VMware training is expensive in Australia: go to Singapore!

Vendors have a history of overcharging Australians for software. Someone realised it was cheaper to fly to the United States to purchase Adobe Creative Suite than to purchase it locally. Unfortunately, it’s the same case with VMware training.

VMware vSphere: Install, Configure, Manage – the course you have to sit

This course (also known as the VMware ICM) is required if you want the VCP (VMware Certified Professional) certification. The course is mandatory if you want to be certified: if you haven't attended the course, you can't be a VCP even if you passed the exam. The good news about this arrangement is that every VCP has a minimum common level of knowledge, and the VCP hasn't been watered down like the equivalent Microsoft certifications. The bad news is that the course is AUD$3850 + GST. It's a nice cash cow for VMware, but not so good if you’re paying for the course yourself (like I did).

Why would you pay for the course yourself and not have your employer pay? Maybe your employer isn't interested in upskilling you in virtualization, or you're a contractor, or just someone trying to break into an infrastructure role. Getting VCP certified is a serious commitment and I hope to save you a few dollars if you're not lucky enough to have your training paid for.

All of VMware's training courses are listed on myLearn. If you click the Find a Class link, you'll have the option of searching for ICM. Here's a screenshot of the course details for ICM in Sydney.

Unfortunately, a 10% GST is applicable. 

However, the same course is available in Singapore for USD$2620, or only AU$2580! Is it cheaper to fly to Singapore, stay 7 nights, do the ICM course, then fly back for less?!

$3850 vs $2620? That's a saving of at least...fifty bucks!

It may very well be! Let’s put my theory to the test. To begin, the Australian price we need to beat is $3850 + GST (which is $4235, but I'll assume you don't own a company to claim GST). The course I've selected is at the VMware Singapore office on Temasek Boulevard. It starts on the 11th of March, but I like to arrive in a city a a day or two beforehand so I can settle in. If you were to fly from Sydney on the Saturday beforehand and return the next Saturday, it would cost you...

...after the customs user fee, immigration user fee, APHIS fee, federal transport tax fee,
security fee, passenger movement charge, passenger service charge, international surcharge,
facility charge and credit card fee, that comes to...

...$558.30, which leaves a few dollars for a hotel. The Porcelain Hotel is nice and it's close to the Chinatown NE4 MRT station, which is only four stops away from the Esplanade CC3 MRT station. Esplanade MRT is directly below the VMware Singapore office.

 You could stay at Hotel 81 for half the price,
but that place is a little strange.

The Porcelain is small and quirky, but at $953 it's very reasonably priced and has all the expected luxuries. In summary:

Cost of course in Australia if you don't own a company: $4235 ($3850 AUD + 10% GST)

Cost of course in Australia if you own a company: $3850

Cost of course in Singapore: $2620 USD ($2580 AUD, as at 2013-03-06 via Citibank)

Cost of return flights: $558.30

Cost of hotel for 7 nights: $953

Total: $4091.30

If you don't own a company and you're unable to claim GST, there's a $143 benefit in flying to Singapore, staying 7 nights, and attending the course at VMware's Singapore office! If you own a company, the GST rebate lets you attend the course approximately $250 cheaper than doing it in Singapore. But if I were you, I'd still do the course overseas because

• You'll get to meet people in the wider Asia Pacific VMware community you wouldn't normally meet. It's a good opportunity to network with other IT infrastructure professionals from a different region and see what their challenges are.
• The quality of the instructors is the same worldwide. It seems that the VCP instructors fly around the world.
• You'll be interrupted by phone calls if you attend the course in Australia. How many times have you attended course and seen people miss important lessons because they answered work phone calls during class time?
• The concepts taught in the ICM course are important and you'll be more focused if you don't have to worry about your usual day to day urgencies. The urgent always seems to overtake the important.
• The VMware Singapore office has a well stocked pantry with plenty of drinks and Toblerones!

If you're considering going to Singapore for the VMware ICM but want to reduce the price, you could use airbnb and stay in someone's spare room. And if travelling isn't an option, you can attend the course online via WebEx: it's the same price as classroom delivery, without any of the interaction.

Whether you attend the course in Australia, over WebEx, in Singapore, or any country, there's a lot of content in the VMware ICM to cover. And if you're new to VMware, be sure to pick the method of course delivery which is most conducive to your learning. It might not be the cheapest, but I hope it is!

AUSkey: Australian Government’s attempt at SSO

The Australian Government’s Standard Business Reporting program is attempting to roll out single-sign (SSO) on across all Federal government departments and some state government departments.

You know that problem of having too many different usernames and passwords to remember? Single sign-on is the solution to that. The concept behind SSO is that a user should only have one credential to access multiple services from the same entity. AUSkey is the Australian Government’s attempt at SSO.

Using an AUSkey is simple enough. When a user attempts to access a participating government e-service (i.e. the ATO Business Portal), they are prompted to select an AUSkey (digital certificate).

After selecting a digital certificate, you are prompted for a password.

After entering the password and clicking continue, the user is directed to the resource on the participating site.

For reasons unknown, SBR have chosen to use a Java applet to provide the authentication dialog. This Java applet must be installed on each device used to access AUSkey-authenticated systems.

Because an AUSkey might not always have the ability to install the AUSkey client (i.e. corporate environments), there is a ‘install to a USB’ capability. This installs a standalone/portable Firefox browser to a USB drive and preinstalls the AUSkey certificate (the AUSkey browser.exe file is visible but the AUSkey and AUSkey software for USB folders are hidden).

The Firefox browser is ATO branded and returns the user string
Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 6.1; en-GB; rv:1.9.1.5) Gecko/20091102 Firefox/3.5.5 (AUSkey Mobile Access)

My observations so far:

• The sign-up process is overly complex. True to government form, there are too many unintuitive forms to fill out. People are familiar with the sign up/e-mail confirmation/login concept. AUSkey needs to be as easy to use as Microsoft Windows Live ID for for people to be enthusiastic about it.
• The AUSkey installer is just as convoluted. The Nullsoft MSI installer crashed upon first run, and appeared to stall repeatedly during the installation.
• AUSkeys aren’t portable. For an unknown reason, my desktop browser could not find the certificate installed on my USB key. I had to signup for an additional AUSkey.
• You should be able to use AUSkey without an installer. AUSkey uses Java-based browser plug-ins for the certificate selection. There are methods of requesting client certificates that don’t require Java applets. This is especially important since Microsoft doesn’t include it with Windows 7. and Apple is unlikely to bundle Java with their next MacOS release.
• Lack of browser support. The AUSkey software does not support Google Chrome or Internet Explorer 9 beta (yes, I know it’s beta! But one of the reasons Microsoft release beta products is to ensure day-one compatibility when the RTM version is released)
• Lack of multiplatform support. If you’re using Windows or MacOS X, you’re in luck. Linux, iPad, iPhone, Windows Phone 7, Telstra tablet? Sorry guys. I get the feeling SBR developed the user requirements five years ago and haven’t updated them since.
• Business users only. I’d like to use this on other government websites like Medicare Online. It’s silly that the authentication used to access my medical records is weaker than my tax records. I guess that shows who values IT more.
• Low amount of participating sites. I thought ASIC would be a number one citizen with AUSkey. If ASIC don’t support AUSkey, I have very little hope for the Department of Fair Trading NSW.
• The government is competing with…itself. According to the AUSkey website, “You'll no longer need different user IDs and passwords for each government agency that you have to deal with - the one AUSkey will work for all!”. According to the Australia.gov.au website, “Dealing with the Australian Government online just got easier, with a single [Australia.gov.au] account to sign on to multiple agencies”. Perhaps the government are trying a two-prong strategy: AUSkey for business and australia.gov.au ID for citizens? If so, what a waste of infrastructure!

AUSkey is promising but has a lot of progress to make. It will become a more compelling offering when more government online services support it. Until then, I’ll use it once a quarter to authenticate with the ATO for online activity statement submission.