Best Cloud Certifications in 2019

In recent years, cloud computing has generated a lot of interest and companies are eagerly integrating cloud infrastructure into their existing frameworks at a rapid rate. With the rapid increase in revenues from cloud computing, it is predicted that AWS revenue will grow to a staggering 43 billion USD by 2022 and the revenues from Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud will increase likewise. 

With the massive boost in Cloud computing capabilities and benefits, companies are always on the lookout for trained IT professionals, who are proficient in the latest cloud career technologies and platforms and thus the demand for professionals possessing certifications like the Google Cloud Certification, AWS Certifications, Certificate of Cloud Security Knowledge – CCSK certification, Cloudera University certifications, and Microsoft Azure certifications are in high demand.

Without further ado, here are the cloud certifications that you cannot miss in 2019

The Google Cloud Certification Suite

The Google Cloud Platform (GCP) has evolved over the years as a serious competitor to AWS and Microsoft Azure services, which resulted in Gartner placing this on its Magic Quadrant for Cloud Infrastructure as a Service in 2018. In order to set forth defined standards to judge competence in the platform, Google rolled out a suite of certifications for:

• Cloud Infrastructure as in the Professional Cloud Architect certification.
• Data and Machine Learning, through the Professional Data Engineer Certification, and
• Cloud Developer roles through the Professional Cloud Developer roles.

The AWS Certification suite

AWS is currently the market leader in cloud computing and infrastructure services; thus, AWS Certifications are in high demand. The AWS certification suite consists of certifications available for different skill levels, viz. Foundational, Associate, Professional and Specialty.

• At Foundational level, the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner certificate is available for those with a rudimentary knowledge of AWS.
• At the Associate Level, AWS Certified Solutions Architect, SysOps Administrator, and Developer Associate certifications are available for professionals with at least one-year experience with AWS Cloud.
• At the Professional level, AWS Certified Solutions Architect and DevOps Engineer Professional certifications are available for those with at least two years of extensive experience in AWS.
• Specialty certifications are also available for Advanced Networking, Big Data, Security, Machine Learning and Alexa Skill Builder specialties.

The Certificate of Cloud Security Knowledge – CCSK

Among cloud certifications, the Certificate of Cloud Security Knowledge by the Cloud Security Alliance is considered to be one of the top qualifications in terms of the salary associated.

The CCSK certification requires test-takers to have a thorough knowledge of:

• CSA Guidance
• CSA CMM & CAIQ, and
• ENISA whitepaper

The Cloud Security Alliance authorizes partner organizations to provide the CCSK – Foundation and the CCSK – Plus training to prepare test-takers for the certificate of cloud security knowledge examination.

The Microsoft Azure Certification Suite

Microsoft Azure is one of the more popular Cloud platforms, with several companies like Pixar, Apple, Xerox, Samsung and even Boeing using it for the operations, and Microsoft Azure certifications being in high demand. 

The Azure certifications were sometimes criticized for being too cumbersome, generic and suffering from a lack of domain focus by aspirants and so Microsoft rolled out its new role-based learning path in Azure in the IGNITE 2018 conference.

The exams have now been clearly divided into three levels of expertise, viz. Fundamentals, Associate and Expert in order to segregate the aspirants by skill level. The exams also explicitly cater to three primary roles, viz. Administrator, Developer, DevOps Engineer, and Solutions Architect in order for companies to get their people trained to fill exactly the positions they require.

As per the new roadmap, an aspirant can be certified in the following:

• Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals
• Microsoft Certified Azure Administrator: Associate
• Microsoft Certified Azure Developer: Associate
• Microsoft Certified Azure DevOps Engineer: Expert
• Microsoft Certified Azure Solutions Architect: Expert

Certifications from the Cloudera University

Cloudera provides world-class training and certification at Associate and Professional Levels. The existing suite of Cloudera Certifications cater to:

• Developers: Through the Cloudera Certified Associate Spark and Hadoop Developer certification.
• Administrators: Through the Cloudera Certified Associate Administrator certification.
• Data analysts: Through the Cloudera Certified Professional Data Engineer and Cloudera Certified Associate Data Analyst certification

In a Nutshell

Cloud Certifications are rapidly becoming the key to success in the IT industry for many professionals and it is vital to sniff out the best training providers for these certifications and establish your credentials as one of the best in the business.