The SOA Certified Professional (SOACP) program leverages years of on-going research dedicated to how SOA-related practices and technologies continue to evolve and expand throughout the IT industry. All of the course materials are tuned to represent SOA as it exists today and with no bias toward any one vendor platform (yet still in alignment with all major vendor platforms). To ensure this balanced representation, all courses, exams and certification requirements are submitted to an education committee for review during their initial development and subsequent maintenance.

A vendor-neutral perspective of SOA instills absolute clarity regarding the models, characteristics, practices, principles, patterns, and industry technologies that comprise contemporary SOA and service-orientation. This empowers organizations and IT professionals with the ability to define, implement and govern service-oriented architectures and solutions that can leverage the best technologies and products of the vendor marketplace. You will be able to clearly assess vendor products, industry technology developments, proposed best practices, and related trends within the IT industry to make educated strategic decisions and diversify SOA offerings, as required.

Because this program is purely vendor-neutral, it is also complementary to many of the vendor-specific courses and certifications. You can supplement the industry-level knowledge gained by this program with specialized training based on the vendor technologies you choose to work with.

The SOACP curriculum is comprised of 23 course modules and 23 Prometric exams that are organized into 9 certification tracks. The majority of certifications correspond to the most common organizational roles required by SOA projects. This allows organizations to target the development of specialized skill-sets to project team members that are being assigned correspondingly specific responsibilities, but of course, any one individual can obtain multiple certifications, thereby qualifying them for a range of SOA projects and assignments.

An important aspect of how the curriculum is structured is that all certification tracks share a common foundation of knowledge represented by a set of fundamental course modules that are part of all certification tracks. This guarantees that all SOA Certified Professionals share a common understanding of essential topics, terminology and concepts. This also gives those pursuing multiple certifications a head start, as the completion of fundamental exams provides immediate credit that can be applied to gain additional certifications.

To learn more about how SOACP courses and exams relate to SOACP certifications, visit the Matrix page.

While the SOA industry and marketplace continue to grow, there can be confusion as to which new developments in the industry are relevant and what technologies, techniques and methodologies are considered mature and proven for their purpose. The SOACP program focuses on established and accepted practices, technologies and strategies, while still highlighting some of the more important trends and future considerations. Periodic revisions to the course content and exams ensure that the program remains in sync with the direction of the industry.

The courses in the SOA Certified Professional program are geared toward preparing you for real-life SOA projects. All specialized certifications require the completion of one or more lab modules that require participants to carry out extensive problem-solving exercises, individually and/or in groups. Other courses are further supplemented with hands-on exercises, instructor-led in-class case study reading and periodic quizzes to ensure that the key topics covered are constantly reinforced. Each one-day course module has a corresponding Prometric exam, guaranteeing that as participants progress into a program, they first establish and demonstrate a solid understanding of each major topic area. Final exams require that participants prove the combined proficiency gained by the preceding training. The exam grading criteria is such that participants must exhibit project-ready qualifications to obtain a certification.

Organizations are constantly seeking qualified SOA professionals not limited by vendor-specific experience or opinions. IT professionals that have a firm grasp of SOA from an industry perspective can provide invaluable insight and leadership as part of any enterprise's SOA initiative.

By becoming an SOA Certified Professional, you will join the ever-growing Arcitura IT Certified Professional (AITCP) community, comprised of IT professionals that have been trained and certified throughout the world. To learn more, visit www.arcitura.com/community.