Looking for a way to benchmark your cloud computing knowledge and skills? Want an extra edge when looking for that cloud computing job? Get cloud computing certified.
With new cloud credentials being added to the list each year, how do you choose the cloud computing certification that's worth it? Here's an updated list of our five best cloud certs for 2015.
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1. CompTIA Cloud Computing Essentials
CompTIA (the Computing Technology Industry Association) is a consortium that not only involves many thousands of technology companies, but also attracts players in education, government, R&D, and non-computing industries, all of whom are vitally concerned with providing a feedstock of entry-level professionals to support and maintain key computing technologies of all kinds. Check out:
2.MCSE: Private Cloud
Microsoft announced the Private Cloud credential in January, 2012, as the very first installment in its newly recast MCSE certification. This time around, the MCSE acronym expands to Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert instead of "Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer as it once did. But Microsoft believes -- and many, including me, agree -- that the MCSE still carries cachet and appeal for IT professionals and hiring managers alike.
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3. VMware VCP - Cloud
If there's a contributing technology that enables the cloud, it has to be virtualization, and nobody has done virtualization longer or from as many angles as VMware. Their
VCP-Cloud certification features an exam
released in February 2013 (the VCP-Cloud exam, that is), which makes this credential a fairly new entrant in the world of cloud computing certifications.
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To earn the VCP-Cloud you need to follow one of these two paths:
- Path 1: Earn the VCP5-DV (VMware Certified Professional 5 – Datacenter Virtualization) certification. Pass the VMware IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) exam.
- Path 2: Attend a vCloud Director v5.1 or v5.5 class. Pass the VCP-Cloud exam.
Either way, candidates must demonstrate core vSphere skills by extending data virtualization throughout the cloud. They’ll be asked to create and manage vApps, service catalogs, and organization/provider VDCs, and to administer cloud-enabled networking and storage. Key concepts and platforms covered include VMware vSphere environments, public/private/hybrid clouds, multi-tenancy and cloud security.
4. AWS Certified Solutions Architect -- Professional
Amazon Web Services launched its AWS certification program in May 2013 in response to growing demand for cloud computing professionals with demonstrable skills to support AWS clients. The program offers three associate- and one professional-level certifications with plans for three more credentials.
The AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional certification aims at networking professionals with two or more years’ experience designing and deploying cloud environments on AWS. A person with this credential works with a client to assess need, plans and designs a solution that meet requirements, recommends an architecture to be used for implementing and provisioning AWS applications, and provides guidance throughout the life of the project.
A candidate for this certification should be highly familiar with topics such as high availability and business continuity, costing,deployment, management, network design, data storage, security, scalability and elasticity, cloud migration and hybrid architecture.
5. Certified Cloud Technology Professional
Another vendor-neutral cloud certification, the Certified Cloud Technology Professional, appears to be more technically focused and omits business issues included in the CompTIA Cloud Essentials credential. We find ourselves wondering if there's room for two vendor-neutral base-level cloud certifications, when the CompTIA offering has such powerful backing. But it's still too early to tell if Cloud Essentials will become a standard pre-requisite in this arena or if it will simply serve as one of a number of possible entry-point certifications.
Economics might also play a role in this equation. Given that the exams for this credential will cost at least $500 (assuming that the lab exam will cost only slightly more than each of the two written exams) and that the training costs just under $2,000 for a three-day set of workshops on all three exams, the lower cost of entry for the CompTIA exam might make this offering less appealing. On the other hand, more extensive testing including a hands-on lab exam may make the Certified Cloud Technology Professional more appealing to employers, and offset its higher cost with higher perceived value to match. Again, it's just too early to tell.
