Knowledge Centers

Cisco IT certification programs bring valuable, measurable rewards to networking professionals, to their managers, and to the organizations that employ them. The Cisco Knowledge Center offers a variety of Cisco certifications, including the Cisco Certified Security Professional (CCSP), Cisco Certified Internetworking Professional (CCIP) and Cisco Certified Networking Associate (CCNA) certifications for Security and Voice. This knowledge area features more than a dozen practice labs to let you apply what you've learned, along with test preparation courses and 20-plus online books.

To ensure a knowledgeable and skilled workforce the US Department of Defense requires the credentialing and continuing education of all DoD employees with privileged access to DoD information systems.  Directive 8570.1, signed in August 2004, requires every full- and part-time military service member, defense contractor, civilian and foreign employee with privileged access to a DoD system to obtain a commercial certification credential. This Knowledge Center provides a variety of certifications that meet that requirement, including CompTIA, Certified Information Security Manager, and Certified Information Systems Security Professional designations.

Learn the basics to get a foothold in this high-demand career area, then expand your horizons and learn how to apply IT security principles to Oracle, Microsoft Windows, Cisco, and other specialized platforms and systems. This knowledge area features more than a dozen practice labs to let you apply what you've learned, along with test preparation courses and 20-plus online books. If you're planning to make IT security your career, consider obtaining a certification. Four certifications are available—Certified Information Security Manager, Certified Information Security Auditor, Certified Information Systems Security Professional, and SSCP. These offerings come free with IEEE Computer Society membership.   

Long the most popular programming language among developers, Java is continuing to hold its lead due to its use in Android devices. The online courses in the Java Knowledge Center range from beginning programming with Java SE 6.0 or 7 Roadmap to learning how to create applications. Java certifications offered in this Knowledge Center include the Oracle Certified Associate and the Java SE6 Programmer Certified Professional. Besides Practice Labs and Test Preparation courses, the center provides more than two dozen online books, including InstaCode books featuring code you can use.

Do you have what it takes to be a leader? Find out by taking an online course in Leadership Essentials.  The dozens of courses in this Knowledge Center range from managing innovation and change to launching successful teams, giving effective presentations, delegation, and offering constructive criticism. Even if you only manage a team on occasion, you can benefit from learning more about being an effective leader. The courses are supplemented by 20-plus online books and Business Impact Series and Challenge Series offerings that provide a more in-depth view.

The Management Knowledge Center provides resources for those who are considering a move to management and those who seek to become a better manager. First-Time Manager Essentials courses provide the basics. From there, you can learn about building and maintaining trust, creating a positive work environment, and managing in a global environment. Business Impact Series and Challenge Series offerings provide a more in-depth view of important management topics. The Management Knowledge Center is supplemented by 20-plus online books that will further expand your horizons.

The Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA) and Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE) certifications are among the most widely known in the IT industry. The MCSE/MCSA Knowledge Center provides the courses and exams you will need to obtain these certifications. The learning experience is bolstered by hands-on Practice Labs, mentoring, and Learning Sparks courses intended to inspire further thought, as well as 20-plus online books that will further expand your horizons.

The Microsoft Enterprise Library is a set of tools and programming libraries for the Microsoft .Net Framework. It provides an API to facilitate proven practices in core areas of programming including data access, security, logging, exception handling, and others. Enterprise Library is provided as pluggable binaries and source code, which can be freely used and customized by developers for their own purposes. This Knowledge Center is supported by Practice Labs and 20-plus online books that will further expand your knowledge base.

Microsoft Office 2010 (also called Office 2010 and Office 14) is the current version of the Microsoft Office productivity suite for Microsoft Windows and the successor to Microsoft Office 2007. Office 2010 includes extended file format support, user interface updates, and a changed user experience. Although you may be familiar with these productivity tools, taking a course in Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook, Project, or Visio can take you to the next level of expertise. This Knowledge Center is supported by Practice Labs and 20-plus online books that will further expand your knowledge base.

The Oracle database is a staple of every IT operation.  If you're just getting started, explore the fundamentals, and if you're a seasoned user, take an online course to find out about new features and applications. The Oracle Knowledge Center features a healthy array of Practice Labs, and is supplemented by 20-plus online books that will further expand your knowledge base.

Employers are always looking for computing professionals with business and communication skills to supplement their technical know-how. Take an online course in communication basics, being an effective team member, or dealing with difficult people to improve your performance in an organization. The Professional Foundations Knowledge Center features Business Impact Series and Challenge Series courses, and is supplemented by by 20-plus online books that will further expand your knowledge base.

Project managers are in high demand. This Knowledge Center provides courses that teach project management essentials, from creating and defining a project to leading teams and measuring results. If you are already experienced in project management, take advantage of these offerings to earn your Project Management Professional certificate. The Project Management Knowledge Center is supplemented by 20-plus online books that will further expand your knowledge base.

Six Sigma is a process improvement set of tools and strategies, originally developed by Motorola in 1986. Six Sigma seeks to improve the quality of process outputs by identifying and removing the causes of defects (errors) and minimizing variability in manufacturing and business processes. The Six Sigma Knowledge Center provides courses that will help you build a strong foundation in Six Sigma. Or if you already have expertise, take the courses for your Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt.

Visual Basic is a third-generation event-driven programming language and integrated development environment from Microsoft for its COM programming model first released in 1991. Visual Basic is designed to be relatively easy to learn and use. If you're new to Visual Basic, take an introductory course to get acquainted. If you're already familiar with Visual Basic, take a course to find out more about new features and applications. This Knowledge Center is supported by 70-plus online books and plenty of Practice Labs.

Visual C# is an implementation of the C# language by Microsoft. Visual Studio supports Visual C# with a full-featured code editor, compiler, project templates, designers, code wizards, a powerful and easy-to-use debugger, and other tools. If you're new to Visual C#, take an introductory course to get acquainted. If you're already familiar with Visual C# , take a course to find out more about new features and applications. This Knowledge Center is supported by 70-plus online books and plenty of Practice Labs.

Customers are the lifeblood of businesses, and learning effective customer service skills is vital to many functions within organizations. Whether you work in a call center environment or simply handle many customer calls over the phone, these online courses will steer you in the right direction for learning best practices, developing effective listening skills, or working in a call center team.