Microsoft's surprise phase-out of its highest-level certification programs has angered a number of those who have trained or are in the midst of training to be "masters" across a variety of the company's products.
Microsoft officials announced late in the evening on August 30 (the start of the long Labor Day weekend in the U.S.) that it would be retiring its Masters level certification exams as of October 1, 2013. According to the e-mail message sent out to the Microsoft Certified Master (MCM), Microsoft Certified Solutions Master (MCSM) and Microsoft Certified Architect (MCA) communities, Microsoft also will no longer offer Masters and Architect training.
The exact reason as to why Microsoft is doing this isn't clear from the email (a copy of which can be found on Microsoft Senior Consultant Neil Johnson's TechNet blog). It notes that Microsoft is "continuing to evolve the Microsoft certification program." It also adds that "The IT industry is changing rapidly and we will continue to evaluate the certification and training needs of the industry to determine if there's a different certification needed for the pinnacle of our program."
