Microsoft MVP Certification – a myth

Filed in General on May.28, 2010

Here is a scrap from the official website of one the IT company with 250+ employees. Funny that this company is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner:

It is very unfortunate that people consider Microsoft MVP Award as a “certification”. Fact is:

1	Microsoft MVP badge is an Award given by Microsoft as a recognition for their Technical Expertise, Knowledge Sharing mentality, Community Activities etc.
2	You cannot purchase this with money.
3	It may not be impossible, but it is difficult to get ‘many’ Microsoft MVPs in a company as the total number of Microsoft MVPs in the whole world is very less. In India, we have only around 115 Microsoft MVPs.
4	MVP = Most Valuable Professional, where as MCP = Microsoft Certified Professional.
5	To get a certification, you need to write examination. Today, it is easy to get a certification as there are brain dumps available over the internet. But to ~~get~~ become an MVP, you really need to spend time for technology.

See, here is the what Microsoft say about Microsoft MVP Award:

We seek to recognize the best and brightest from technology communities around the world with the Microsoft® Most Valuable Professional (MVP) Award.

These exceptional community leaders come from a wide range of backgrounds. They are teachers, artists, doctors, engineers, as well as technologists, who actively share their high-quality, real-world technical expertise with the community and with Microsoft.

With the MVP Award, we thank these inspiring individuals for representing the voice of thousands in the community through the powerful and independent feedback they give us, and for helping our customers maximize the potential of their software.

MVPs are passionate about improving technology. From beta testing to helping Microsoft identify real-world customer needs, MVPs offer amazing contributions with great dedication. And they answer millions of questions each year from technology users around the world. Through all of this, MVPs help keep us in touch with the needs of our customers. With the MVP Award, we say “Thank you.”

These exceptional and highly respected individuals come from more than 90 countries, serving their local online and offline communities and having an impact worldwide. Not only independent experts offering real-world answers to technology users, MVPs also offer an objective “voice of the customer” perspective for us at Microsoft.