CompTIA Storage+ Powered by SNIA Certification

A new exam and certification for information technology (IT) professionals working in the evolving and expanding data storage arena was introduced today by CompTIA, Inc. and the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA).

CompTIA Storage+ Powered by SNIA combines the thought and technical leadership of the SNIA with the global certification development and management capabilities of CompTIA. The result is a credential recognized as the standard for validating IT professionals who manage data storage.

"Organizations of all shapes and sizes are scrambling to come up with new strategies to manage the massive volumes of data they’re generating," said Terry Erdle, executive vice president, skills development, CompTIA.

"The rise in mobile computing, the shift to cloud-enabled services, a need for heightened security and a host of other factors add to the complexity of this environment, which can challenge even the most seasoned IT storage pro," Erdle continued. "Together with SNIA we’ve developed a certification that will help individual IT workers keep pace with the changing storage landscape; and empower employers to validate the skills of their IT professionals."

Wayne M. Adams, Chairman of the SNIA added: "The shared vision between CompTIA and the SNIA of having a comprehensive and valuable data storage certification is aimed at demonstrating IT skill competency and a credential holder’s career advancement. We are encouraging our thousands of SNIA credential holders to take the new CompTIA Storage+ Powered by SNIA certification exam to demonstrate that they are contemporary with state of the art data storage technologies, techniques and common practices."

CompTIA and the SNIA intend to have the new certification accredited by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

CompTIA Storage+ Powered by SNIA is relevant for a number of professional positions in the IT industry, including data storage administrators, system administrators, system integrators, IT architects, out-sourcers, network engineers, pre-sales consultants and cloud services data and system managers.

The certification focuses on the following areas
of data storage and storage networking:

• Configuration of storage systems and networks, including archive, backup and restoration technologies
• Business continuity, data availability and storage administration
• Storage system integration and correlated application workloads
• Basic troubleshooting, service levels and connectivity

The multi-hour exam certifies that a successful candidate has the knowledge and skills required to configure basic data storage and storage networks to include archive, backup and restoration technologies. Additionally, the candidate understands the fundamentals of business continuity, application workload, capacity optimization, system integration and storage and system administration, while performing basic troubleshooting on storage-related connectivity issues and referencing documentation.

CompTIA and the SNIA recommend that IT professionals have at least 12 months of hands-on storage networking experience before sitting for the exam.