Best Agile Certifications
If you want to advance in your career operating in an Agile framework, then obtaining an Agile certification is the right step forward. Learn which Agile certifications are right for you in our blog post.
Why are Cloud Certifications Important?
Myles Brown | Wednesday, May 22, 2019
Cloud computing technology is evolving quickly. The depth and breadth of product and service offerings across cloud vendors is extensive and continues to grow. In addition, many cloud providers are beginning to offer remarkably similar products, creating more questions and the need for clarification.
If you are a company or a vendor offering cloud expertise or doing cloud development, having employees that are “cloud certified” signifies not only a commitment to knowledge excellence, but a deeper understanding of cloud offerings as compared to non-certified peers.
Often, employees whose job responsibilities are cloud related (e.g., cloud architect, DevOps practitioners, SysAdmins, Network ops, app developers, data engineers), will become quite knowledgeable on specific aspects of a particular cloud service. They may use it regularly and have adapted the cloud service offering to meet their needs. The training and the certification process can help expand their knowledge and improve how they develop using the cloud service.
Within certification training environments, students are introduced to a broader scope of a particular cloud’s offering. Often, they learn that the previous architectural or programmatic methods they were employing may not be the most efficient and effective way of using particular cloud services.
Certification training teaches employees new tactics for working with specific cloud services while making the employee a more valuable asset to the company. It also allows the company to benefit from the gained knowledge that comes with adding certified engineers, architects or developers to their bench of resources.
In a level playing field where companies are looking to hire engineers or cloud architects, companies will choose the candidate with the certification if they have two potential candidates with the same technical experience otherwise. This is driven by the fact that certification represents a deeper understanding of complex concepts as well as a commitment to learning—especially because of the ever-changing capabilities and features of cloud providers.
Passive versus Active Learning and Training
Studies have shown that active learning (speaking and writing) is more effective than passive learning (listening and reading). When students are actively participating in courses and learning, their retention is increased.
ExitCertified’s courses for Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) are designed to be not only active but also immersive. Our cloud certification courses offer several core benefits over other certification courses, including:
Classes that are instructor-led and live, not pre-recorded or on-demand
Courses that are hands-on with individual or group sessions available
Students who receive webcams & headsets for interactive “student wall” video participation where instructors can work directly with students, whether they are on-site or remote.
But the benefits of an ExitCertified course don’t end there. All of the cloud certification-specific training courses include vendor authorized materials – which means they are developed and maintained by the cloud vendor in conjunction with their subject matter experts. This way, students are guaranteed to have the most current and relevant course content as it applies to the actual certification course material. And, often, courses have labs so students can get practical, hands-on experience using cloud-specific tools and services within a cloud environment.
Getting a Top Cloud Certification is Critical for
Both You and Your Company
Employees with associate- or professional-level cloud certifications are scarce and often in high demand. Professionally, those who have cloud training and certifications have a better chance of earning a higher salary or getting a promotion. And companies whose employees get top cloud certifications also obtain a substantial advantage over their competition, mainly if they are working toward becoming a certified partner or achieving elevated partner status.
“A lot of big cloud vendors have extensive partner programs,” says Myles Brown, Senior Cloud and DevOps Advisor at ExitCertified. “Whether companies are technology partners or consulting partners, they have to have many people with associate-and professional-level certifications in order to get further up that list to become a premier or advanced partner.”
Some IT certifications are so basic and common that they really aren’t differentiators for employees or companies anymore. However, as cloud technology is relatively new, employees who receive cloud certifications are in top demand. Companies gravitate towards well-trained individuals who are knowledgeable of the latest and greatest cloud services.
“Certain kinds of companies require certification…the top-level certifications are difficult to get, and their people are failing the test,” says Brown on the importance of cloud-certified workers.
Because of this, companies are faced with a fairly significant decision—invest the time and expense getting their critical employees cloud certified, or spend even more time and money hiring a certified consultant or firm. For companies that do not have the cloud skill sets internally, outsourcing for cloud-certified talent becomes inevitable.
If your company is looking to get ahead of the competition, ensuring your employees are skilled, highly-trained, and certified is a powerful point of differentiation. And, as cloud technologies remain paramount for digital transformation, the knowledge gained in top cloud certification training allows companies to be extremely competitive in the cloud era.
