In the 1980s, a 19-year-old pre-med student at the University of Texas just happened to like computers – a lot. Michael Dell never made it to graduation and dropped out at the end of his first year to pursue a different dream, armed only with a $1,000 stake from his family and a love of PCs. No one could have predicted that Dell would turn his dorm room “business” into Dell Inc., a globally recognized leader in computing.

Dell merged with EMC Corporation in late 2016, and the new company was rebranded as Dell Technologies, which includes Dell, Dell EMC, Pivotal, RSA, Secureworks, Virtustream and VMware. According to Forbes, Dell Technologies (before completion of the merger with EMC) was the fourth largest privately held company in the United States and the world’s largest privately held technology company. With offices in more than 180 countries worldwide, Dell boasts more than 145,000 employees, with sales exceeding $74 billion in 2016. According to its investor relations website, a whopping 98% of all Fortune 500 companies use Dell Technologies products and services. Dell is also well represented in Gartner Magic Quadrant leader lists for products and services, including the Data Center Backup and Recovery Software, Managed Security Services, and Integrated Systems lists.

Computing products remain a staple in the Dell product portfolio. Consumers interested in laptops, workstations, tablets and desktops will find a variety of products available (along with peripherals such as monitors, printers and VDI appliances) to meet personal, SMB, enterprise or gaming requirements. Dell also offers solutions for networks, storage, servers, gateways and embedded computing, as well as a broad range of IT and business services.

Dell Technologies’ products and services currently fall under seven technology brands:

Within each brand, there are multiple products, services and solutions that cater to specific areas of interest for Dell customers.

VMware, Secureworks and Pivotal continue to strategically align with Dell Technologies’ core business areas. VMware continues to provide hybrid cloud, mobile computing and software-defined data center solutions. Pivotal offers analytic tools, next-generation software development methodology and modern cloud-native platforms, while Secureworks focuses on incident response and threat intelligence security. RSA helps companies manage and monitor their digital risk profiles and activities.

Dell certification program overview

In response to its merger with EMC, Dell and Dell EMC’s certification programs have merged into the unified Dell EMC Proven Professional certification portfolio. You’ll find that the website and certifications have a brand-new look and feel. Dell Education Services offers two CompTIA certs along with numerous Dell EMC certifications divided up by technology category or track, including Storage, Data Protection, Converged Infrastructure and Data Science. A recent search of the Dell certification website finds that Dell no longer offers Microsoft certification training courses.

If you’re not sure where to start on your certification journey, the new Dell EMC Proven Professional certification framework is a great starting point. Here, you’ll find certifications for four skill levels:

• Dell EMC Certified Associate (DECA): Entry-level or foundational knowledge
• Dell EMC Certified Specialist (DECS): Technology and role-specific skills
• Dell EMC Certified Expert (DECE): Advanced experience and skills in multiple technologies
• Dell EMC Certified Master (DECM): Subject matter expertise in complex scenarios and multiple technologies

The certification framework is hierarchical: The specialist certification takes the lower-level associate credential as a prerequisite, while the expert-level credentials take both the associate and specialist credentials as prerequisites. Associate and specialist certifications do not expire. Master and expert certifications expire after two years.

In Dell’s certification framework, you’ll find Dell EMC credentials across eight different tracks: Technology Architect (TA), Cloud Architect (CA), Enterprise Architect (EA), Implementation Engineer (IE), Systems Administrator (SA), Platform Engineer (PE), Technical Support Engineer (TSE) and Data Scientist (DS). The certification framework also maps credentials back to specific technology areas (cloud, storage, data protection, server, networking, converged infrastructure and data science).

There are also certification maps for role-based credentials:

• Plan and Design Roadmap: This offers four credentials at the associate level, seven at the specialist level, three expert exams and a single master-level (architect) exam.
• Deploy Roadmap: This certification path offers four associate-level credentials, 13 specialist exams and four expert exams. Currently, there are no exams at the master level. The roadmap also mentions CompTIA Server+, two product and technology exams, associate and professional exams in server and networking, VxRail Appliance, and PowerEdge.
• Manage Roadmap: This path offers a single master exam, five expert exams, 15 specialist exams and four associate exams. It also includes CompTIA Server+, VMware VCP credentials, two product technology exams, and associate and professional exams in server and networking.
• Support Roadmap: The Support Roadmap includes one associate exam, seven specialist exams and one expert exam. It mentions CompTIA Server+ along with associate and professional networking and PowerEdge exams.

Certification candidates should register with Dell EMC TechDirect. From the TechDirect portal, candidates can access free test prep materials, schedule exams, view test results and print their certification transcripts. Candidates may also view their company’s competency status through the TechDirect portal.

Dell Partners whose employees have earned the Certified Deployment Professional badge may be eligible to earn the Services Competency for Deployment (or simply Deployment Competency) designation. To earn this competency, Partners must be at least at the Gold tier level and have two or more employees who’ve passed the associated exam. A formal application must be submitted to Dell requesting Deployment Competency designation. Deployment Competency designations are available for Server, Storage, Networking and Client Systems.

Dell EMC certifications

Because Dell has updated its certification portfolio, it’s well worth your time to peruse the new Dell EMC Proven Professional Certification Framework to understand the new certification flow. All certification tracks begin with selecting a technology concentration: Cloud, Storage, Data Protection, Server, Networking, Converged Infrastructure or Data Science. Next, candidates earn the DECA (associate) credential recommended for their technology track. From there, candidates select the applicable role-based certification roadmap (Plan and Design, Deploy, Manage, or Support) and follow the certification recommendations to earn the specialist, expert and master credentials available in that certification path.

Below, we’ve listed some examples of the many certifications you’ll find in the new Dell EMC program. We’ve chosen to present these certification examples by the available technology tracks.

Server

The Server technology roadmap is the only certification path where a third-party certification, the CompTIA Server+, serves as the associate-level credential.

• Implementation Engineer, PowerEdge Specialist (DECS-IE): Certification is focused on IT professionals working with Dell EMC PowerEdge Server technology and products. To earn the credential, candidates must first obtain either the CompTIA Server+ or the Dell Certified Associate PowerEdge credential and pass the specialist exam. The test targets PowerEdge rack and tower servers, installation, configuration (server storage, iDRAC and Lifecycle Controller), and maintenance and troubleshooting.

Storage

• Information Storage and Management Associate (DCA-ISM): This credential validates a candidate’s knowledge of data center infrastructure, storage systems (file-based, object-based, software-defined, block-based and intelligent), security, replication management, backup, archive, replication, and storage networking technologies (Fibre Channel SAN, Internet Protocol SAN and Fibre Channel over Ethernet SAN).
• Implementation Engineer, SC Series Specialist (DCS-IE): This certification targets professionals working with Dell EMC SC Series storage products. Skills covered include Dell Storage Manager installation and configuration, SC Series hardware and cabling (including Fibre Channel and iSCSI), SC Series configuration, administration (Storage Manager and SC Series), and SAN HBA and switch configuration. To earn the certification, candidates must possess the Associate Information Storage and Management Version 1.0, 2.0, or 3.0 credential and pass the specialist exam.
• Expert – SC Series (DCE): To obtain this expert-level certification, candidates must possess the Specialist Implementation Engineer, SC Series certification and pass the expert exam. The test focuses on SC Series Storage product-related technologies, including hardware installation, storage array initialization, array configuration, failover testing, host confirmation and front-end storage networking configuration.

Networking

• Certified Associate – Networking: This credential targets professionals working with Dell EMC networking switches. Candidates should have at least one year of networking experience, with six months focused on installing and managing EMC networking switches, and be able to install, configure, and troubleshoot networking switches.
• Certified Professional – Networking: This credential targets experienced Dell hardware professionals. Candidates should have one to three years of experience, plus at least one year of direct experience managing or deploying Dell hardware solutions. Successful candidates will also understand deployment, cutover and integration planning, Dell tools for deployment, network configuration, and troubleshooting.

Cloud and Infrastructure Services (Cloud Architect)

• Cloud Infrastructure and Services Associate (DCA-CIS): This cert focuses on using cloud computing reference architectures to build cloud infrastructures, cloud technologies and processes, digital transformations, cloud services and applications, cloud security, business continuity, and cloud service management.
• Cloud Infrastructure Specialist (DCS-CA): This credential is the specialist level of the Dell EMC Cloud Architect certification. Candidates must possess either the associate level of the Information Storage Management (version 2.0 or 3.0) or the Cloud Infrastructure and Services (version 1.0, 2.0 or 3.0) credential and pass the specialist exam. The test focuses on cloud-related topics, including design, management, available resources (such as network, storage and computing), monitoring, hybrid cloud and disaster recovery.
• Cloud Architect, Cloud Services Expert (DCE-CA): This certification is the expert level of the Dell EMC Cloud Architect certification. As with the DCS-CA, candidates need to possess either the associate-level Information Storage and Management (version 2.0 or 3.0) or the Cloud Infrastructure and Services (version 1.0 or 2.0) credential plus the DCS-CA and pass the expert exam. The credential validates a candidate’s skill in planning and designing cloud infrastructures, business transformation, ITaaS environments, cloud services, security, governance, and financial and organizational planning.

Data Protection

• Data Protection and Management – Associate (DCA-DPM): This credential validates a candidate’s understanding of the data protection technologies, components and processes.
• Converged Infrastructure: Converged Infrastructure targets professionals who maintain, back up, configure, upgrade, troubleshoot, monitor and administer VxBlock Systems. Two credentials are available:
  • Converged Systems and Hybrid Cloud Version 1.0 – Associate (DCA-CSHC): This is a foundation-level certification that focuses on a candidate’s understanding of how to effect transformation using Dell EMC Converged Systems and Digital and IT Transformation.
  • Systems Administrator, Converged Infrastructure Version 2.0 – Specialist (DCS-SA): This credential validates a candidate’s knowledge of VxBlock Systems concepts, administration, security, resource management, maintenance and troubleshooting.

Data Science

• Data Science Associate (DECA-DS): A foundation-level credential for those just entering the realm of data science and big data analytics, this certification focuses on the tools and techniques commonly used in data analytics.
• Advanced Analytics Specialist (DECS-DS): This certification focuses on using advanced analytic methods to identify and recommend solutions for business problems. Methods include visualization, Hadoop (including Hive, HBase and Pig), natural language processing and social network analysis.

Dell third-party certifications

On top of its Certified Deployment Professional certifications, Dell Education Services has partnered with several third-party organizations in the past to provide certifications for CompTIA and Microsoft certifications. However, Dell has reduced the number of CompTIA cert courses that it offers and totally eliminated its Microsoft cert courses.

CompTIA certifications

CompTIA is a well-known, vendor-neutral certification provider. Dell has reduced its CompTIA certification training courses to just two online offerings: A+ and Linux+ certs. The cost for CompTIA training courses ranges from $550 to $650 for these topics.

According to Dell, 78% of all companies use IT deployment services. With such a widespread need, IT professionals specializing in deployment find a demand for their skills across multiple industry sectors. Some of the sectors that Dell serves are education, energy, financial services, government (federal, state and local), healthcare, manufacturing, retail, telecommunications, media and entertainment, and web development.

Popular job boards such as TechCareers, SimplyHired and Glassdoor reveal numerous jobs available for Dell-certified deployment professionals. Most of the listed positions focus on engineering roles for server, virtualization, networking, systems, integration, data security and the like. Other available roles include consultants, account executives, system administrators, IT managers and deployment managers.

Dell recommends and offers core training courses for each of its Dell EMC credentials. Interested candidates who register on the DirectTech website can also access free test study guides. In addition, Dell offers many free e-learning courses at the foundation level on various Dell products and technologies, including networking, storage, data protection, big data and converged infrastructure.

Core recommended training for each solution track includes a basic, intermediate and advanced course. Prices vary, but candidates can expect to pay $2,500 to $5,000. Most training is a combination of e-learning activities that you complete prior to attending instructor-led training.

Dell also provides training for other certifications and training opportunities for end users and IT professionals in various disciplines, including these:

Fundamental or introductory courses typically cost $100 to $200, while advanced training courses may cost thousands of dollars (we found one course with a price tag of $10,000). Dell also offers onsite training courses, with most prices running at least double that of public courses. The most expensive onsite course we found topped $42,000.

Check out everything Dell has to offer on its Education Services webpage.

Ed Tittel

Ed is a 30-year-plus veteran of the computing industry who has worked as a programmer, a technical manager, a classroom instructor, a network consultant, and a technical evangelist for companies that include Burroughs, Schlumberger, Novell, IBM/Tivoli and NetQoS. He has written for numerous publications, including Tom’s IT Pro, and is the author of more than 140 computing books on information security, web markup languages and development tools, and Windows operating systems.

Earl Follis

Earl is also a 30-year veteran of the computer industry who has worked in IT training, marketing, technical evangelism, and market analysis in the areas of networking and systems technology and management. Ed and Earl met in the late 1980s when Ed hired Earl as a trainer at an Austin-area networking company that’s now part of HP. The two of them have written numerous books together on NetWare, Windows Server and other topics. Earl is also a regular writer for the computer trade press, with many e-books, whitepapers and articles to his credit.

Quinten Plummer began writing professionally in 2008. He has more than six years in the technology field including five years in retail electronics and a year in technical support. Plummer gained his experience in music by producing for various hip-hop acts and as lead guitarist for a band. He now works as a reporter for a daily newspaper.

We recommend the best products through an independent review process, and advertisers do not influence our picks. We may receive compensation if you visit partners we recommend. Read our advertiser disclosure for more info.

(Illustration by Maggie Chiang) 

The field of implementation science needs to prioritize evidence-informed interventions that fit the daily lives of the communities in which they will be delivered. Early prevention and intervention efforts have the potential to achieve goals related to service access and outcomes, but without an explicit focus on equity, most fail to do so. Equitable implementation occurs when strong equity components—including explicit attention to the culture, history, values, assets, and needs of the community—are integrated into the principles, strategies, frameworks, and tools of implementation science. While implementation science includes many frameworks, theories, and models, a blueprint for equitable implementation does not yet exist.

Bringing Equity to Implementation

Implementation science—the study of the uptake, scale, and sustainability of social programs—has failed to advance strategies to address equity. This collection of articles reviews case studies and articulates lessons for incorporating the knowledge and leadership of marginalized communities into the policies and practices intended to serve them. Sponsored by the Anne E. Casey Foundation

This supplement addresses critical aspects of equitable implementation and attempts to define concrete strategies for advancing equity in implementation and in efforts to scale it. The core elements for equitable implementation include building trusting relationships, dismantling power structures, making investments and decisions that advance equity, developing community-defined evidence, making cultural adaptations, and reflecting critically about how current implementation science theories, models, and frameworks do (or do not) advance equity. Case examples described in this supplement demonstrate how specific activities across these core implementation elements can address cultural, systemic, and structural norms that have embedded specific barriers against Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color. 

 

We wanted two types of articles for this supplement: case examples from the field of implementation science that explicitly focus on equity, and case examples from community-driven implementation efforts to inform implementation science in the future. We required that community members serve as co-authors with implementation scientists and funders. The range of perspectives and experiences shared in these articles provides us with an important vantage point for exploring equitable implementation. In response to questions about the process of writing for this supplement, several authors stressed the necessary challenge of balancing the different stakeholder perspectives and voices to write concise and compelling articles.

We attempt to summarize what we’ve learned about equitable implementation over the course of working on this supplement and in our own research. Here are 10 recommendations we have for putting equitable implementation into action.

Build Trusting Relationships

Implementation relies on collaborative learning, risk-taking, and openness to failure. At the center of this dynamic is vulnerability and trust. Trust engenders faith that partners can rely on each other to deliver on agreements and to understand—and even anticipate—each others’ interests and needs.¹ A recommendation for building trusting relationships is:

1. Take the time to build trust through small, frequent interactions. Trust is not built through sweeping gestures, but through everyday interactions where people feel seen and heard. Trust requires long-term commitment, clear and comprehensive communication, and time. As described in the article about the partnership between ArchCity Defenders and Amplify Fund, implementation moves at the speed of trust, and that can take longer than we think. Funders need to provide the time and resources to build trust between themselves, other leaders, and community members and to support trust-building among stakeholders in the community.

Dismantle Power Structures

Power differentials exist in implementation efforts where specific individuals or groups have greater authority, agency, or influence over others. Implementation strategies should be chosen to address power differentials and position community members at the center of decision-making and implementation activities. Recommendations for dismantling power structures include:

2. Shed the solo leader model of implementation. Implementation science should promote collaborative leadership rather than rely on the charisma and energy of a single individual or organization. When leaders engage with community members and diverse stakeholder groups in meaningful activities that are ongoing, they develop a shared understanding of problems and potential solutions, develop strategies that address community needs and assets, and create a sense of mutual accountability for building the system of supports needed to sustain change and advance equitable outcomes.²

3. Distribute information and decision-making authority to those whose lives are most affected by the implementation. Empowering community members to make decisions about what is implemented and what strategies are used to carry out the work is critical for implementation to be relevant, successful, and sustainable. By recognizing the knowledge and experience that community stakeholders have and using that expertise to make decisions, public officials, funders, and practitioners create an environment of mutual comfort and respect. The central role that young people play in the development of Youth Thrive illustrates how an organization deliberately changed its work in order to ensure that nothing about young people was done without them having a collaborative role in shaping and delivering the curriculum. 

Invest and Make Decisions to Advance Equity

Successful implementation is the product of dozens of shared decisions. In all implementation efforts, opportunities exist for critical decision-making that can either increase or decrease the likelihood that implementation will result in equitable outcomes. Recommendations include:

4. Engage in deliberate and transparent decision-making. Implementation decisions should be conscious, reflective, well thought through, and paced in a way that unintended consequences can be assessed. By taking the time to reflect, we can make course corrections for decisions that yield any unexpected results. Decision-making should also be transparently communicated with stakeholders at all levels of implementation.

5. Engage community members in interpreting and using data to support implementation. As described in this supplement, the success and sustainability of implementation are related to the alignment with and deep understanding of the needs of a community as defined by the community members themselves. The Children and Youth Cabinet in Rhode Island developed a resident advisory board and offered community members regular data review sessions. At these sessions, community members shared relevant context for findings and applied their experience to quality improvement.

Develop Community-Defined Evidence

Equitable implementation starts with how the evidence we seek to implement is developed. Research evidence often demonstrates different levels of effectiveness for different groups of people when replicated or scaled widely, leading to inequitable outcomes. As interventions are developed, it is critical to consider diversity in all its forms—including geographical, racial and ethnic, socioeconomic, cultural, and access—and to do this through the involvement of local communities. A recommendation for developing community-defined evidence is:

6. Co-design interventions with community members. This ensures interventions are relevant, desired by communities, and feasible to implement. Village of Wisdom created workshops by and for Black parents to share their parenting insights. These workshops became the foundation for developing culturally affirming instruction and for formulating tools and strategies that could create environments to encourage the intellectual curiosity and racial identity of Black children. By using the experiences and knowledge of Black parents to develop learning environments that nurture well-being, Village of Wisdom asserts the value of growing up Black and parenting Black children. To develop the Bienvenido Program, staff recruited leaders across the community as cocreators of a mental health needs assessment and the knowledge developed from it. The program was designed in response to Latinx residents’ experiences and the challenges they face in accessing mental health services. In both of these examples, community members’ experiences and perspectives were used to develop interventions that were aligned with community needs as they described them.

Make Adaptations

In order to reduce disparities in outcomes and advance equitable implementation, interventions and services must reach specific groups of people and demonstrate effectiveness in improving outcomes for them.³ Adaptations, especially cultural adaptations, must be made for both interventions and for implementation strategies to ensure the reach and relevance needed for equitable implementation. Recommendations for making adaptations include:

7. Seek locally based service delivery platforms. Implementation often relies on traditional institutions (e.g., hospitals) and systems of care (e.g., public health departments) that may limit or even impede access for specific groups of people. Two articles in this supplement discuss the importance of local, faith-based groups for supporting implementation—the parenting program in Travis County, Texas, and the cardiovascular health initiative in Chicago. Both case examples elevate the importance of adapting service delivery mechanisms to trusted community organizations to increase access for and uptake by local residents.

8. Address issues of social justice. Specific groups of people face significant stressors and barriers to care that are rooted in systemic and structural racism. Authors in this supplement emphasize the importance of adaptations that address issues related to these stressors. As noted in the article on culturally adapting a parenting intervention, parents may not be able to access and benefit from a parenting program if they are dealing with immigration policies and fear of deportation. In this case, adaptations to the program would need to include immigration counseling to support equitable implementation. 

Critical Perspectives on Implementation Science

While implementation science is undergirded by theories, models, and frameworks, notably missing in the field are critical perspectives. The article on critical perspectives seeks to address this gap by discussing the methods used in implementation science and how they might perpetuate or exacerbate inequities. The authors also raise the importance of context and how it is addressed in implementation research and practice.

In the field of implementation science, context includes three levels: macro, organizational, and local.⁴ Macro context refers to socio-political and economic forces that either facilitate or hinder implementation efforts. Organizational context refers to organizational culture and climate that influence the behavior of staff. Local context refers to the community activities and relationships that influence implementation and behavior. Implementation strategies at the local or organizational level are limited in their impact on systemic and structural issues. In several articles of the supplement, authors advocate for doing more than describing the macro context. Implementation science needs to develop strategies that can address macro issues that foster or perpetuate disparities in outcomes. Recommendations include:

9. Develop implementation strategies that address the contextual factors that contribute to disparities in outcomes. Advocacy and policy implementation strategies focused on the macro context are more likely to advance equity than implementation strategies at organizational or local levels. Articles in this supplement describe the importance of building the capacity of community leaders to create advocacy networks for policies and funding that will help to sustain local programming. The example from ArchCity Defenders and Amplify Fund describes the critical role of funders in supporting changes to the social, political, and economic environments that grantees operate within to advance equity and promote sustainability. To cite another example, training community members to facilitate local programs and deliver interventions (as demonstrated in the Bienvenido Program and the cardiovascular health project in Chicago) ensures that implementation is tailored to the culture, history, and values of the local community; that interventions are delivered by trusted individuals; and that communities will be able to sustain the interventions.

10. Seek long-term outcomes that advance equity. The selection of interventions should include an assessment of the interventions’ likely influence on outcomes beyond near-term changes. Selecting programs that have the potential of a spillover effect in outcomes is a mechanism for equitable implementation. As described in a case example in this supplement, participants in the Bienvenido Program developed confidence and knowledge about participating in community meetings and engaging with locally elected officials and pursued careers in the mental health field. In the critical perspectives article, authors explained that some parenting programs demonstrate evidence for outcomes beyond strengthening parenting practices, such as reduction in substance abuse or increases in employment and stable housing.    

The purpose of implementation science is to integrate research and practice in ways that will Excellerate outcomes for people and communities. However, implementation frameworks, theories, and models have not explicitly focused on how implementation can and should advance equity. The recommendations that emerged across the diverse case examples in this supplement provide a starting point for changing and improving the methods and strategies used in implementation to ensure that equity is at the center of the work. As Ana A. Baumann and Pamela Denise Long argue in “Equity in Implementation Science Is Long Overdue,” implementation scientists must engage in critical reflection on the gaps between the intentions and the results of their work. We hope this supplement sparks reflection in funders, researchers, and practitioners involved in supporting implementation efforts with the hope of making people’s lives better and inspires their resolve and courage to shift toward learning from those who have the greatest stake in successful and equitable outcomes.

Read more stories by Allison Metz, Beadsie Woo & Audrey Loper.

The MarketWatch News Department was not involved in the creation of this content.

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