Last week at Explore On Tour in Frankfurt, there were a number of announcements! One of those announcements was about the VCDX program, yes, it is back! Please, don’t call it a comeback, as it is not back in its original form! The certification is now called VMware Certified Distinguished Expert, and has a slightly different focus, and I quote:
We are thrilled to announce the evolution of this iconic program, expanding its reach beyond traditional focus on design roles to welcome a broader range of elite VMware professionals: Architects, Administrators, and Support specialists.
I personally think this is a welcome change, as it allows more people to reach that next level. Now of course, this immediately raises a question: what if I am already a VCDX? My title is “VMware Certified Design Expert”, do I need to start from scratch? There has been some confusion around this, and that is not strange, as the new track is being developed as we speak.
However, I asked a few folks internally who are involved, and they told me that they are trying to figure out what an upgrade path would look like and how that would work. Of course, that means there are no guarantees at this point, but to me it feels like the intention is there to enable current VCDX’s to upgrade to VMware Certified Distinguished Expert. What, if, how, and when, all of that is to be seen at this stage. When I find out more, I will report back!