When you think about Exchange Server 2010 skills for IT pros there are two ways to look at it.
- Skills needed to operate and maintain Exchange 2010
- Skills needed to design and deploy Exchange 2010
Anyone running an Exchange Server 2010 environment would naturally tend to go for the skills to operate and maintain it. Those skills are assessed by Microsoft exam 70-662.
But it may not occur to them to also train themselves on design and deployment of Exchange Server 2010. I see a lot of value in those skills even for someone who is managing an established Exchange environment, for these simple reasons:
- You need to understand the design fundamentals of your Exchange environment (in other words, why it is the way it is)
- You learn a lot about the inner workings of a product by deploying it yourself in a training lab (multiple times if necessary, since you don’t risk breaking a production environment)
- You may need to design and deploy expansions for the Exchange environment as the business grows
And of course if you want to work as a consultant who designs and deploys Exchange Server 2010 for customers then it’s a no-brainer; you need these skills.
I recently sat (and passed) Microsoft Exam 70-663. Yes, I’d worked with Exchange Server 2010 already. And yes, I’d deployed it in my training lab and for customers. I figured I knew enough to get by with a pass. But I didn’t want to just pass the exam, I wanted a good score too.
I used to be a reader of big technical training books. But having learned how impractical it is to carry those around on public transport, not to mention every time I’ve had to pack them up to move house, I started looking at different training materials.
Let’s face it, these days most of us are carrying iPhones, iPads, or at least our laptops with us, and thats a lot more convenient then a 1000+ page book. So now I mostly go for training kits that come with video and audio lessons. Being able to watch a video on the train ride to work, or listen to the audio lessons while driving around on weekends, really helps me absorb the info a lot faster.
For exam 70-663 (Designing and Deploying Messaging Solutions with Microsoft Exchange Server 2010) I used this training kit from Train Signal.
Aside from the excellent coverage of the exam topics I also benefited a lot from going through some design and deployment scenarios that I hadn’t encountered in the real world yet.
The training is delivered by J Peter Bruzzese, an Exchange MVP who really knows the product in depth as well as being a great trainer.
Did this training help me pass? No doubt about it. And I scored 962 too!
If you want to pass exam 70-663 order the Train Signal Exchange Server 2010 Design and Deployment Training Kit.
You can also get free beginner’s training on Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 in the Exchange 2010 Boot Camp.
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Besides, this sounds like an ad. Not to mention your links have your click-through affiliate ID attached to them.
For the amount of decent articles, reviews and advice Paul gives, I’d gladly see an ad or 10. I’ll even click a few.
Completely agree. Great articles and our Exchange community have good people like Pual that share their knowledge with others. Thank you for your contribution.
The Real Person!
Author Paul Cunningham acts as a real person and passed all tests against spambots. Anti-Spam by CleanTalk.
Hi Louis, thanks for your comment.
Yes, those are affiliate links, whereby I earn a referral commission from Train Signal if a person clicks through and purchases the training course that I recommend. I earn nothing if they click through and do not buy, nor do I earn a commission if they buy and find it is not for them and request a refund instead.
Having purchased the training course out of my own pocket and studied through all the lessons I am happy to recommend it to others who are interested in Exchange 2010 certification.
I will make one correction to my article though because I want it to be 100% accurate. I’ve just rechecked my score report from the exam and when I wrote that I scored 924 that was in fact incorrect. My score was 962, so I’ve just updated the article to fix that error.
Thanks again for your comment, and please let me know if I can help with anything else.
Awesome.. now that your score is actually 962 the article has much more relevance. I had brushed it off after seeing the 924 posted earlier.
Thanks.
Ted
Train Signal is good…but so damn expensive! I’d rather go buy and read the MS Press books inside out…If Train Signal were affordable I’d get them for sure.
Chris