After recently identifying inadequate skills and expertise as being among the top three causes of slow digital progress, Dell EMC took steps on Thursday to do something about it. The company announced that it would add four new certification tracks to validate the levels of expertise needed to manage today’s modern information technology infrastructure.

“What we’re validating in these certifications is absolutely relevant to a lot of our customers that we see who are transforming at a rapid pace,” said Mike Apigian (pictured), senior director of education services product management at Dell EMC. “What we’re focused on validating are the future skills needed.”

Apigian spoke with CUBE host Stu Miniman (@stu), at the SiliconANGLE Media office in Boston, Massachusetts. They discussed the new levels of certification and the continued importance of security in the enterprise. (* Disclosure below.)

Elite “Enterprise Architect” level added

The additional training enhancements will be integrated with Dell EMC’s Proven Professionals program, which has provided more than 150,000 certifications around the world. The new certifications include expert classifications for converged systems and hybrid cloud platforms, infrastructure security, multi-cloud, and an elite “Enterprise Architect” designation that requires a board review process.

“IT professionals need to be skilled and proficient in much more than specific products and technologies,” Apigian said. “It’s really the connection across multiple domains, infrastructure, applications and security.”

Highlighting the topic of security as a key skills element in the IT world validates enterprise-wide concern surrounding the vulnerability of global networks. Barely 48 hours before Dell EMC’s announcement, researchers from cloud security firm RedLock Ltd. disclosed that hackers had breached automaker Tesla’s public cloud, stealing confidential data and using the account to perform cryptocurrency mining.

“It’s a hot topic everywhere,” said Apigian during the discussion of Dell EMC’s security training focus. “It’s really focused on taking a security-first approach and implementing the right security controls in the infrastructure.”

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s CUBE Conversations. (* Disclosure: Dell EMC sponsored this segment of theCUBE. Neither Dell EMC nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE