Posted by Joanne Coleman, Director of NetSuite Certification

The rapid rise of cloud ERP has created significant advantages for companies that have adopted it. It’s freed them from the hardware, IT maintenance and upgrade nightmares of on-premise software and provided scalable, customizable systems that can rapidly adapt to new conditions or market opportunities. But the rapid rise of cloud ERP has also left some businesses struggling to find qualified help and unsure of the qualifications of the help they can find.

The new NetSuite Administrator Certification Program, the industry’s first initiative to validate the competencies of administrators managing a cloud ERP business environment, is changing that. The certification program is designed to help organizations get the maximum value from their NetSuite investment by benchmarking the skills and knowledge of NetSuite administrators and making adjustments as necessary. NetSuite Administrator Certification will also be an important data point for organizations to consider as they recruit for an open NetSuite administrator position and size up the qualifications of candidates.

For current or prospective administrators, NetSuite Administrator Certification validates that they have mastered managing configurations, customizations, user roles and permissions, and NetSuite’s twice-yearly updates, as well as their ability to support end-users and the overall cloud ERP environment. It can also mean better employment marketability and earning power as the NetSuite customer base continues to grow. Certified administrators receive a NetSuite Administrator Certification logo that can be used on business cards and in digital signature blocks. Administrator Certification is also of interest to NetSuite partners that employ administrators in offering NetSuite-based business process outsourcing (BPO) services to client organizations.

For more information, including training opportunities with seasoned NetSuite instructors with a combined 200 years of experience in NetSuite ERP implementations, please visit www.netsuite.com/certification.

The NetSuite Administrator Certification Program aligns with two similar programs introduced in the past year, NetSuite Certified ERP Consultant and NetSuite Certified SuiteCloud Developer programs, two certifications aimed at validating the skills of consultants and developers.

Beyond ensuring administrators have the right skills, the certification also minimizes the risk of an under-skilled administrator who can actually damage the business with bad customizations or a misunderstanding of standard out-of-the-box workflows.

Registration for the NetSuite Administrator Certification program is now open at the NetSuite Certification web page. Administrator Certification is based on passing two rigorous exams that test both baseline and advanced knowledge; candidates who have already passed the baseline SuiteFoundation exam do not need to retake it. Testing is available at more than 600 locations around the world or as an online proctored exam with the use of an external camera. Generally, candidates should possess at least one year of experience configuring and managing a robust NetSuite implementation. The candidate should be able to perform the day-to-day tasks of managing the application, with a sound understanding of the standard business processes, standard accounting practices, advanced features, options and capabilities of NetSuite.

The best way to prepare for any NetSuite Certification Exam is to visit the NetSuite Certification webpage and review the Study Guides for each exam, especially the table listing all the test objectives in the middle. Any areas that are less familiar can be researched in SuiteAnswers, and a list of recommended NetSuite Training classes are also provided for each exam.

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