While he was at TechMentor, I caught up with Ed Denzler by phone on April 8, 2004. Ed is the CEO of The Training Camp,
a training company that specializes in accelerated classroom training on Microsoft, Oracle, Cisco, CompTIA, security, and Linux
topics, with a strong emphasis on helping students attain related certifications. As somebody who operates a large,
multinational training company (The Training Camp operates training centers at six locations in the United States, two
locations in the United Kingdom, and one location in Germany), Denzler's observations and experiences are likely to be
of interest to those who follow IT certification in general, and IT certification training in particular.
Overall, in fact, Denzler is bullish about current market conditions. He says that "…things are starting to pick up on
the corporate side of business, where it appears that the purse strings are starting to loosen up. People who've stayed
the course with companies are being rewarded with training; companies look at it as an investment in their staff."
Although business is apparently still flat on the public, commercial training side, my discussions with him lead me to
conclude that this is better than declining quarterly sales more typical in 2002 and 2003 for the whole industry.
When asked about bright spots in his curriculum, Denzler reported that security topics are doing particularly well. His
CISSP offerings are well attended, and he's starting to see an uptick in his coverage of the Microsoft security curriculum
as well, in those exams that relate to MCSA and MCSE security specializations. He opines further that "…the integration of
security into the core curriculum will follow the track that TCP/IP took in making its way into the core of the Windows
operating system." My interpretation of this remark is that he sees security coverage becoming absolutely integral and
essential for Windows administration, training, and certification. He's also getting excited about the MCDST because
corporate customers are asking for it to be covered, and sees it as a good way to get up to speed for entry-level
Microsoft professionals. He also sees lots of action in the Linux space leading to the Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)
certification.
When asked about market growth, Denzler indicates that the biggest growth in sales right now is for onsite training
(in which a company sends an instructor to a customer site, and uses the company's equipment and facilities to deliver
training, often customized for specific needs not applicable elsewhere). But with the economy finally turning around,
and IT budgets and spending finally growing, he's optimistic that this presages an upward turn for the overall market
in the next quarter or two. Along with many others with stakes in this field, I certainly hope he's right!
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