and in introducing rigour into the
procurement of tools and services for Enterprise Architecture.
WHAT
KIND OF RETURNS ON INVESTMENT CAN I EXPECT FROM ATTAINING CERTIFICATION?
For many TOGAF
certification has been a great investment. It opens doors for you
and improves job prospects. It presents the enterprise architect
of today with a potentially limitless career path. You can obtain
a post anywhere EA is applied, worldwide.
Research has
shown that a TOGAF
Certified Architect qualification can add up to GBP5,000 to salaries
in the UK and nearly $10,000 to a salary in the US .
WHAT
ARE THE JOB PROSPECTS ?
Being such a specialised field, it is very likely that most work
will be found in the medium to large organisations, as these are
the ones most likely to embark on enterprise architecture initiatives.
There are certain industries where EA is either a programme about
to be embarked upon or one in full swing.
Banking and
finance, insurance and telecommunications are some of the industries
where you can expect to find full EA practices. Aside from this,
EA consultancies also present alternative career prospects.
|
