MCA - Microsoft Certified Architect

The Microsoft Certified Architect (MCA) programs identify top industry experts in IT architecture. Microsoft Certified Architects have proven experience with delivering solutions and can communicate effectively with business, architecture, and technology professionals.

These professionals have three or more years of advanced IT architecture experience, possess strong technical and leadership skills, and form a tight-knit, supportive community. Candidates are required to pass a rigorous Review Board interview conducted by a panel of experts. The MCA credential was built by and for industry architects.

Microsoft Certified Architect program consists of two sets of certifications

• MCA programs for technology-based architecture skills (training and certification)
• MCA programs for broad architecture skills (certification only)

MCA programs for technology-based architecture skills (training and certification)

These individuals are highly skilled technical experts and experienced consultants who can engage with businesses of any size and deliver the best possible solution to solve the most complex requirementsThe MCA technology training has two parts.

The first component is four weeks of mandatory technical training, which includes weekly written exams. Candidates who pass the training are eligible to participate in the second component: certification. Certification consists of an online lab based exam and a Review Board interview. Candidates have the option of attempting the final certification criteria during the week following the training or deferring them to a later date

MCA programs for broad architecture skills (certification only)

For those industry experts who possess broad architecture skills that use a variety of Microsoft and non-Microsoft technologies to deliver customer solutions, Microsoft offers certifications recognizing infrastructure and solutions excellence. To earn certification, you must pass a rigorous Review Board interview conducted by a panel of Microsoft experts and MCAs.

The Microsoft Certified Architect (MCA) program identifies top industry experts in the fields of IT architecture. Unlike other industry certifications, this credential is designed, built, and granted by industry peers, and candidates are required to present to and be approved through a rigorous review board process overseen by previously certified architects.

The MCA certification for infrastructure architects was designed for IT architects whose key areas of focus include physical network, security, storage, network operating systems, application platforms, desktop operating systems, messaging, management, or operations.

Successful candidates for the infrastructure architecture certification generally have more than 10 years of experience in IT, and three or more years of specific architectural experience.

The MCA program for infrastructure architects focuses on validating skills across seven competencies. While these competencies are common across each of the MCA certifications, the expectations for each architect job role are slightly different.Candidates who enter the program are required to provide documentation showing how their skills and work experience directly apply to each of the seven architect competencies. After creating the required documentation, the last step is the review board interview. Candidates appear before a jury of their peers, which consists of four MCAs—two each from the infrastructure and solutions domains. The two-hour session includes a 30-minute presentation by the candidate, followed by questions from the review board panel.