(NOTE: This story was originally posted to CRN.com April 6.)

New, 'Needed' Certifications For A New Era

Cisco's new set of "critical" certifications around application development and network programmability, which the networking giant launched this week, are designed to better arm channel partners with the necessary skills for the software-centric era.

"It's definitely needed. Cisco is bringing the certifications in line with where business is starting to evolve to," said Rick Bauer, practice architect at High Point Solutions, a Sparta, N.J.-based solution provider and Cisco partner. "It's crucial to people progressing in this next evolutionary step of the network … The whole software-defined everything and the controller-base approach is going to require programmability to enable automation."

Tejas Vashi, senior director, product strategy & marketing for Cisco Services, said the new certifications are "critical because our end customers are now transitioning their architectures and moving into a digital era to drive better business outcomes."

Click through for details of the certifications and training that partners need to know.