Best Training Options for IT Pros

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When it comes to finding IT training companies that teach various IT certification curricula with a focus on helping IT professionals pass one or more certification exams, there is no shortage of options. Though instructor-led training (ILT) remains a favorite option, it is still the most expensive way to prepare for IT certifications. That said, for those with funds to cover costs that usually hover around $1,200 per classroom day, ILT remains one of the best ways to prepare for earning various IT certifications.

But there is an increasingly large array of other options. At the opposite end of the cost spectrum, self-study remains a favorite option to earn credentials. For those who want to pay somewhere between those two options is the increasingly large range of online training options.

Various providers now offer instructor-led online (ILO) training, and online or stand-alone courseware and blended learning offerings, which mix video, text, simulations, labs and other materials to deliver a combination of learning styles for students. E-learning refers to any kind of online instructional encounter where no instructor is actively present, and where students learn at their own pace.

Virtual labs (vLabs) let students obtain hands-on experience over the internet or via software simulations or virtualized and local runtime environments (although online vLabs are the most popular today). Online mentoring from some training providers gives students access to subject matter experts in the certifications they're chasing. As a result, they can get questions answered and assistance with tricky issues or difficult concepts to make sure they master training materials and key topics.

On the following pages, we examine a variety of training organizations, including the following:

• Big global training companies
• Major high-tech corporations with certification programs and learning delivery organizations
• Training companies that specialize in information security and computer forensics

This collection of training organizations concludes with a grab bag of other major certification providers with strong training interests.

How to make the most of IT training

Don't let the plethora of options distract you from your mission. Ultimately, the best way to choose what's right for you is to research and compare user experience, rankings, ratings and results.

Chances are good that your peers and colleagues have been both vocal and detailed about their training experiences somewhere online. With a little judicious search engine work, you can uncover this information easily. When you select a final pool of providers, use your search results to pick the training option that's best for you and your budget.

For those planning to take ILT courses, consider who will be teaching the class. Lots of students deliberately delay their classes and even decide to travel away from home for up to a week (for most individual exam classes) or even two or three weeks (for most bootcamps or multi-exam certification training packages), just to benefit from the wisdom and knowledge of esteemed instructors. Names like Todd Lammle or Wendell Odom for Cisco topics, Clement Dupuis for infosec topics, and Mark Minasi for Windows topics come to mind.

Balance your budget against your skills, knowledge and motivation. Even though ILT and ILO options abound, the majority of candidates will still self-study for certifications that don't mandate courses.

My advice is to consider the urgency for earning a certification, your current experience in the topics at hand and your available funds when picking what's right for you.

• Bootcamps and ILT are usually the fastest path to obtaining a certification.
• Bootcamps and ILT are the best way to start from behind and still earn your cert, but with enough time and effort, self-study can get you where you need to go.
• Self-study usually costs about 20 percent less than ILT. This means less for those whose employers provide full or partial funding for training outlays.

Multi-focus IT training companies

Big global training companies certainly offer the most complex, diverse and sophisticated training offerings, most with the mission of providing complete end-to-end training solutions for global enterprise companies.

These organizations will invariably cover all of the major certification programs (such as Microsoft, CompTIA, Cisco, VMware and Oracle) and a great many top-tier, high-demand credentials as well (including CISSP, PMP and CEH).

What differentiates these companies is how well they adopt and implement online training options and how quickly they deliver new training materials to keep up with new, changed or upgraded credentials. Our favorites in this group include Fast Lane, Firebrand and Skillsoft. But Global Knowledge, Learning Tree and New Horizons aren't far behind.

Below are some of the best options for multi-focus IT training.

Best IT training companies that cover most subjects

Vendor-specific IT training companies

The big dogs in the high-technology provider sector that invest heavily in certification programs, learning development and delivery include Cisco, IBM, Microsoft and Oracle.

Whereas Cisco follows a partner-centric model for training delivery (the company creates training materials and the curriculum but relies on learning partners for delivery), the other three companies mix their own course developer and instructor-led offerings with partnerships to extend their geographic coverage and reach.

Although these companies have moved into online certification training options, they still resort to traditional testing centers (such as Pearson VUE and Prometric) to deliver their certification exams. However, Microsoft also offers online proctored exams through Pearson VUE in many global locations, including most of North America and Europe and much of Asia for many of its MCP exams.

Of these programs, Microsoft and IBM have some of the most interesting and innovative technology, while Cisco is regarded as having some of the best training curriculum, materials and related study guides around (from Pearson-owned Cisco Press).

Here are some of the major IT companies with large education and certification programs.

Best vendor-specific IT training options

Information security and computer forensics training

Information security deals with managing security through policies, technologies, and best practices for systems and users alike. This is a huge and growing marketplace. High-value certifications, such as the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Certified Information Security Manager (CISM), Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), and other security credentials all occupy important niches in this arena.

The table below includes certification sponsors such as EC-Council, ISACA, (ISC)2 and the SANS Institute as well as outright, general or special-purpose infosec certification training companies, including InfoSec Institute, SecureNinja and Security University.

Best information security training companies

Emerging as a high-value, high-interest niche for IT certification, computer forensics deals with the acquisition, analysis and maintenance of a legally defensible chain of evidence having to do with computer use, abuse or attack.

The table below reflects a blend of computer forensic vendors with certification programs that have forensics certification training, such as AccessData and ARC Group, along with consulting companies, such as Digital Intelligence and ISFCE (CCE BootCamp).

This is one area where certifications come and go with alarming frequency, so do your homework to make sure your chosen credential has some history, market recognition and a sizable certified population (3,000 or more is good; 10,000 or more is better) before plunking down any training dollars.

Best computer forensics training companies

Other IT training companies

The organizations in the table below are certification players that offer high-value or high-impact certification training across a range of IT platforms, technologies and skill sets.

LPI and Red Hat offer important credentials for IT professionals who work with Linux platforms. CompTIA represents a major high-tech industry consortium that seeks to craft certifications specifically aimed at providing useful, skilled and knowledgeable workers to member companies and employers of all kinds.

The Open Group plays an important role in defining key database and IT architecture principles and practices, and it can lead IT professionals to higher rungs on their job ladders. Finally, the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification from the Project Management Institute has emerged as the biggest and most valuable add-on soft skills certification that IT professionals seeking to advance to technical lead or management positions can acquire.

More major certification training providers