MCPs Speak Language of Success at CrossTier.com Inc.

CrossTier.com Inc. relies on the Microsoft Certified Solution Developer program as a key element in its comprehensive effort to enhance employee skills.   Clients and even other contractors are impressed with the expertise CrossTier can bring to bear based on its large body of MCSD-certified developers.  All technical employees must become MCSD-certified and the program is a requirement for promotions and raises.  The company provides hands-on experience and underwrites employee training for the certification, and finds it contributes to higher morale and lower turnover.

The Microsoft Certified Solution Developer program plays a large and growing role in keeping CrossTier.com Inc. – the Fairfax, Virginia-based Web consulting and systems integration firm – one of the Internet service industry’s top enterprise business-to-business e-commerce solution providers. 

Combining business and engineering acumen with enterprise Microsoft technologies, CrossTier.com partners with its clients to develop and customize e-commerce relationships, corporate e-purchasing and related activities in sectors including telecommunications, financial services, manufacturing and utilities. How important is the MCSD program to CrossTier? “Every technical person in our company is required to get MCSD-certified,” says President Edward J. Bell.  “We view the subjects covered in that certification as really the baseline vernacular of our business.”

Enabling Developers to Speak a Common Language

If Babel fell because its builders didn’t speak the same language, Bell is determined that CrossTier will thrive because its technical personnel do speak the same language – the language of the MCSD. 

“By requiring everyone to be MCSD-certified, we ensure that they are all fluent in solutions based on the Windows DNA and COM architectures,” said Bell.  “That really enables people to have conversations on an entirely different level.  It means a huge increase in the level of communication among our team.  In brainstorming meetings in our war room, everyone is talking; the whiteboards are a blur of images.  Because everyone can talk in terms of concepts covered by the MCSD certification, it doubles the productivity of those meetings.”

Most CrossTier developers join the company in junior capacities and move up via promotion.  Consequently, few have the MCSD certification when they arrive at CrossTier.  But if they wish to be promoted above the position of entry-level developer, the MCSD “degree” is a requirement. 

Investing in a ‘Pyramid’

At the base level of the training pyramid is a custom, week-long “boot camp” that CrossTier conducts for new hires every month, which includes consulting business essentials and the Microsoft Solutions Framework. 

After six months of daily hands-on experience, employees are expected to engage in the next level of the pyramid, their MCSD training. 

“When you’re talking to clients, the MCSD certification confers automatic authority in their eyes;  it’s like wearing a badge.  It shows you have the background, that you’ve been tested, examined, that you have earned the right to speak about the technology topics at hand because you’re knowledgeable about them.”

Edward J. Bell
President
CrossTier.com Inc.

CrossTier provides the training for employees through a local Microsoft Certified Technical Education Centre (MCPLS (CTEC)), where it hand-picks the instructors.  Employees can choose evening and weekend classes over several months, or a more intensive, full-time four-week program.  The training investment to CrossTier ranges up to $4,000 per employee. 

The Top Gun Program

CrossTier also organizes a Top Gun program in which senior employees mentor their junior colleagues, reinforcing the knowledge gained through the MCSD certification.

"I definitely believe the Top Gun group will provide mentoring for the technical staff,” says Bob Pfeiff, chief technology officer at CrossTier.  “Tech lunches, architecture, design and code reviews will all serve to build on the MCSD foundation. This kind of mentoring will take the tech staff to the next level of capabilities in terms of optimizing solutions."

Beyond these investments in their employees, each newly minted MCSD automatically earns a $6,000 increase in salary.  Bell says the pay hike is intended both as recognition of the employee’s enhanced marketplace value and as an incentive to stay with the company.

It also eliminates the need for employees to ask for raises, which can lead to resentments in employees who feel the company should be proactive in rewarding their commitment to earning the MCSD certification.

The Pitfalls of an Ad Hoc System

CrossTier didn’t always have so formalized – and, frankly, expensive – a training program.  Until early in 1999, it relied on a more ad hoc system common to many companies.  It relied on its own senior developers to train junior staff in between client assignments. 

But like the proverbial cobbler whose own children go without shoes, Bell and his colleagues found that ad hoc training inevitably meant putting training last on the agenda, behind client needs.  Training wasn’t well coordinated and sessions often were missed when client demands became pressing.  Worst of all, CrossTier wasn’t making progress toward its goal of having all developers MCSD-certified within a year of joining the company.

“We realized that to be serious about training and MCSD we had to commit resources to it;  otherwise, we were just dreaming,” says Bell.  “We hired a director of training and developed our comprehensive training model.  It convinced people both inside and outside the company that we were serious.  Now, the program is a success.”

Certainly, customers are impressed with CrossTier’s emphasis on the MCSD certification for its technical professionals.

“Having MCSDs on staff has really helped us to build our reputation with clients.  They see our emphasis on the program and that confirms our commitment to expertise in Microsoft technology.  It’s a proxy for expertise.  It’s proof that we have the ability to deliver on our promises.”

Edward J. Bell
President
CrossTier.com Inc.

Because of the way the MCSD track is structured, there’s a real focus on the software design lifecycle from basic requirements to architecting full solutions.  That gives you the authority to go into a room with the client and say what counts.”

For example, Bell recalls a recent incident in which a regional utility company contacted Microsoft seeking a solution provider to offer a Microsoft- based alternative to its existing database reporting system, which could take days to produce strategic reports.  Because of CrossTier’s emphasis on MCSD certification, Microsoft referred the client to CrossTier. 

Also because of that emphasis, the customer felt comfortable conferring with CrossTier.  And because of the expertise built up in large measure through the MCSD program, CrossTier developers were able to develop schema, implement data transfer, build a data cube and conduct a demonstration of the proposed solution in just four days.  On the fifth day, CrossTier managed the knowledge transfer of the solution to the client’s staff.

Helping to Build a Reputation

“Having MCSDs on staff has really helped us to build our reputation with clients,” says Bell.  “They see our emphasis on the program and that confirms our commitment to expertise in Microsoft technology.  It’s a proxy for expertise.  It’s proof that we have the ability to deliver on our promises.  Clients always want to see the business cards of the developers with whom they’re working, and when they see the MCSD certification on the card, it really makes an impression.”

“It’s not just clients who are impressed by the expertise we have based on the MCSD program,” says senior technical specialist Brad Wist.  “It’s other providers, too.  We often find ourselves in multi-contractor situations because we often work in mixed environments.  Because of the knowledge we have that’s substantiated by the MCSD certification, even support professionals from these other contractors defer to us because we clearly know what we’re talking about.”

Delighted Developers

With hands-on experience, training, promotions and raises provided by management, and with customers demanding their certified skills, CrossTier developers are delighted to be involved with the MCSD program.

Bell says the enthusiasm generated by the MCSD program plays a part in CrossTier employees encouraging their friends to apply for jobs with the company.  That reduces the need to rely on expensive headhunters. 

Bell’s also noticed that his innovative young company has recently become increasingly successful in beating much larger companies for prized new hires – and he also traces that to CrossTier’s focus on Microsoft technology and on MCSDs to implement it. 

 “There’s a tremendous sense of pride among our employees,” sums up Bell.  “People are so enthusiastic.  That mood affects and supports everything we do.  And we can trace it all back to our investment in our people – and especially, to our investment in the MCSD program.”

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Microsoft Certification is a Win for Extreme Logic

Extreme Logic, a leading Microsoft Certified Solution Provider and Microsoft Certified Technical Education Centre, traces client wins to its high proportion of Microsoft Certified Solution Developers on staff.  It relies on the Microsoft Certified Professional program to ensure that employees have the technical and project-based skills to maximize their value to the company.  MCSDs are given preferential consideration for job interviews.  Employees are given free training to help earn their certifications.  Developers praise the prestige and benefits of the MCP program, and the company.

They’re so used to going to extremes, they changed their name to reflect it.

Extreme Logic, based in Atlanta, is the Microsoft Certified Solution Provider Partner of the Year 2000 for North America and a Georgia Microsoft Certified Technical Education Center Partner of the Year. 

The company – known until recently as Omni Technology Centres – has gained these distinctions by building powerful, Internet-based solutions for today’s complex business needs.  Extreme Logic’s solutions run the gamut, including business-to-consumer, business-to-business, knowledge management, workflow and collaboration, enterprise architecture and training.

The challenge for Extreme Logic is also extreme:  staying on top of diverse technologies in the fastest-growing and most quickly evolving sector of information technology.  To meet that challenge, Extreme Logic needs the best-skilled and -prepared developers in the industry.  To identify those skilled developers, Extreme Logic depends in part on the Microsoft Certified Professional program and one of its premier credentials – the Microsoft Certified Solution Developer (MCSD) certification.

The MCSD credential is the premium certification for professionals who design and develop custom business solutions with Microsoft development tools, technologies and platforms.  The enhanced track includes certification exams that test users’ abilities to build Web-based, distributed and commercial applications by using Microsoft products such as Microsoft SQL™ Server, Microsoft Visual Studio and Microsoft Component Services.

MCSDs Understand Complex Solutions

“We have demanding requirements in our Consulting Development Program (CDP), where we take mid-level developers and turn them into world-class developers who can implement Web-based solutions and high-transaction/distributed n-tier solutions,” says Keith Landers, Chief Technology Officer of Extreme Logic.  “The MCSD certification is a requirement for anyone hired for, or promoted into, this program. Developers who earn the MCSD certification understand the requirements for building these solutions.”

“I obtained MCSD certification to open job opportunities and get my foot in the door, and I’m sure that the certification played a part in my getting this job at Extreme Logic.  The certification shows I was willing and able to learn and to apply effort to enhance my skills as a developer.”

David Daniels
Application Developer
Extreme Logic

Extreme Logic’s preference for MCSDs is evident in its employment statistics.  Nearly half of the company’s 130+ developers have earned or are becoming certified in Microsoft’s Certification programs.  The company’s goal is to arm fully 75 percent of its developers with the certification.

Customers Notice the Difference

Landers and his employees aren’t the only ones who’ve noticed the benefits of Microsoft certification.  Landers says that customers notice the difference and, consequently, look for MCSDs on their project teams.

“We reference the MCSD qualifications of our developers when we make project proposals to clients, and we feature the certification in our marketing materials,” says Landers.  “When clients see the MCSD credential, they know that their projects aren’t being handed off to junior developers, but to trained and certified professionals who are equal to the task.  Clearly it helps us to win customer contracts.  Customers want to do business with us because we have certified, skilled developers.”

Getting in the Door

If you’re looking for a developer’s job at Extreme Logic, you don’t have to be an MCSD – but it helps. 

“While the MCSD is especially important in our CDP, we also use it to identify candidates with the skill requirements for any development job in our organization,” says Landers.  “If you have MCSD certification and you’re looking for a job, it will get you a guaranteed interview.  It gets you through the door.”

“If you don’t have the certification, we may still interview you, but it’s less likely,” he continues.  The MCSD tells us both that you have the technical expertise and the project-related skills that we’re looking for in our development team members.”

Christopher Mitchell, senior consultant at the company, is a case in point.

“I was in the development field for three years when I got certified in 2001 because I thought it would give my career an added boost,” he says.  “And it did.  It helped me to get my job with Extreme Logic.  When I submitted my resume – which listed my MCSD credential – I was given special attention and got my interview right away.  They made it clear to me that the MCSD certification was important to them.”

Application developer David Daniels tells a similar story.

“I obtained MCSD certification to open job opportunities and get my foot in the door, and I’m sure that the certification played a part in my getting this job at Extreme Logic,” he says.  “The certification shows I was willing and able to learn and to apply effort to enhance my skills as a developer.  That’s very important here and most of the developers in my regional office here in New York are Microsoft-certified.”

Growing Interest in an Enhanced Program

Extreme Logic has been interested in hiring Microsoft-certified professionals since 1993, shortly after the program started, but its interest has never been higher than it is now, according to Landers.  He attributes that interest to the continuing changes that Microsoft has made to the certification program.

“We believe that Microsoft certification shows that developers have the aptitude to learn and that they are willing to take the time and effort to do so.  It’s the sign of a great developer and developers who get certified climb the ladder the fastest here.”

Keith Landers
Chief Technology Officer
Extreme Logic

“Microsoft has taken a quantum leap towards real-world testing with its simulation-based exams,” says Extreme Logic developer project manager Richie Bosworth.  “Skills such as administering IIS 4.0 using MMC can only be tested by allowing one to demonstrate both navigation and feature familiarity.  Just as a picture is worth a thousand words, a good simulation can replace a thousand questions.”

Moving Up the Career Ladder

For developers who don’t already have the MCSD certification when they join Extreme Logic, certification is a standard part of their career path at the company.  Extreme Logic is so convinced of the value of certification that it pays for employee training and examinations to earn the MCSD.

“We believe that Microsoft certification shows that developers have the aptitude to learn and that they are willing to take the time and effort to do so,” says Landers.  “It’s the sign of a great developer, and developers who get certified climb the ladder the fastest here.”

The Benefits to Employees

Employees, not surprisingly, are sold on the certification program, as well.

“When we reprinted our business cards recently, we inadvertently left off the MCSD logo on some employee cards.  People let us know about it,” recalls Landers.  “It was a big deal.  Employees are proud that they’ve earned certification and they know it gives them added prestige with clients and colleagues.”

Beyond prestige, certification also gives Extreme Logic developers additional resources so they can do better work for their employer and their clients.  Both Mitchell and Daniels point to significant discounts on Microsoft Developer Network subscriptions as significant benefits of certification.

“I like the MSDN CDs a lot because it puts a tremendous amount of research at my fingertips, even when I’m at a laptop without an Internet connection,” says Daniels.  “I use it on an almost daily basis to look up specific syntax, methods, and other technical information.”

Both developers also laud Microsoft developer conferences and events to which they receive special invitations and discounts as MCSDs.

“I’ve attended several Microsoft developer conferences on e-commerce technology, Site Server, Message Queue, Microsoft Transaction Server and other products and technologies,” says Mitchell.  “It’s very helpful in keeping me up-to-date in a field that is always changing.”

“Our reliance on the MCSD program is an important ingredient in our success,” sums up Landers.  “It benefits us, it benefits our developers, and it benefits our clients.  We are certainly extreme about that.”

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MCSDs Play Strategic Role at Compaq Computer Corp.

Compaq Global Services, the professional and support services arm of Compaq Computer Corporation, designs, implements, and manages enterprise-wide solutions for customers worldwide.  To help set itself apart from the competition, Compaq places strategic importance on boosting its proportion of Microsoft Certified Solution Developers.  It encourages experienced developers to become certified, then rewards them with challenging and stimulating projects that build enthusiasm and loyalty and reduce attrition.

As one of the top systems integrators in the world, Compaq Global Services architects and implements e-business solutions that span the enterprise and the Internet. Its highly experienced professional services consultants integrate applications and build network infrastructures for thousands of customers around the world – providing solutions that meet business needs today and grow into tomorrow.

Long known for groundbreaking services in emerging technologies, Compaq was early to market with services for Microsoft Exchange and Windows NT and has been quick to offer a range of services for Windows and Exchange 2000.

The Strategic Role for MCSDs

To stay current and competitive, Compaq maintains and expands its edge in development expertise, and the Microsoft Certified Solution Developer (MCSD) credential has become an increasingly important part of this strategy. 

Already, 350 out of Compaq’s 3,350 Microsoft-certified personnel are MCSD-certified – more than 10 percent. And that number is going up.  The company expects up to 40 percent of its developers to earn MCSD certification over the next two and a half years. 

“Our customers value the Microsoft certification process and that means they have immediate appreciation for the value I can bring to their projects.”

Mark King
Senior Solutions Architect
Compaq Global Services

Why is the MCSD credential so important to Compaq?

“We have the highest concentrations of Microsoft-certified resources in the world,” says Richard Ward, manager of vendor certification programs for Compaq Global Services.  “Our developers need the greatest breadth of experience and knowledge possible to serve our customers – they need to know more than CRM, more than doing business on the Web.  They need to understand the infrastructure that will integrate all of these Web-enabled IT applications.

“Architecture design is a key service we provide to our customers, and the MCSD certification is our basis for ensuring that our developers understand the increasingly complex architectural issues they face in the field,” continues Ward.  “We also find that as we add value in designing the architecture, customers request that we manage the entire implementation. ”

‘Like a College Degree’

Beyond ensuring that Compaq developers are in fact equal to the architectural challenges they face from customers, the MCSD certification is an effective way for Compaq to assure customers that Compaq does indeed have significant expertise in Microsoft technologies.

“Microsoft certification is like a college degree,” says Mark King, a senior Compaq solutions architect.  “You value a law or medical degree and take that as assurance that the lawyer or doctor has the skills to help you.  Well, our customers value the Microsoft certification process and that means they have immediate appreciation for the value I can bring to their projects.”

Of course, some colleges have better reputations than others.  King says that the value of the MCSD credential, always high, has been climbing higher as Microsoft has made the exams more rigorous and has added real-world problem-solving questions.

“When you score well on your SATs, you’re proud because everyone knows how tough it is to do that,” says King.  “Similarly, Microsoft is continually making the MCSD testing process more rigorous and more reflective of real-world, hands-on architectural needs and experience.  That’s a key reason the MCSD credential is so important to our customers.”

A Starting Point with Customers

King sees the value of this credential in his daily interactions with Compaq customers.

“When you propose a project, you can just show how many team members are MCSD-certified, and it’s an immediate statement about how serious Compaq is about providing expertise,” he says.

“MCSD certification is a visible sign of the level of expertise within Compaq Global Services.”

  And for many of Compaq’s customers – such as those in its Federal Government sector – the MCSD certification is more than a reassurance, it’s a requirement.  Ward says he’s seeing MCSD certification listed more and more in requests for proposals.

Building Incentives for Certification

Given Compaq’s interest in boosting its ranks of MCSD-certified developers, the company is working to get more of its developers certified.

“We provide strong incentives to encourage our developers to get certified, including full reimbursement for the cost of training,” says Ward, who oversees this effort for the company.  “That can cost thousands per developer, but it’s a modest investment compared to the return we see from having a Microsoft-certified staff.”

Because the MCSD credential is meant to complement, not replace, real-world experience, Compaq encourages its more experienced developers to go for certification – and then, once certified, to gain more experience.

“The real incentive to be certified here is that developers feel singled out as being more valuable to the company.  There’s real peer value in being certified.”

Richard Ward
Manger of Vendor Certification Programs
Compaq Global Services

Experience Complements Certification

“We have stringent criteria concerning who should earn certification at company expense, and demonstrated accomplishment, as well as willingness to learn, are high on that list,” says Ward.  “Once developers are certified, we feel they must get engaged quickly in the type of client projects that will enable them to ‘grow’ the skills they’ve acquired in certification.

“Certification, after all, only guarantees that when the developers took the exams they had the right level of knowledge,” Ward continues.  “It’s crucial to continue to nurture MCSD skills with increasingly varied and challenging experiences.”

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