Must-Have Certifications for IT Managers and Leaders

Every organization, big or small, needs people who manage or supervise activities in it. Hence, information technology (IT) managers are very relevant to IT organizations. Before highlighting some certifications, let us briefly understand who IT managers are.

Why must I get a certification?

Certifications play an essential role in one’s career. They range from internal certificates to profession-focused certificates and product-specific certificates. Each of these types determines how they are valued in different places. Having either of these comes with a lot of benefits. They:

• increase the credibility of your work or experience
• increase your value in the job market and give you an advantage over your competitors
• increase your chance of promotion (also influenced by the increase in credibility)

Sometimes, recruiters are also after specific, specially selected certifications you must have. So having them means you have already met one of their requirements.

If you’re an IT manager or leader, then this article is for you.

In the rest of this article, we’ll look at five must-have certifications that will be beneficial for IT managers and leaders. These certifications improve your credibility when it comes to working with teams and managing various projects.

1. SASE Expert Level 1

SASE (Secure Access Service Edge) is a new network technology category that serves as a network architecture for managing network access across and systems and security protocols in cloud services. It is focused on improving the security, performance, and efficiency of the network and proper distribution to all connected systems. Although SASE is new, it is gaining fast adoption by many organizations and workers. In fact, Cato also offers the world’s first SASE platform, making them uniquely qualified to offer this certificate. 

The SASE Expert Certification provided by Cato Networks is the best course to make you SASE certified. You will go through a practical guide of migrating to the SASE architecture, the disadvantages of VPNs for enterprises, and the comparison and differences between SASE Convergence and Integration. In the end, you’ll take the SASE Expert Level 1 Exam. 

You do not require any prior understanding of SASE to enroll for this course. You just need to understand cloud, networking, and security broadly. 

2. Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)

This certificate course is offered by Project Management Insititute (PMI), a professional organization for project management that provides services such as developing standards, doing research, providing education for professionals, and empowering project management.

The CAPM certification is intended for low-level practitioners with a low level of experience. It is for people who would like to manage large projects and become better at managing responsibilities. It’s a great place to start for anyone looking to upgrade their project management skills.

Requirements:

• Secondary school certificate (high school diploma, associate’s degree, or universal equivalent)
• 23 hours of project management learning before the commencement of the test

3. CompTIA Project+

The CompTIA project is an ideal certificate for business professionals who want to understand the concepts involved in successfully managing projects of different sizes. This certification covers concepts beyond the scope of one modal, framework, or method—it covers relevant management concepts needed to handle a business, system, or product successfully. It simplifies project basics and the agile methodology in development, project constraints, communication, and change management. It also compares and contrasts different tools and documentation. 

Requirement:

Candidates need to have prior experience in

• Managing project life cycles
• Ensuring proper communication
• Managing resources and stakeholders
• Maintaining project documentation

4. PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)

This certification validates your proficiency in using agile approaches to solve problems, build tools, collaborate, and respond to issues. Its syllabus includes various agile methods such as Scrum, Kanban, Lean, extreme programming (XP), and test-driven development (TDD). 

So whatever project you’re working on, however it may be structured, the knowledge you’ll attain from this certification makes you valuable and experienced in all those processes.

Requirements:

• Secondary degree
• 21 contact hours of training in agile practices
• 12 months of project experience within the last five years (a current PMP or PgMP will satisfy this requirement but it is not required to apply for the PMI-ACP)
• 8 months of agile project experience within the last 3 years

5. Certified Information Security Manager (CISM)

Offered by Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA), this certification verifies your knowledge of information security, program management, team and risk management. This course improves your credibility on maintaining a secure information system and reducing the cons of risks. 

Requirements:

• Have cleared the CISM test within the last five years.
• Have the relevant full-time work experience in the CISM job practice areas.

Conclusion

There are many certificates provided by various institutes and companies—some offered by Microsft, some by PMI, at different levels and with different things to learn. The five certifications here cover agile methods and also concepts for entry-level looking forward to expanding their project management skills.

Some of these certifications may look expensive, but they are worth it, as you can see from the benefits of certifications we outlined at the beginning of the article. The more expensive they look, the more valuable they potentially are, and the more valuable they also make you.