What is the state of my Windows Server certification?

Successful certification is an undeniable achievement; it will always hold some level of personal and professional value. But technology is always changing, and the certifications that are relevant today may not be relevant tomorrow. Many IT professionals will update certifications to stay competitive with their peers -- and may have an obligation to recertify as a requirement for maintaining the certification.

Microsoft Technology Associate and Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA) Windows Server certifications do not expire and do not need to be recertified over any period of time. However, IT professionals can update retired or legacy MCSA certifications to position themselves for emerging product offerings. What better way to stand out for an upcoming Windows Server 2012 upgrade than to show your boss that you're certified in it?

For example, MCSA: Windows Server 2008 certification recipients can update their certification to Windows Server 2012 by taking a single "Upgrading Your Skills to MCSA Windows Server 2012" exam. Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE) certifications must be recertified every three years. MCSE recertification is typically accomplished by completing a single recertification exam. For the MCSE server infrastructure track, this is the "Recertification for MCSE: Server Infrastructure" exam.

What better way to stand out for an upcoming Windows Server 2012 upgrade than to show your boss that you're certified in it?

Exams are periodically updated as operating systems and other products are upgraded. For example, Windows Server 2012 R2 and System Center 2012 R2 content was added to Microsoft MCSA and MCSE exams in 2014. Updating the exams to reflect Windows Server 2016 content will inevitably occur after Windows Server 2016 is released and has proven to be stable.

There is no concrete information on when exams will be updated for Windows Server 2016. However, based on Microsoft's current exam pattern, it is possible that current MCSA holders should be able to update their current Windows Server 2012 certification as-desired with an "Upgrading Your Skills to MCSA Windows Server 2016" exam once it has been updated.

MCSE recertification with exams such as "Recertification for MCSE: Server Infrastructure" should eventually include Windows Server 2016 content. It's unlikely that current MCSE holders would need to take more than one exam to complete existing recertification obligations for Windows Server 2016. New MCSE server infrastructure candidates will almost certainly need to take the MCSA exam suite updated for Windows Server 2016 along with the two additional "Designing and Implementing a Server Infrastructure" and "Implementing an Advanced Server Infrastructure" exams.