Let me post the first entry for CY’08 sharing a news about the release of an exciting Sun course: IDM 4485 (Sun Java System Identity Manager: Deployment Fundamentals II) replaces Identity Manager Advanced Deployment Course, coded IDM 4484. The websites are not updated yet with the information about this course, but know that this course is ready to be delivered. E-mail Sun Learning Services for more details.
The key highlights of IDM 4485 includes:
*It is a five day course unlike its predecessor (IDM 4484)
*Based on Identity Manager 7.1
*Labs use the up-to-date version of the MySQL and Tomcat as a base
*ActiveSync labs reworked to use Identity Attributes (Metaview)
*New lab that demonstrates ActiveSync using the process mode
*Self-Service labs updated to utilize End User Authorization
*Lots of refinements and additional explanations
The bullet points above are taken out, undistorted, from a slide that David Goldsmith and David Awad prepared during a call with the World Wide IDM Instructors. The above information is of course useful only if you have had a chance to go through the IDM 4484 contents.
While the information about IDM 4485 gets to the Sun Education websites, let me mention here the pre-requisite for attending this course:
To succeed fully in this course, students should have successfully completed IDM-345 Sun Java(TM) System Identity Manager: Deployment Fundamentals. In addition, a minimum of six weeks of Identity Manager deployment experience is highly recommended.
I felt the need to emphasize here the pre-requisite of IDM 4485 and more importantly mark it in a colour bearing the longest wavelength so that its importance sink in to the prospective IDM 4485 customers. I don’t know about other parts of the globe, but in India there is a tendency among the customers to bypass the fundamental training on Identity Manager (IDM 345) and jump straight into a tough course, putting all the participants in a very difficult situation. I have told this before, I am telling this again and I shall continue to utter this, for I consider it my duty to do so. We certainly don’t intend to question the capacity of those who choose to take up IDM 4485 directly, but would want everyone attending IDM 4485 go back from the Sun Classrooms with an unwavering confidence to work on this product. Very clearly, that can only happen if they meet the pre-requisite for attending this course.
Release of IDM 4485 leads me to believe that the training that I took up last week for a huge batch in Chennai was perhaps the last ILT on IDM 4484. Have a look at the batch photograph below:
I am not in a good state of health. Looks like an irritating throat infection is going to stay with me for a few more days. Hoping for a faster recovery.
Have a good week ahead 
.