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Private cloud certificates to build up your tech skills
Private cloud deployments require a variety of skills to run smoothly on any infrastructure. Expand your technical knowledge with training from Amazon, Google, Dell EMC and HPE.
Admins can keep their cloud skills sharp with private cloud training and certifications that increase professional knowledge about private cloud construction, deployment, management and cloud-specific technologies.
Most companies use cloud computing. Public cloud spending is forecast to grow to 18.4% to $304.9 billion in 2021, but organizations always look for ways to save on their cloud spending. A private cloud -- whether it's on premises or colocated -- is one such option.
There are similarities between private and public cloud certifications, but the architectures require different skill sets. Private cloud setups often require more security measures, self-service infrastructure, automation workflows, coding requirements and networking configurations than public cloud offerings.
Admins can research these vendor private cloud certificate options and determine which course best suits their infrastructure and IT operations.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise certification options
HPE offers certificates for private cloud setups that run on HPE and non-HPE hardware, plus high-level courses for other cloud options that an organization uses in the data center.
There are several certifications available for companies that run Microsoft Azure Stack for private clouds on HPE hardware that start at $3,000 and run anywhere from one to five days long. The Azure Stack for Enterprises web-based training course suits IT leaders who decide to learn more about Azure and its business benefits.
The Configuring and Operating a Hybrid Cloud with Microsoft Azure Stack certification gives admins a hands-on look at how Windows Server 2016 works with Azure, license basics, plus management skills for IaaS and PaaS. These courses cost several hundred dollars each and vary in length.
HPE also has private cloud certificates on Google Cloud and VMware for Cloud products. These classes cover the basic functions of each offering, as well as specializations for Kubernetes, data engineering, big data, OpenStack and VMware vSphere. Courses run anywhere from one to five days and start at $1,500.
Google virtual private cloud certificates
Google offers two certification levels for its Google Virtual Cloud product: associate and professional.
The associate cloud engineer certificate provides an introductory look at security configuration, cloud planning, cloud deployment and cloud operation -- all with Google Cloud Console. Google has a one-day course for exam preparation and admins receive certification after they pass a $125 exam.
For more advanced admins, Google has trainings to become a certified cloud architect, cloud developer, data engineer, DevOps engineer, cloud security engineer and cloud network engineer. Google recommends that those who pursue a professional-level certification have at least three years of industry experience and one year of working with Google Cloud Products. Exams are $200 each.
Google also has free individual badge courses that admins can take to brush up on their private cloud skills.
Dell EMC cloud certifications
Dell runs certifications at three levels for its EMC Cloud products: associate, specialist and expert. Which certification course admins choose can depend on their role in the organization or data center technology.
The DCS-CA: Cloud Architect - Cloud Infrastructure certification is role-based training that covers what possible choices an admin must make in the cloud design process, such as infrastructure and storage type.
DCA: Networking v1 certification is a foundational learning path for technology-based training for admins to learn about Dell EMC networking product installation, configuration, maintenance and troubleshooting.
Dell certifications typically cost several thousand dollars and may require prerequisite certifications for admins to move into more advanced topics. For IT departments that enroll an entire data center team in private cloud certificate trainings, Dell encourages organizations to purchase training credits that admins can use for each course or certification.
Amazon Web Services training
Companies that use AWS private cloud architecture have access to free training, courses and certifications from Amazon. Admins can choose a certification based on their current -- or desired -- role and take an exam at the end of training.
There are no course prerequisites to earn certifications, but Amazon recommends admins should have some hands-on experience with the AWS technologies or role in which they choose to become certified. Exams range from $20 to $300, depending on level of expertise and exam type.
Amazon has three levels of certification: foundational, associate and professional. There are also specialist domain courses to help professionals learn how to design, implement, operate, troubleshoot, implement private cloud deployments with AWS Cloud.
