Palm Certified
The credential
the estate respects.
Every cloud has a certification ladder. The systems that actually run the world never did. Palm Certified is the credential for mainframe and legacy modernization — assessed the way we assess everything: on the work, not the answers.
one credential per engine · artifact-reviewed · no multiple choice · charter cohort open
The engineers who can open these systems are retiring faster than the industry can replace them. A generation has to be trained, measured, and trusted — and there has never been a standard for it. Now there is.
the standard for the modernization era · est. 2026
The ladder
Four engines. Four credentials.
One master.
credential 01
Palm 360
Certified
sees the estate
Application rationalization: the non-invasive scan, value/risk/effort scoring, the 7 Rs decided per application, and a program sequence a board can sign.
no prerequisites · the strategist’s door
credential 02
Palm Key
Certified
maps the estate
Dependency mapping and analysis: programs, copybooks, JCL, data flow, CRUD, impact analysis — and the dead-code report that pays for the rest of the program.
no prerequisites · the analyst’s door
credential 03
Palm Ark
Certified
opens the estate
Deterministic rule extraction: grounded extraction, source-lineage discipline, verification, and the PalmBench methodology — proven on real legacy code.
key certified or equivalent evidence
credential 04
Palm Ray
Certified
moves the estate
Forward engineering: target architecture on microservices or ERP, tests and compliance evidence generated with the code, and cutovers designed as decisions.
ark certified or equivalent evidence
the capstone
Palm Master Architect
Hold all four engine credentials, then defend a capstone modernization program on a real estate — sequencing, extraction, target, evidence — in front of the people who do this for a living. The rarest line a modernization résumé can carry.
specialist tracks follow · banking core · mainframe→erp · government & sovereign
How it’s assessed
We read your work,
not your answers.
Memorized answers open nothing. Every tier is assessed on artifacts — maps, extractions, designs — produced on real legacy code.
Your work is read by people who open estates for a living — the same reviewers who read Crucible work.
Like everything Palm produces, a certificate carries its evidence: what was built, on what, and how it was judged.
Same rule as the Crucible: no degree, no résumé theater. The bar is what you can do.
The charter cohort
First through the door,
named forever.
The first cohort of every tier is the charter cohort — capped, reviewed personally, and permanently listed as the founding class of the credential. Palm Neh members hear first; the waitlist hears next; everyone applies the same way.
a few taps · the application email drafts itself
In a decade, “Palm Certified”
will be the first line they look for.
start climbing · 360 → key → ark → ray → master architect
Start the learning path