The website channelinsider has a list of the top 10 certification vendors for resellers.

The article says that solution providers who have certified employees make more money and have better relationships with customers, among other benefits. That's something to think about if you provide IT services as your core business.

The top three vendors in this list aren't a big surprise:

1. Microsoft
2. Cisco
3. Oracle

Of Microsoft, channelinsider says:

"...No one can top this vendor’s market power and value of its certifications ... By far, enterprises and midmarket companies give Microsoft certifications their highest rating."

One thing I found very interesting about the survey is that virtualization vendors take three spots in the Top 10. That speaks volumes about the growing popularity of this exploding technology.

There's an interesting article over at InformIT that discusses Cisco certifications in-depth with two prominent credential-holders.

They have many wise things to say about Cisco certs, and certs in general, but a couple of comments stood out to me. The interviewer asked about the value of certs plus experience. Here's what they said:

"You shouldn't expect a certification to be much more than an interview-getter in terms of employment prospects. I'd rather see people treat certifications as a motivator to increase their knowledge than as a check mark on a resume. The certification might increase your chances of getting an interview; after that you need to rely on your knowledge and experience to impress the interview panel.

[Second speaker]Yes, certs can get you an interview but you still have to prove yourself. There are too many cheat sites available for an employer to assume that your certification means you actually know the technologies. Also, having a certification means that you're someone who goes the extra mile to improve themselves; that you take responsibility for your own knowledge and your own career."

This conforms to what I've always believed about certifications: They can be a foot in the interview door, and definitely speak to a candidate's desire to improve and learn. But they're most effective when combined with experience.

Sun, which was recently acquired by Oracle, is moving away from multiple-choice tests for its Java Programmer certification, and moving toward performance-based testing. In other words, you'll actually need to know ho to write code to pass the exam.

As CertCities reported, it's called the "Sun Java Programmer Plus" certification, and the beta exam is being released on July 22. It runs until July 31, and test participants will get to take the exam for free.

The new test will specifically test coding ability, rather than question-answering ability. "During the exam, you will be required to code solutions for typical programming problems rather than answering multiple choice questions," writes Sun.

Sun believes so firmly in this new testing methodology that it's retiring the previous Java Programmer certifications. The company didn't give a firm date, but said it would provide at least 90 days notice to credential holders.

This is an interesting move by Sun, and one of which I'm in favor. You should be required to demonstrate your ability to write code if you're a programmer. It should also increase the value of the certification; potential employers will know that did more than fill in circles to get this certification -- you actually had to write code.

Oracle has changed some of its certification holders' testing IDs, with the measure aimed at greater security.

Oracle recently blogged that some Prometric IDs, which serve as your passport for taking Oracle exams, was changed. The change was made for individuals who formerly used their social security number as their ID. Those have been replaced with Oracle-generated identifiers instead.

Oracle said the change was to heighten security. That makes sense, since using your social security number as a testing ID is a bad idea. Oracle says it tried to email everyone to whom the change applied, but some people couldn't be reached.

If that's you, finding out your new ID is easy. Log in to the Prometric site with your current Prometric username and password. Then navigate to the area where you can update your personal information, and you should find your new ID.

Prometric is Oracle's testing provider. Oracle says to use the new ID for all testing-related activities in the future. "You will no longer be able to use your social security number for any Oracle Certification purposes," the company states.