By James C. Elledge, IFMA Fellow, CFM, FMA, RPA, RIAQM
Published in the August 2008 issue of Today’s Facility Manager
Q Where could I update my skills in the area of data center design/build?
Kelechi Elenwoke
Advanced Infrastructure
Dimension Data West Africa
Bryanston, Johannesburg
A These recommendations should help you brush up on your skills.
First, there’s the Information Technology Infrastructure Library’s (ITIL) Certification program (based on a series of documents originally created by the Office of Government Commerce in the U.K.). ITIL addresses the structure and skill requirements for an IT organization by presenting a comprehensive set of management procedures with which an organization can manage its IT operations.
Offered through ITIL® central, the ITIL Certification program is broken down into three separate areas of concentration, which include foundation, practitioner, and manager.
The Foundation Certificate enables people to understand the terminology used within ITIL. It focuses on background knowledge with regard to the ITIL service support and delivery sets as well as generic ITIL philosophy and background. It is a prerequisite for the Practitioner’s and Manager’s Certificates in IT Service Management.
The Practitioner Certificate focuses on the understanding and application of the specific processes within the IT Service Management discipline. The Manager’s Certificate is aimed at experienced professionals who will be involved in handling service management functions.
You can also visit the Uptime Institute and check out the white papers on data centers.
Finally, be sure to visit AFCOM and check out the educational offerings of this organization. Established in 1980, AFCOM is the trade association for data center managers.
Elledge,facility/office services manager for Dallas, TX-based Summit AllianceCompanies, is the recipient of the Distinguished Author Award from theInternational Facility Management Association (IFMA), is an IFMA Fellow, and isa member of TFM’sEditorial Advisory Board. All questions have been submitted via the “Ask TheExpert” portion of the magazine’s Web site. To pose a question, visit this link.
