Cisco, Pearson VUE Team

SAN JOSE, Calif. and BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- Cisco(R) (NASDAQ: CSCO) and Pearson VUE announced they are teaming tocreate a new standard for individual information technology (IT)certifications, elevating them to the level of professionalcertification and licensure programs. Beginning Aug. 1, Pearson VUEwill be the primary vendor of Cisco certification exams worldwide.Cisco CCNA(R) and CCIE(R) are two of the Cisco professionalcertification exams that will be delivered through Pearson VUE.Additionally, Pearson VUE will deliver other Cisco individualtechnical certifications and specialization exams previously deliveredby multiple test-delivery companies.

"We are investing heavily in Cisco educational initiatives around theworld to ensure proper coverage of technical skills for our customers,our partners and ourselves," said Jeanne Beliveau-Dunn, seniordirector of Learning@Cisco. "Our overall goal for developingtechnical talent is to have the right people, in the right place, atthe right time so that our customers and partners have the bestpossible experience with our technology. We're confident that as aresult of this collaboration, Cisco certifications will continue tobe highly regarded and relevant to employers across the globe."

To meet global demand, Cisco is moving to a primary-vendor strategywith Pearson VUE so that the two organizations can mutually expandtheir investments. This focused relationship will enable Cisco andPearson VUE together to build a stronger infrastructure that willprovide the followingbenefits:

"Our certification strategy and its related partnerships are criticalto achieving our objective," continued Beliveau-Dunn. "We aredramatically expanding Cisco's technical certification systems byimproving the delivery of cutting-edge technical training curricula,developing professional learning communities, expanding globalcoverage and aggressively improving certification security worldwide.Ultimately, this will help in the recruitment and retention of solidtechnical talent as well as increase the overall brand value of Ciscocertifications."Cisco Systems Inc.