If you haven''t already come across it, their is a brand new architecture certification that Microsoft is sponsoring. The reason I say they are "sponsoring" this is that this certification has no direct technology stack in mind. In fact the certificaiton process is truly at an architecture level. Another major distinction between this and other Microsoft certifications is that this is not a "test" in the traditional sense. What you will actually do is go in front of a review board where you are interviewed on any number of topics. These topics are not all technical in nature and you will need to have 10+ years of experience in IT and at least 3 years of experience as a practicing architect to apply.

This is truly an elite certification that will help to bring a lot of credibility to those that can acquire it. But that is not the only reason I love what Microsoft has done here. I mentioned above that a review board was how you would be selected for this certificaiton. I did not mention that this review board is made up of CIOs and other certified architects. The CIO/CTO group could be from any number of large enterprise companies. So what you really are doing is trying to convince the best of the best that you are worthy of being "in the club". Making this a type of peer acceptance process is very powerful in my opinion.

What I see happening eventually is that this certification gets taken over by some standards group. In fact I would be amazed if Microsoft didn''t originally think that''s how this would materialize. It looks like to me Microsoft decided it was tired of waiting for such a certification and is once again leading the way and setting the pace for others to follow. Bravo to Microsoft for putting their best foot forward and thank you for putting a lofty goal out there for me and other architects to try and acquire.

I myself will need to put another couple years in as a practicing Architect before I can even think about applying (and that should be the case). As someone who is constantly looking for goals like this I''m glad someone set the bar.

For more info go to Microsoft Certified Architect Program