| Certified MCSEs and corporate IT managers were ready to revolt when Microsoft announced that it was going to discontinue the certification program for NT technicians within the year.
MCSEs have spent thousands of dollars and many months preparing to take the tests required for the certification, and customers have spent both money and time upgrading to Windows NT 4.0.
In a move to force users and technicians to move quickly to Windows 2000, Microsoft pulled the rug out from under them by discontinuing NT certification.
However NT certification may not be dead. A Poulsbo company, Paladin Data Systems, will continue to offer the course as well as the Windows 2000 certification.
“We will continue to offer Windows NT 4.0 as long as our customers want it,” said Peggy Roy, director of training for Paladin. “A lot our customers have recently gone to NT 4.0 and we will continue to support it as long there’s demand for the training.”
The company will offer MCSE training on Windows 2000 beginning on Oct. 1, according to Ward Ralston, senior staff instructor at Paladin. “Even though you can’t be certified on 4.0 after the first of the year, we will still offer training on the system,” he added.
Ralston also noted that people who have been certified on 4.0 from Paladin will be eligible for an upgrade to 2000 by taking a five day class beginning at the end of September.
A new consortium of trainers and corporate managers plan to continue NT certification with their own independent certification program and designation — the NT Certified Independent Professional. Certification tests will be offered starting on the day that Microsoft discontinues their NT certification program.
Anyone currently certified by Microsoft will automatically receive the NTCIP certification. Others will be tested on exactly the same material required for the Microsoft NT tests. All the textbooks, computer based training (CBTs), simulated tests, videos etc. being used now for the Microsoft program will be sufficient to prepare for the NTCIP test.
Although the tests will cover the same material as the current tests, the questions will be randomly drawn from a large pool — and changed frequently, to prevent the answers from being “shared” by those who have taken the tests.
For more information, visit Paladin at www.paladindata.com or the new consortium at www.lanop.com/ntcip. | 
