CompTIA Certified Document Imaging Architect

The Certified Document Imaging Architect (CDIA) certification is one of CompTIA's "hidden" certifications. The CDIA been offered for years, but is not as well known or as widely spread as some other CompTIA's certifications. A+ has a high profile because lots of people repair and service PCs and many more of us wish we knew how to, it is even taught in high schools and community colleges. Document imaging is just not the first thing that pops into your mind when you consider changing to a computer career.

For that reason, it might be all the more important to those of you who want to avoid all the competition among MCSEs and CNE certification holders. Document imaging might not sound sexy compared to network engineering, but it's bound to be in demand, and therefore, so is the Certified Document Imaging Architect certification.

Storing and manipulating data is the bread and butter of computers. And where is most of the data of the past? It is still on paper in filing cabinets somewhere. With the era of laptops, BlackBerries, and widely available wireless Internet access, accessing this data from a remote location has become increasing important. But how do you access information stored on paper back in the closet someplace? The answer is you cannot. That is where document imaging comes in; someone scans it and stores it in an electronic format that can be accessed online. That is why people with Certified Document Imaging Architect certification are needed, until we transfer all information currently on paper to electronic format. And this will not be something done overnight obviously.

Also, although almost every business of any size uses computers, not all of them are totally "paper free" offices by any means. They are still producing tons of paper with information that would be better in a storage server somewhere. Archiving data electronically is not only more efficient and easier; it also helps save the planet. Let's be honest, there simply is not enough forest in the world to cover all our needs if we continue to use it as we have in the past along with the fast growing paper hungry populations of Asia.

The Certified Document Imaging Architect certification is for becoming an imaging architect, not just a clerk scanning documents. It is designed to certify your knowledge and skill at scanning and storing documents in a digital form, using optical character recognition software. A CDIA specialist is expected to be able to plan, design, and write specifications for an imaging system.