Having a cloud certification today is a great way to stand out among your competitors. This is especially when you apply for various cloud computing jobs. They prove to the recruiter that you got all the required skills and knowledge that the job requires. Regardless of whether you are a fresher wishing to pursue a career in this field, a professional aiming to add some skills to advance your career in cloud computing and cloud security, there is a certification that you can gain to fulfill your wishes. In this post, we shall look at the most valuable certifications for cloud security and cloud computing. Coursera, an online learning platform, estimates that 87% of experts certified in Google Cloud feel more comfortable and confident in their cloud computing knowledge and skill after passing various security certifications.
11 Top Cloud & Cloud Security Certifications for 2022
There has been a rapid growth in cloud computing in research, career opportunities, and advancements. Cloud computing skills and expertise is among the most marketable IT skills today. It is because many companies are shifting their operations to the cloud. To perform various operations on the cloud, they require cloud professionals to have the skills and competencies. Below are the top cloud certifications that you can take depending on what your goal is.
Cloud security refers to the various processes, technologies, controls, services, and policies used to provide security to the cloud data, applications, and the cloud Infrastructure from various cyber threats. A secure cloud ensures that you remain guarded against security breaches that may cause your business to incur heavy losses, eliminates the possibility of data leakages, ensures that you comply with various data regulations like GDPR. It also makes it easy to replicate your data and back it up without losing it
1. Google Certified Professional cloud architect
Commonly referred to as GCP cloud architect, this is among the best entry-level cloud certifications. You learn and get tested on all the skills and knowledge required for you to work with Google Cloud’s many technologies. In this certification, they evaluated you based on your skills to design, create, plan, and manage cloud solutions that are secure, dynamic, scalable, and robust.
The certification also tests your ability to design applications and services on the cloud and your ability to analyze and optimize business processes. It also tests your proficiency in software development methods and any more skills. Compared to other cloud certifications, GCP Cloud Architect certification is easy.
To individuals Wishing to pursue a career as cloud architects, this is a valuable certification and the best Google Cloud certification.
2. Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert
This is an Azure expert-level certification that allows you to showcase your expertise in designing Azure solutions, computing skills, knowledge, and security. To appear for this certification, you must possess excellent practical and knowledge throughout the many IT operations like networking, data management visualization, budgeting, security, and disaster recovery. Beyond these, expertise in DevOps, Azure administration, and development is also a requirement.
To successfully clear this certification, in-depth knowledge and skills for configuring and deploying infrastructure, implementing workload and security, deploying and developing applications are necessary. You have to pass two examinations (AZ:300 and AZ:301) to be a Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert.
3. Microsoft Certified: Microsoft Azure Fundamentals
This is an azure certification whose aim is to test your understanding of Azure. Azure pricing SLAs, cloud fundamental concepts, azure services, and much more. It also tests your Azure security, privacy, and compliance. The certification is among the best cloud certifications for Azure with lifetime validity.
This certification gives you a chance to showcase your acquiescence with the fundamentals of the cloud and its relationship with Microsoft Azure. Anyone can take this certification whether you have a technical background. Besides, this certification helps you take the first step towards being an expert in cloud services. For a beginner without experience, this is among the best certifications. As an Azure certified expert, you can make up to $96000.
4. AWS Certified SysOps Administrator
This certification is for professionals who have over 1-year of experience working as a System administrator in management, operations, and deployment on AWS. Further, the certification tests your ability to implement and control data flow, choose the AWS service on a requirement basis, and identify the best use cases for AWS applications.
Experts like operation managers, system admins, opt to take this certification to showcase their knowledge and get certified. Are you a developer or a programmer? Do you want to diversify and explore your skills? Take the AWS Certified SysOps Administrator certification?
One needs over one year of experience working in auditing and monitoring systems, understanding of security concepts, a good understanding of networking and virtualization, and practical knowledge of AWS CLI and API tools.
5. Google Certified Professional Data engineer
This certification requires that you have experience spanning over three years in this industry with at least one year of experience in designing and maintaining cloud solutions using the Google Cloud platform. They tailor it for engineers having the skills to work with Google Cloud Platform.
This certification aims to test your knowledge and skills in developing, designing, securing, and managing data processing systems. You have to possess the ability to make data processing systems ready for various operations and machine learning models. To ensure maximum potential for data processing systems in Google Cloud Platform, you must transform the data into a format that will be useful for analysis.
6. CompTIA Cloud+
This certification tests whether you have the skills to maintain and optimize services in the cloud infrastructure. It is a vendor-neutral performance-based exam involving many technologies for testing your in-depth knowledge and skills to work with cloud infrastructure services. However, while preparing for this certification, you get a basic idea of the three key cloud vendors, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and Amazon Web Services (AWS).
CompTIA Cloud+ certification tests your skills in cloud deployment and configurations, resource management, security, troubleshooting, and system maintenance. Though not mandatory, it is advisable to have 2-3 years as a system admin before sitting for this certification. A CompTIA Cloud expert gets an annual salary of $67000 annually.
7. Amazon Web Services (AWS) Certified Solutions Architect-Associate
AWS launched this certification in the year 2013. It is designed for solutions architects having over 1-year experience in designing and building AWS-based systems. The primary goal of this examination is to test your knowledge of the applications’ architecture and how to deploy secure applications on the cloud.
It will also test your ability to design solutions per the requirements of a customer in this certification. It additionally tests your ability to offer help in architectural design principles to implement the project life cycle. This certification is a perfect choice for experts who want to pursue careers in cloud infrastructure and design reference architectures. It is one of the most popular cloud AWS cloud certifications, and an AWS certified Solutions Architect-Associate makes over 110000 per annum.
8. Certified Cloud Security Professional (CSSP)
This is one of the most popular cloud security certifications used to validate your skills and knowledge in designing, managing, and securing your data, cloud infrastructure, and cloud applications. It is offered by the (ISC)2. To pass this examination, you must use the best practices, strategies, and policies per (ISC)2.
The certification covers various modules for cloud computing. Cloud professionals like systems architects, Enterprise architects, security consultants, and systems administrators find this certification critical. To sit for this certification, it is recommended that you have over five years of professional experience in the IT industry, of which three years experience is in information security. This certification tests your expertise in 6 security domains. These are the areas that you need to have a concrete understanding of to pass the certification. They include;
1. Cloud concepts, design, and architecture
3. Cloud infrastructure and platform security
4. Cloud application security
5. Cloud Security Operations
6. Risk, compliance, and legal
CSSP tests you for the understanding, knowledge, and skills in the following aspects;
• Capacity for protecting sensitive data in a global setting
• To see if you stay abreast with the latest developing trends in cyber security technologies
• How efficient you are in using cloud security knowledge throughout different cloud platforms
• How efficient your cloud security working knowledge is, and
• Your ability to share and communicate your knowledge to make the senior leadership in your organization and the clients trust you.
An (ISC)2 experts earn over $120000per year.
9. AWS Certified Cloud Security-Specialty
Among the many cloud certifications offered by AWS, this certification is among the best for AWS cloud security. It is designed for professionals in security roles who have hands-on experience ensuring AWS workload security and have experience spanning at least two years. This certification helps your career and job search, ensuring you get a fair salary.
According to an Amazon salary survey, there is a salary increase of up to 20% for 70% of the AWS working experts after receiving this certification. This certification validates the following skills and abilities:
• Knowledge of techniques used in data encryption and how you can implement them on the AWS mechanisms for data protection
• Understanding of AWS mechanisms to Implement the secure Internet protocols
• Your knowledge of special data classification methods and data protection techniques
• The candidate’s understanding of security services in AWS and service features to offer a secure environment for production.
• Ability to make trade-offs decisions given security, the complexity of the deployment, and the cost as the application requirements.
10. Certificate of Cloud Security Knowledge (CCSK)
One can be CCSK certified after clearing an online examination. The certification is ranked first in the CIO’s top ten cloud computing security certifications. What is unique about this certification is its option for group training. When you gain the CCSK training as a team, there is increased collaboration between you. Thus, the group can agree and effectively work in a diversified way. CCSK is also a foundation for Security Trust Assurance Registry (STAR). With this certification, they evaluate the following skills;
•Understanding of the ENISA white paper
• Understanding of the fundamentals of the CSA guidance
• Working knowledge and understanding of CSA cloud controls
• Knowledge of cloud infrastructure security, cloud architecture, cloud security management, application security, risk management IAM (Identity Access Management) in the cloud and various cloud security operations
• Ability to securely configure and enable multi-factor authentication, account monitoring, implementing the baseline controls, and configuring the virtual Private Networks is also tested, and
• Competence in encryption, ensuring storage security, and practically implementing the security federation.
11. EXIN Certified Integrator Secure Cloud services
This certification provides working experts a methodological way to offer a deep understanding of all things relating to cloud security. It helps in bridging the gap between generalists and specialists in cloud computing security. Are you a cloud engineer intending to start your career in cloud security? Sitting for EXIN Certified Integrator Secure Services certification will help you create a foundation to grow in cloud security with a specialism. The certification covers three areas; cloud computing, cloud security, and service management. This certification validates your understanding of cloud security and extensive knowledge of your cloud security responsibilities within an organization.
Conclusion
To stand out as a professional in cloud and cloud security, you need various certifications to validate your skills. Being a cloud or cloud security professional is among the best-paying IT jobs today. There is increasing adoption of the cloud in various business and government operations today. The market for public cloud services globally grew by 17% between 2019 and 2020. It means that there is a need for cloud professionals to help businesses in the various data operations. Another crucial aspect of cloud computing is cloud security. With the increased use of cloud services, mishaps and fraud on the cloud will increase. Hence, there will be an increasing need for cloud professionals to help secure cloud deployments. To prove that you have the said skills and expertise, sit for the above certifications.
