Courses in Microsoft take care of a multitude of alternatives. At one end of the range, you may need some guidance on Word or Excel, at the other you may be looking for various 'MCP's' in order to get certified in I.T. at the professional level. It is extremely important, as with all training, to be sure of what job you would like to get to, and what your reasons are to get there, because these will greatly affect what route you take & what learning style you utilise. We continually recommend that if you intend to go after IT as a career, you have a good careers discussion with an expert advisor, to ensure you don't waste either your time or your money.

To many Computer users, the word 'Windows' comes to mind once they think of 'Microsoft'. It could also suggest Microsoft Office, which provides us with a selection of commonplace computer applications. Word is the company's word processing software, familiar to many millions everywhere. When it comes to spreadsheets we have Excel, & when we require database software programs we've got 'Access'. For delivering presentations, Office has the software program 'PowerPoint', which rounds off the chief applications in the suite. In reality though Microsoft have developed their Office solution a lot further - for example with Outlook for messaging, calendar formatting and emailing.

Microsoft own 'Visual Studio', - the fore-most 'Windows' software program development environment. A number of 'languages' are offered, though the two most commonly applied ones are 'C#.Net' and 'Visual Basic.Net'. Advice regarding both 'languages' is included within the Programming and Development sector of this web-site. 'MCAD' & 'MCSD' accreditations have been updated to the Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist ('MCTS') & the Microsoft Certified Professional Developer ('MCPD').

MS Network & Server Operating Systems dominate the corporate environment. The standard platform for about eight to nine out of every ten business networks is estimated to be Windows Server. Clearly quite a few up-grades have taken place - the initial 'NT' Server became 2000, then 2003 and now 2008. The majority of business establishments still utilise Server 2003, and up-dating to 'Server 2008' is not likely for many. It's much more likely that installation updates to Server 2008 will be needed by companies that need to by pass a generation or 2, from NT or 2000. You will find more information on MS Networking and Server Operating Systems in the MCSE/MCSA web-pages, as well as info on the Server 2003 vs 2008 question.

The push towards more skilled professional acknowledgement & skill for IT staff has been led by 'Microsoft' for several years now. So much so that the whole IT world and particularly senior managers view professional level 'Microsoft' qualifications with great respect.

The main fields that Microsoft provide certification routes for are typically relevant to their core systems offerings. They are 1) Network & Server Operating-Systems, 2) Programming and Software-Development inside the Windows environment, & 3) Database Administration and Development. There are specific & very different qualification groups pertaining to each of these tracks; refer to the relevant sectors on this web-site for further details.

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