Changes to Oracle’s Certification Program: How Does This Relate to IT Trends 2022?

What thoughts do you have when you mention Oracle? One would assume it would be cloud engineered systems, Oracle Database software, JDeveloper, or other enterprise software products. And it’s not surprising, as it’s the largest provider of organization software and server hardware on the IT market. And given Oracle’s broad product portfolio, it’s not surprising that this vendor’s extensive certification program is so popular. Moreover, 80% of holders of this prestigious accreditation say that they received salary raise and/or promotion due to the fact that this certificate makes them more valuable for employers. Let’s find out why?

Current Oracle Certification Structure

At present, Oracle offers many accreditations as regards various products and technologies including customer experience, Java, on-premises applications, PaaS, and enterprise resource planning, among others. To make candidates more comfortable, all of this is grouped into multiple qualification paths, each of which includes designations at the following levels:

Foundations Associate (basic knowledge of core services and concepts)
Associate (strong comprehension of key Oracle technologies and technical background)
Specialist (advanced comprehension of core Oracle concepts and related practical skills)
Professional (advanced comprehension of Oracle concepts and expertise in key Oracle technologies)
Master (strong problem-solving skills and deep expertise in Oracle technologies)
Expert (expertise in specific Oracle technology, domains, or architecture based on advanced skillset)

Therefore, depending on your professional interests, you can find the right Oracle Cloud qualification for you if you are interested in Oracle Supply Chain Management, Oracle Human Capital Management, Oracle Enterprise Resource Planning, Oracle Enterprise Performance Management, Oracle Customer Experience, PaaS, or OCI. Or, you can pay attention to the available Oracle hardware/software accreditation paths that cover Virtualization, Systems, Operating Systems, Industrial Applications, Business Intelligence, Middleware, Enterprise Management, Applications, and Software.

Recent Changes

As you understand, this qualification program primarily covers various Oracle products. Consequently, the content of these accreditations and corresponding exams is tied to the corresponding technologies and solutions of Oracle. Hence, everyone can observe periodic changes in the structure of this program, as well as renaming, updating, or retiring some qualifying exams. All this is aimed at ensuring that candidates get the most up-to-date knowledge concerning the products they are interested in and confirm their advanced expertise.

Thus, you can keep track of the latest updates to exams and certification pathways on the site. For example, recent changes due to content updates have affected the following certificates:

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure 2020 Certified Architect Associate has been renamed Oracle Cloud Infrastructure 2021 Certified Architect Associate
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure 2020 Certified Architect Professional has been renamed Oracle Cloud Infrastructure 2021 Certified Architect Professional
Oracle Cloud Platform Identity and Security Management 2020 Certified Specialist has been renamed Oracle Cloud Platform Identity and Security Management 2021 Certified Specialist

What’s more, the retirement schedule for other accreditations including Oracle E-Business Suite 12 Supply Chain Certified Implementation Specialist: Oracle Inventory, Oracle Certified Expert, Oracle Exadata X5 Administrator, PeopleSoft PeopleTools 8.5x Certified Implementation Specialist, as well as PeopleSoft 9.2 Financials Certified Implementation Specialist is already known.

Innovations

In addition, Oracle is known for frequently releasing new certification paths and related tests. Thus, the Oracle Machine Learning using Autonomous Database 2021 Certified Specialist certification is available starting September 30, 2021, which is designed for specialists with a confident knowledge regarding Oracle Machine Learning as well as its core components. Along with this, each candidate must have proficiency in machine learning algorithms and methods, as well as the ability to create workspaces, projects, templates in Oracle Machine Learning, job schedules, as well as PLSQL and SQL scripts.

To get the Oracle Machine Learning using Autonomous Database 2021 Certified Specialist certificate, one has to pass the 1Z0-1096-21 exam. It is a 55-question multiple-choice test that you need to complete within 90 minutes and score at least 68%. To participate in this evaluation, you need to pay $245 as a registration fee, sign up for Oracle Cloud Infrastructure training (not required, but recommended), and be prepared to complete the tasks related to:

Oracle Machine Learning and Oracle Autonomous Cloud Platform
SQL Scripts and SQL Commands in Oracle Machine Learning
Notebooks and templates in Oracle Machine Learning
Workspace and projects in Oracle Machine Learning
Administration of Oracle Machine Learning
Using AutoML and OML4Py

What Does This Have To Do With And What Are The Prospects?

Gartner predicts that by 2022, about 70% of customer interactions will be directly related to new technologies, such as various machine learning applications. That’s because not only additional profits and revenue be generated with the right use of artificial intelligence and machine learning, but also the customer experience can be improved.

What’s more, Oracle Machine Learning accelerates the deployment and creation of machine learning models for data scientists through AutoML technology, reduced data movement, and simpler deployment.

Considering the above and the fact that Oracle Autonomous Cloud Platform was updated in July 2021 (Python users can now extend data analysis capabilities in Oracle Autonomous Database via OML4Py), the new accreditation path covers trends that will certainly be relevant in 2022. Thus, it is a great investment in the professional development of machine learning related professionals.