Networking titan Cisco has unveiled a new top-level engineering certification for engineers which will supersede its CCIE stamp.

The Cisco Certified Architect badge will be awarded to network designers who have the requisite expertise to deploy networks for global multi-nationals. It will sit above CCIE and will place an emphasis on fulfilling the business needs of enterprise customers.

To gain the qualification, candidates must sit a board exam wherein they must put forward and defend a network architecture plan to serve a number of business requirements.

They will be put on the spot and tasked with thinking on their feet as the examiners tack on additional stipulations. Prospective candidates must already possess Cisco's CCDE badge and have about 10 years of experience in the industry.

Jeanne Beliveau Dunn, general manager of Learning@Cisco, said: "The Cisco Certified Architect designation was developed to meet the demands of global organisations for specialists with the advanced design skills to support increasingly complex networks and effectively translate business strategies into evolutionary architectural implementations.

"This prestigious certification represents an exclusive group of architects who possess the hard skills to support complex network design and the soft skills to articulate the value of the technology to their colleagues."