There are numerous ways to get certified for the Cloud, and if you’re either a technical professional administering an existing onsite virtual platform, or a technical architect, there are certifications for you.
Where do you start though? There is enough information online to get a working understanding of what the Cloud is all about (see my previous articles around this) and this places you in a better position to decide on the next step: which certification to take. I’ll go through a couple of the more popular certifications to give you a better idea of what’s involved:
MCSE: Cloud Platform and Infrastructure
MCSE certifications have been around for years, so they have proven the test of time and are not once-offs. A good cert to look at here is the MCSE: Cloud Platform and Infrastructure certification based on Microsoft Server 2016 technology. There is a multi-stage approach to this certification and it starts with getting your MCSA certification on any number of options, including Server 2016 or Cloud Platform. Choose the option most relevant to where you’re going. After writing a couple of exams of your choosing, you’re awarded your MCSA and can then progress to your MCSE. This is achieved by writing another exam, and you have a global certification.
MCSE is a good choice if you’re looking at migrating to Azure, for either architecting and designing solutions, or administering Azure VMs. Especially relevant if you have a Hyper-V infrastructure onsite as it allows you to span both capabilities.
CompTIA Cloud Essentials & Cloud+
Cloud Essentials is a very good introductory certification to have behind your name, and will introduce you to the basic concepts around Cloud Computing, and apply them to business. You will gain an understanding of concepts such as the business value of cloud computing, the technical aspects regarding cloud types, and the associated risks and concepts.
Cloud+ addresses skills required to work in a Cloud world, be it administering the environment, or delivering services around the Cloud itself. Experience in IT is crucial to this as it will rely on your priort knowledge of security, storage, networking etc.
The big benefit to CompTIA cloud certs are that they are vendor-neutral and can be applied to any situation or scenario. You’re not going to be tied into a specific type of Cloud technology (or any technology that their certs address), so it is certainly worthwhile having.
AWS Certification
AWS have a number of certifications, and being one of the largest Cloud providers in the world, it’s certainly worth a look. They address everything from Architect, to Developer, to Operations roles and allow you to improve on your certs till you get to the Professional level on any of the 3 sections above.
It all starts with doing the Cloud Practitioner cert, which is their Foundational cert. This in turn forms the basis for moving to the Associate, and then Professional certs. The Cloud Practitioner training is freely available once you have signed up for AWS Digital Training with other free elearning available. The exam is paid-for though.
The Cloud Practitioner will open up further certification possibilities as I mentioned, with the rest of the courses requiring some form of formal training, be it virtual or live.
AWS is relevant obviously if you’re looking at migrating some or all of your services to the AWS platform, or it might just be an additional couple of certs you want to add to your portfolio.
Google Cloud Certification
2 certs of interest here: Professional Cloud Architect and Professional Data Engineer. The Professional Cloud Architect will show you how to design and plan cloud architecture on a Google Cloud platform, as well as all address all the skills around this such as security and how to implement it.
The Professional Data Engineer certification will provide the skills you need to design a data system, as well as additional skills like enabling machine learning (big buzz word in the industry now!), and how to manipulate data on the Google Cloud platform.
There are other vendor-related with companies like DellEMC, Oracle and HPE offering certifications. These are more specific to the specific vendor’s technology, but also highly worthwhile looking into if you have their technology on site.
Good luck with your certification journey. Do your homework and make sure you’re selecting the most relevant certification for your role or technology. Make use of any available resources, and if you need official training, take it. Study hard, and do NOT rely on braindumps…you’ll get caught out in the real world at some stage.