IBM Launches New Cloud Computing Credential
IBM doesn't have the all-universe, maximum swole cloud computing physique that Amazon Web Services (AWS) does, with jacked-up pecs and abs and barrel-like biceps. It doesn't have the burly circus strongman build that Microsoft has buffed up to thanks to Azure. Even Google Cloud would probably kick sand in the face of IBM. IBM Cloud is definitely a thing, however, and there's a IBM Center for Cloud Training, and IBM even has an IBM Cloud Professional Architect certification. Just in case, you know, you thought you could totally push IBM Cloud around and get away with it. In fact, there's now a brand new IBM Cloud Advanced Architect credential that is for cloud computing professionals whose IBM Cloud expertise exceeds that of a mere Professional Architect. For anyone who feels driven to brush up his or her cloud computing acumen before attempting the Advanced Architect exam, IBM offers 24 different courses to help exam candidates prepare.
Microsoft Learn Opens Beta Window for New Azure Credential
Speaking, as we just were, of new cloud computing certification opportunities, Microsoft Learn, the certification and training arm of Microsoft, is courting beta testers for a new Microsoft certification exam. The exam is tied to the new Microsoft Certified: Azure Support Engineer for Connectivity Specialty credential. In exchange for your participation and feedback, you can take the exam for approximately 80 percent off the regular price. It's a pretty good outcome all around: Microsoft gets helpful information about areas of the new exam that need to be revised, clarified, or omitted, and everyone who takes the exam saves a not inconsiderable amount of money and also gets to jump ahead of the crowd queued up for the next exciting new Azure certification. The beta exam opportunity is open to the first 300 individuals who register to take and complete the exam on or before April 29.
Training Industry Offers Tech Apprenticeship Tips
The information technology (IT) industry has a problem. So do non-tech companies that rely on the good work of IT professionals. Employers in both realms need more qualified IT workers to help them create products, drive projects, secure and analyze business data, and do all of the myriad things that IT professionals do to keep the wheels of the modern information economy in spin. There has been a supply-and-demand problem for a while now, in that you can't just hire a skilled tech professional whenever you need one. There already weren't enough IT workers to go around — particularly in key areas like cybersecurity and software development — and the problem has been exacerbated by the so-called Great Resignation spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic. One potential solution is to train and mold your own IT workers though a tech apprenticeship program, but this can be a tricky needle to thread. Managing the particulars of a flourishing tech apprenticeship program is the subject of a recent post to the official blog of workforce education firm Training Industry. Tech apprenticeships can also be a good way for aspiring IT pros to gain a foothold in the industry. So whichever angle you're approaching from, there's probably some worthwhile information here.
Linux Foundation Offers Free Training for Software Developers
The Flying Lizards are right! The best things in life really are free. Or at least that's what we're hearing from the kids these days. Now the list of things that you get for no money includes specialized IT training for software developers. The Linux Foundation and the Open Source Security Foundation (OpenOSSF) have teamed to create and distribute a new free online course that teaches the principles of secure software development. That's a double-win, folks! We were just talking about how software developers and cybersecurity professionals are both types of coveted IT professionals. And now, BAM! Here's a training course that won't cost you a red cent while teaching you how to bake in security all throughout the software development process. Upon completion of the course, you'll get a certificate (although not a certification) that remains valid for two years from the date of completion. Run, don't walk, to the nearest laptop computer, developers. This is not an offer to just leave lying around.
That's all for this edition of Certification Watch. Please keep your certification news and tips coming to the GoCertify News Editor.
