Essential Cloud Computing Certifications for Engineers

Cloud computing is just a must-have knowledge in today's IT market. To get the dream job, please consider these cloud computing certifications and courses.

Cloud computing has been a hot topic in the IT industry for many years. Today, according to a survey by CompTIA, an IT industry association, more than 90% of US companies use some kind of cloud service, and adoption will only continue to grow. Therefore, for IT personnel who are familiar with the cloud, there will be strong and growing demand in the future.

It can be difficult to find effective training and certification in all the noise surrounding cloud computing. Because there are many potential training institutions, it is difficult for us to choose the most suitable course. At the same time, finding the most qualified job candidates for companies that want to migrate to the cloud can be a big problem.

For IT professionals, a good starting point is to take courses directly related to the software or specific cloud service provider that their organization intends to use. The mainstream virtualization vendors—Alibaba Cloud, VMware, Red Hat, and Citrix—have all provided certifications for virtualization, which can serve as a benchmark for the hybrid cloud technology most companies expect to install.

Alibaba Cloud, VMware, and Red Hat have also added specialized courses, including exams, that can help build skills around their own specific cloud products. They are not the only ones doing this.

Most of these are online courses, ranging from $ 200 to $ 300 per course. Normally, users need to take an exam after the course ends to obtain cloud certification. A typical administrator ’s certification package costs about $ 1,000, which includes materials, books, and the course itself.

For administrators who want to step into the door of this new computing trend, this cannot be considered a huge investment. From an enterprise perspective, these cloud certifications help companies acquire the necessary skills, and administrators undoubtedly increase their career potential. However, if these courses are to be truly successful, companies must commit to testing new knowledge on a practical basis. All these courses are just the starting point for building or using the cloud. At least a cloud sandbox must be built, otherwise it may lead to the loss of employees, because these skills are definitely the kind of "learned not equal to white learning".

For companies entering the cloud for the first time, there is a disadvantage. The above courses are often narrow and focus on manufacturers. For the CIO, this will create a chicken-and-egg problem. Without the skills taught in the course, choosing a cloud strategy and vendor is difficult. But before you know who your cloud vendor is, choosing a course is another challenge.

In such a situation, the manufacturer may eagerly try to instill in you the benefits of locking. But with the rapid changes in the prices of public cloud services and software and hardware supporting private clouds, vendor lock-in is the least desired by the IT team.

Choose a cloud certification from a neutral vendor

If an organization is hesitant about a particular cloud platform, or is concerned about vendor lock-in, then consider choosing a vendor-neutral cloud certification and course. Cloud School, for example, provides eight certifications, covering everything from cloud basics to architecture and management. In addition, CBT Nuggets offers DevOps, as well as courses on big data and cloud infrastructure. There are many other options, including Cloud Academy, which has an expanded portfolio.

Although there are many technical types of cloud certification, the commercial value training of cloud computing is in short supply. Targeted at managers and directors, these courses are necessary for setting team expectations and opening up more opportunities in the early stages of cloud deployment.

CompTIA, for its part, has a "Cloud Essentials" course that talks about the business value of cloud computing, the cloud migration process, and the subtleties of choosing a cloud architecture. This course is extremely valuable to a surprising number of cloud novices in many management teams.

Cloud computing also has degree courses. However, these large investments of time and money make it important to understand the accreditation of schools and courses, and the end result-such as finding a good job-for graduates.

Again, it seems that what is missing from this agenda is a set of management courses for C-level executives, not just for IT staff. The method of cloud computing and agile software is to fundamentally improve business operations. Enterprises' decisions around cloud computing require top-down recognition, focusing on asset protection and monetization, such as intellectual property.

Finally, moving to the cloud is a major business transformation, and the executive team needs to understand how to maximize this value.