Top Cloud Certifications Valuable in 2022: Is Microsoft a Leader?

With the adoption of cloud technology, the way businesses are conducted has been changed. The necessity to store data and services in cloud has risen and the pandemic time has contributed to this process much, as millions of employees have to work remotely now. This led to digitization of various services, increased internet access, emergence of new cloud technologies, and reduced cost of cloud usage. The popularity of cloud technologies has required new solid skills in supporting them. That means that certifications from the leading IT giants can help you validate your profound cloud knowledge and skills as well as become a noticeable IT professional for hiring managers.

This article covers the most valuable cloud IT certifications that will be valuable in 2022. The main vendors you can find in this niche are Microsoft (Azure), Amazon (AWS), and Google (Google Cloud).

Microsoft is a leader in offering numerous certifications to test your expertise in dealing with Microsoft Azure. It is a cloud computing platform that creates you all conditions to lead the business processes virtually. This concerns storage, servers, networking, analytics, and databases. The certifications offered can help you apply for such positions as Azure Network Engineer, Azure Solutions Architect, Azure Database Administrator, Azure Security Engineer, Azure Data Scientist, to name a few. Below, you will find the most demanded.

The Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals designation is intended for candidates who are new to this cloud service, and are eager to try the waters of IT or are ready to change their job and start from scratch. The certification checks the basics of cloud concepts, Azure services and workloads, security in Azure, privacy, support, and pricing. The exam one needs to pass is AZ-900. As for the salary, this entry-level Microsoft accreditation can bring you about $97,554 yearly, according to the Ziprecruiter website. It’s really a good start for a newbie in this sphere.

Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate is the certification of the intermediate level, designed to check candidate’s skills to apply, manage, and monitor the Microsoft Azure environment of the organization. The certified Azure Administrator is part of a larger team and is engaged in administering an organization’s cloud infrastructure. Such candidate has to sit for the AZ-104 evaluation. Speaking of the Azure Administrator position, it can bring you the average salary of about $107,683 per annum according to Ziprecruiter statistics.

Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert is the accreditation of the advanced level in the Microsoft Certification Program. This certification validates candidate’s skills to create and apply solutions that run on Microsoft Azure. The test-taker should demonstrate the top-notch skills in administering and developing Azure, and understanding DevOps processes as well. Also, such expert should be able to collaborate with cloud DBAs, administrators, and clients to carry out solutions. Since Microsoft’s top priority is to equip candidates with the most relevant skills, it monitors exam objectives every two months. Thus, till 31st of March, 2022 you have time to pass two exams (AZ-303 and AZ-304) to gain this expert-level certification, as after this date the exams will be retired. Or starting from November, 2021 you can sit for the AZ-305 beta exam which also will lead to this Microsoft designation. Speaking of the annual salary you can earn with this certification, the Ziprecruiter provides the following figures – $152,094 on average.

Amazon

The second IT provider that offers cloud certification is AWS or Amazon Web Services. Being a subsidiary of Amazon, this company created the samenamed worldly adopted, easy to use cloud computing platform that offers a wide range of products and services. In 2021 their number has increased to over 200. The AWS platform itself comprises 3 main products: EC2 (refers to the Amazon’s virtual machine service), S2 (storage system), and Glacier (low-cost cloud storage service). The certifications offered by this vendor start from the foundational level, then move to the associate level and end with the professional level. The paths you can take fall into developer, architect, and operations.

One of the most significant designations that deserve our attention is the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional. Being one of the leading certifications offered by this vendor, it testifies your skills in designing, applying, and assessing apps based on AWS in accordance with complex requirements. Before taking the SAP-C01 exam, the candidate should have at least 2 years of expertise in working with cloud architecture on AWS. Having this certification can increase your salary, so you can earn about $163,525 per annum.

The next cloud platform to be covered is the Google Cloud Platform or GCP. It represents a suite of public computing services including IaaS and PaaS solutions offered by Google. All data, operations, and processes that are done in Google Cloud are reliably protected by qualified engineers who are responsible for that. Google Cloud certifications are designed for data engineers, cloud developers, cloud architects, cloud DevOps engineers, cloud network engineers, to mention a few. One of the most sought-after accreditation is Google Certified Professional Cloud Architect. This IT professional helps organizations use Google Cloud technologies to do businesses. That’s why candidates for this designation should be competent in solution design, architectural best practices, and as well as in all aspects of enterprise cloud strategy. To add more, this certification benchmarks your skills in working with software development approaches and methodologies, such as multi-tiered distributed apps, that cover hybrid or multicloud environments. Thus, passing the Professional Cloud Architect exam is not easy, and you need to possess solid experience in working with GCP. But, the result will bring you real pleasure, cause the average annual salary waiting for you is $159,662.

So, if you are in doubt about which IT vendor to choose, read on. According to the Statista website, in 2021, 67% of respondents gave preference to Microsoft Azure, which automatically put AWS in second place. And GCP ranks third on the list of top vendors that were quick to develop cloud solutions, introduce them to society, and transform the way all businesses ran. So, the first approach of choosing a cloud certification is by the annual salary. If you have no specific preferences of the vendors and products they issue, choose any – this is a working method. The second approach implies the elementary knowledge of the platforms available. Thus, AWS and Azure are oriented to meet requirements of enterprises of various sizes and small business companies, while GCP is mostly used by developers from tech companies, scientific, and military organizations. Considering the given information and knowing your goals you can easily choose the vendor and its cloud certification to opt for, as you still have time to boost your career in 2022.