Cisco Boosts Worldwide Talent Development Efforts to Meet Increasing
Demand for Networking Skills
Company Unveils Social Learning Community and New Growth
Opportunities for Individuals
ORLANDO, FL--(Marketwire - June 24, 2008) - CiscoLive -- Underscoring
its commitment to accelerate the development of technical talent
across the globe, Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) today unveiled the Cisco®
Learning Network (www.cisco.com/go/learnnetspace). Designed for both
the seasoned professional as well as individuals considering a career
in information technology (IT), the Cisco Learning Network is a Web
2.0 community that enables networking professionals to collaborate
globally through document sharing, open forum discussions and idea
exchanges in a dedicated environment.
Cisco is also announcing a major augmentation to its popular
associate-level career certification with the introduction of three
concentrations: CCNA® Security, CCNA Voice and CCNA Wireless. By
expanding on the competencies and skills in the CCNA curriculum,
these highly specialized concentrations offer individuals a career
stepping-stone into the converged technologies that make up today's
sophisticated networks.
"As networks continue to stimulate economic growth, collaboration and
human interaction, the need for networking talent will grow in
importance. To address the growing global demand for networking
talent, we estimate that we will need to double or even triple our
certified individuals over the next five years," said Jeanne
Beliveau-Dunn, general manager of Learning@Cisco. "With the expansion
of the CCNA portfolio and the launch of the Cisco Learning Network,
we have added two more critical components to our companywide
initiative to address the global IT talent shortage, accelerate the
development of the information economy and improve the productivity
of this vital technical community."
Cisco Learning Network
Providing social networking features such as blogs, wikis and forums,
the Cisco Learning Network enables individuals to discuss top-of-mind
issues and interact with thought leaders in network design,
implementation and operations. The community will also directly
contribute to the continued development and co-creation of Cisco's
education strategies by providing real-world community feedback that
can be used for training development and assessment.
With the built-in document-sharing tool, there is now a single source
for the certified community to seek out product documentation,
configuration and troubleshooting advice as well as expert opinions
on networking challenges. As the community develops, it will become
an important resource that can be taken advantage of by IT
professionals to increase productivity and address critical issues in
the networks they administer.
"With the demand for IT professionals on the rise, it's great to find
a centralized resource that unifies industry trends, developments and
certification opportunities," said renowned author and networking
expert Terry Slattery, CCIE® #1026. "The Cisco Learning Network is a
great tool for individuals who are looking to learn about new
technology, stay in touch with colleagues, or pursue certifications."
Growing Need for Security, Voice and Wireless Specialists
A recent study commissioned by Cisco and conducted by Forrester
Consulting found that there is a pervasive need for specialized
networking skills. In fact, 36 percent of the global companies
surveyed reported that they have dedicated wireless specialists in
their IT organizations, a number that will almost double in the next
five years. Dedicated network security specialists were found in 46
percent of the companies surveyed and that number is expected to
increase to 80 percent in five years. Additionally, 69 percent of the
companies surveyed expect to have a dedicated voice specialist in
their organizations within five years up from 40 percent currently.
The survey respondents also cited the importance of certifications in
their professional development. In their own career history, the IT
decision-makers surveyed indicated that professional and technical
certifications were second only to a four-year college degree in the
qualifications needed for their position.
Reflecting the increasing specialization within networking job roles,
these concentrations provide a "lifecycle of learning" blueprint for
career advancement. Following are the new CCNA concentrations:
-- CCNA Security - This certification confirms an individual's
skills for job roles such as network security specialist, security
administrator and network security support engineer. The
certification validates the candidate's skills in the installation,
troubleshooting and monitoring skills of network devices to maintain
the integrity, confidentiality and
availability of data.
-- CCNA Voice - This certification confirms a candidate's skills for
job roles such as voice administrator, voice engineer and voice
manager. It also validates skills in voice over IP (VoIP)
technologies such as IP PBX, IP telephony, handset, call control and
voicemail solutions. Candidates also get exposure to the Cisco
Unified Communications architecture and design for mobility, presence
and TelePresence applications.
-- CCNA Wireless - This certification confirms a candidate's skills
for job roles such as networking associate/administrator, wireless
support specialist and WLAN project manager. CCNA Wireless validates
a candidate's skills in the configuration, implementation and support
of Cisco wireless LANs.
To learn more about the Cisco career certification program, including
course and exam availability please visit:
www.cisco.com/go/learnnetspace
Cisco Press, the leader in CCNA self-study products, has products for
the new CCNA Security exam already available and will publish on all
CCNA concentration exams in 2008. All products will be available for
purchase at: http://www.ciscopress.com/ccna
About Cisco Systems
Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking that
transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate.
Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For
ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com.
Cisco, the Cisco logo, and Cisco Systems CCIE and CCNA are registered
trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. in the United States and certain
other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are
the property of their respective owners. The use of the word
partnership does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco
and any other company. This document is Cisco Public Information.
For direct RSS Feeds of all Cisco news, please visit "News@Cisco" at
the following link:
http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/rss.html
Contacts:
Press & Analyst Relations:
Cara Sloman
Cisco
831-440-2411
csloman@cisco.com
Investor Relations:
Laura Graves
Cisco
408-526-6521
lagraves@cisco.com