MCM: Microsoft Certified Master on Microsoft Exchange Server 2010

Unique Certification

Me and 12 other guys from around the world recently spent 3 weeks (from the 1st to 20th of March 2010) in Redmond for the 5th master rotation on Exchange Server, the first on Exchange Server2010. Out of us 13, five managed to pass the three written exams and the practical qualification lab at first attempt and became certified masters. http://blogs.technet.com/themasterblog/archive/2010/03/29/the-first-5-mcm-exchange-2010-s-ever-in-the-world-just-them-only-them.aspx

Great Training

The training was just awesome, the best I had during my 25 years as an IT professional. We had the very best instructors, deep dive course material and real life practical labs with our own complete lab environment. The Microsoft training facilities are also top notch with nice classrooms. The investment is definitely worth it, you can’t get this kind of training anywhere else and the return you get in knowledge and the community resource is priceless.

Dedication and a lot of Hard work

I knew that the training was going to be tough from reading the master blog, it was even tougher than I expected. We were in the classroom at 7.30 every morning and the lectures started at 8. We continued the whole day until 6pm on average, some days even to 8pm. After the lectures and labs, we usually stayed a couple of more hours for more labs and testing. Saturdays were lab days, with 12h of optional labs, but much needed for the upcoming qualification lab. Sundays were study days for the written exams on Monday mornings. I spent around 300h during this training listening, reading, doing labs and taking exams. There was no time to do anything else, but focusing on Exchange Server 2010 for the 3 weeks. I didn’t even turn on the TV once during the 3 weeks of training, there was only time to make some short phone calls back home. I hardly answered any emails during this period either. I think this focused effort and dedication made me successful in passing the entire program at first attempt.

The Community

Becoming an Exchange Master opens up the door the exclusive community of the Exchange Product Team and all the certified Exchange Rangers/Masters. This is probably the most valuable resource for an Exchange consultant and IT pro in the world. Any Exchange question you might have is most likely going to be answered in depth and with authority of this community. All Masters are under NDA which also means that we get to know what’s coming in the future releases, but we can’t talk or blog about it until the information is officially released.

Sharing knowledge

The intention of this blog is to share my knowledge and experience from consultancy and training work in the field. The communities and the web has helped me a lot during the years, and I too feel like contributing to the world’s greatest resource.