The Open Group Certified Architect (Open CA) Program

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The Open Group Certified Architect (Open CA) designation brings value and recognition to IT, Business and Enterprise Architects and the organizations that employ them

The Open Group Certified Architect (Open CA) program is an independent global certification program for qualifying the skills, knowledge and experience of IT, Business and Enterprise Architects. Accepted and applicable worldwide, Open CA boasts more than 4,000 certified professionals from 180 companies in more than 60 countries worldwide.

The program requires applicants to demonstrate skills and experience against a set of conformance requirements through written applications and peer interviews. There are no training courses to attend, and no written exams to complete.

The Open CA program is:

  • The most trusted independent benchmark for validating an IT, Business and Enterprise Architect’s skills and experience
  • A distinctive, peer-reviewed, vendor-neutral, globally recognized, portable credential
  • Used by the world’s leading enterprises as an objective measure of capabilities
  • A proven guide for filling critical roles and responsibilities
  • An outstanding career move 

If you have already registered for the Open CA program or are currently certified and would like to access your individual records then please use the following link to login. Certification Login

There are 3 levels of certification in Open CA. They are:

  • Level 1: Certified
  • Level 2: Master
  • Level 3: Distinguished

Prospective candidates are recommended to use the Open CA: Interactive Self-Assessment Tool

Open CA Update - From July 2014 we will be giving candidates the opportunity to have their one to one Level 2: Master Board interviews conducted by video conference (Skype) rather than face to face. To find out more about the Open CA program contact us here.

► New stream available: Business Architecture

 

 
The Open Group Certified Architect (Open CA) program requires candidates to submit a comprehensive certification package detailing their skills and experience gained on working on architecture related projects, followed by a rigorous peer review process.
 
The program is unique in that it is skills and experience based, vendor neutral, portable and globally recognized.
 

"I feel highly honored that you recommended that my application to be a Master Certified Architect should be accepted.  I was amazed by how professional the whole process was and I had to ask the Board Chair a few questions because she was the first to interview me.  There was no hint of any sort of subjectivity in the process and it is a great honor that you see me fit enough to be an ambassador."

An Open CA Candidate

The Open CA program currently focuses on IT. However, the architecture profession is constantly evolving and to reflect this, The Open Group will incorporate dedicated Business Architecture and Enterprise Architecture streams into the Open CA program in the near future. Therefore, applicants will be able to become an Open CA in:
  • IT Architecture
  • Business Architecture
  • Enterprise Architecture
To learn more about how to become Open CA certified, visit: 

 

For individuals, The Open Group Certified Architect (Open CA) certification represents an ideal mechanism for demonstrating knowledge, success and overall business capabilities. The Open CA program can significantly enhance and affirm your professional skills, improve your prospects for rewarding assignments, accelerate salary and career advancement, and result in greater peer recognition.

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Open up your Career - for Individuals

 

For organizations, the Open CA program provides an independent, global, experience-based benchmark for identifying, assessing and selecting the most qualified individuals for critical roles and responsibilities. Specifying Open CA-certified individuals in procurement and project proposals can considerably reduce recruitment time and cost, and result in higher project success rates.

Open CA can help to optimize the staff recruitment and retention process, and motivate staff to acquire this widely recognized industry standard to authenticate their skills and experience.

Organizations can also utilize The Open Group materials to build their own professional certification programs, and apply the Open CA program structure to enhance their own learning and development programs.

In a marketplace where confidence is a key purchasing factor, suppliers can demonstrate their expertise by showing that they use certified IT and Enterprise Architects for specific projects. Open CA certification is a powerful competitive differentiator that provides your customers with reliable assurance of the skills and capabilities of your IT professionals, and of the quality and interoperability of your products.

“Credit Suisse’s IT division is required to provide high-quality, innovative and cost-efficient technology solutions to our integrated global bank. In order to achieve our goals, it is critical that we attract and retain the best IT professionals in the market. By following industry best practices, The Open Group has defined an outstanding benchmark for IT Architects and IT specialists, which makes it easier to identify the highly skilled and experienced professionals that Credit Suisse is looking for. In addition, I am very much in favor of The Open Group’s efforts to certify skills and experience, rather than academic qualifications only.”
Andreas Buzzi
Head of Software Engineering
Credit Suisse
 
“We will continue our active involvement in the ongoing development of TOGAF® and the Open CA program. Open CA, in our view, is tomorrow’s standard architecture certification, akin to what PMI is for the program management community today.”
Sascha Kuhlman
Global Lead, Enterprise Architecture Program
SAP

Open CA, an Open Group Certification, is a well-known and respected certification for practicing IT and Enterprise Architects. There have been numerous articles about the value of the program; for example, in recent isues of the Foote report of 22,000 IT professionals covering 170 IT certifications, it suggests that in terms of pay growth, Open CA is the number one must have certifications.

Open CA certification is in strong demand because:
  • Demand is being created in the marketplace for Open CA references in both RFPs and recruitment advertising. The Open CA program has previously been requested in RFPs for companies in both the private sector and various government agencies
  • Companies such as Logica, CA, Capgemini, Shell, John Hancock, CBS, EADS and Direct Energy have recently advertised for job roles that included a reference to Open CA 
There are hundreds of organizations that employ Open CA certified staff including: Accenture, Credit Suisse, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, AT&T, Deloitte, HSBC, Nationwide, CA, Direct Energy, IBM, Raytheon, Cisco Systems, Fortis, ING, UPS and Shell.
 
The Open Group Platinum Members