It is rather inevitable these days to thrive as a business without engagement with the cloud. Cloud computing has bridged the gulf between the access and storage of data. One can run their stored data anytime and anywhere. This disruptive technology has allowed expansion of businesses in the most cost-efficient manner. The use of the internet to attain different hardware and software services has been transformational. With the cloud, a hardware platform is not a necessity anymore and businesses along with their customers can access and interact in a virtual space at the same time. Cloud computing has led to other technologies such as containerization, the Internet of things, etc.
Considering the keen interest and investment in cloud computing by firms, the field has become an excellent space for professionals who engage in the cloud.
AWS and AWS certification
Amazon’s AWS has been considered the biggest firm in Cloud since it’s advent in 2006. It is best recognized for its Infrastructure as a Service (SaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS).
Storage, security, network, remote computing, etc. have all been one of the various services and cloud-oriented products that AWS provides.
AWS is Amazon’s biggest revenue-generating division of the company. It has been responsible for over 50% of the company’s profits and earnings.
For initiating a career in cloud computing the AWS certification could be disruptive due to its value and reputation for the various jobs in the cloud.
The certification validates a candidate’s ability and knowledge to work with various AWS services and products. There are different levels to the distinct certification that determine a candidate’s level of expertise in the particular division of AWS.
Skills required to become a Cloud Engineer
Cloud Engineers work with software, operation, and architecture. Cloud Engineer as a term addresses various cloud related positions such as those of Cloud System Engineer, Cloud Developer, Cloud Architect, Cloud Network Engineer, Devops Engineer etc. In order to efficiently work along with these aspects, certain skills are of immediate necessity.
Cloud Service Provider
Cloud Services Providers are fundamental to any work related to cloud and thereby as a cloud engineer you would require a thorough knowledge of it. End to end services such as storage, database, migration, Machine Learning, etc. is provided by cloud services providers.
AWS and Azure dominate the cloud market with their services.
While AWS is recognized for its efficiency and expertise Azure, in particular, manages to integrate all Microsoft products with its services making it a lucrative platform.
Storage
Cloud storage is extremely useful and allows data of any company to be connected to various resources. The accessibility, reliability, cost optimization, deployment, disaster recovery and backup that is assured by cloud makes it extremely functional and enhanced. Cloud storage can be public, personal, private or hybrid depending upon the requirements of a firm. The magnitude of such data could be extensive and therefore it would require a similar degree of specialty.
Networking
Networking and its intricate aspects have led to network management functions within the cloud. The purpose is to reduce the number of devices involved in networking across customers. Cloud networking is flourishing and cloud engineers are often responsible to acquire responsive network.
Virtualization
The use of hardware assets has been reduced due to virtualization software. Virtualization allows the use of fault-tolerant and scalable resources for organizations. The knowledge of virtual services like virtual machines, EC2, lambda, etc. could be productive for virtualization and serverless computing.
Security and Disaster Recovery
Cloud engineers or cloud admins are often responsible to evaluate the security state of cloud services and maintain a level of security due to the extreme dependency upon it an the data available there.
Programming Skills
Developers are crucial and innate to cloud computing. Their contribution to building, deploying and managing applications is enormous. Learning cloud computing would require prior knowledge of some programming languages such as SQL and .net.
Required Background
Cloud engineers require a minimum bachelor’s degree in information systems or computer science so that the individual is competent to acquire the required skill set.
Cloud engineers, in general, have experienced up to five to ten years in the IT systems. The professionals often evolve from computer-related professions like those of database administrators and computer system analysts.
Certification is not a compulsion but its presence is always valued amongst cloud engineers.
Likewise licensing is not, in particular, a necessity.
Besides these technical aspects, certain qualities that are innate to cloud engineers include effective analytical skills, interpersonal skills, precision and attentiveness towards details.
Cloud Architects would require mastery in agile, system analysis, serverless architecture, database management, etc. along with management skills that could lead to positions in Management Information Systems (MIS), Business Intelligence (BI) and technology management.
Likewise, Cloud developers would require knowledge or a former degree in data science. They could also look into cloud development training or computer programming, machine learning, database, artificial intelligence, DevOps, etc.
Cloud Computing training
In order to grasp the expertise in a division of cloud computing, you could go for extensive training programs. Cloud computing training from a decent forum that includes practical demonstrations and focuses on hands-on experience.
Over the competition of the fundamental training in, for instance, Cloud Architecture, one would be prepared for the AWS Cloud Architect Certification Exam. The pragmatic approach of the training would be valuable within and industrial environment.
In particular, it would be interesting to note how the cloud engineering job is of great value to those with expertise and former knowledge in Software as a Service (SaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS) since these remain the fastest growing segments in cloud technology.
Read Upcoming changes in AWS Certification exam.
