Essential Learning Resources
for Developers and Admins
David Linthicum
Finding the cloud computing resources you need
should be easy on the web. Unfortunately, there’s so
much out there that it is difficult to find pearls of wisdom in an ocean of weak and inaccurate content. Or
worse, you might start reading advertising masquerading as unbiased, authoritative material. it is not
until you get into it that you realize you’ve been had.
So how do you sort it all out?
Whether you’re a private or hybrid cloud architect,
administrator or developer, you need a practitioner’s
shortlist list of authoritative resources, from blogs to
books, conferences, certifications, and training
programs.
Here’s our curated list of top-shelf technical-oriented cloud resources, based on our experiences
with cloud consulting practices. To keep it short and
sweet, we’ve included resources for developers and
administrators, while skipping the more general
information that you can come across easily.
Best certifications for cloud
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the 800-pound gorilla
in the hybrid and public cloud space. The first and
most critical certifications that translate directly into
highly paid jobs are AWS credentials. That is, unless
you’re working with Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud
Platform. Here are my recommendations.
AWS Certified Solutions Architect: This is an AWS
“professional” certification for people who are already
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up to speed on networking and the AWS cloud. It covers the basics of working from business needs to
requirements, to an ultimate solution using the AWS
public cloud. This certification provides an AWS-focused architectural path that will enable you to guide
cloud migration projects.
AWS Certified Developer: This certification shows
that you know how to design, develop and implement
cloud-based solutions using AWS. This works up from
the developer angle of things, including how to programmatically leverage AWS cloud-native features.
AWS Certified SysOps Administrator: This proves that
you understand the provisioning of systems and services on AWS, including automated deployments, as
well as best practices and monitoring metrics.
AWS Certified DevOps Engineer: To achieve this
you’ll need to learn how to provision, operate and
manage distributed applications using AWS. The certification focuses on the DevOps end of things,
including continuous delivery, continuous testing
and continuous deployment. Also covered are security controls, governance, and compliance validation.
On the ops side, it is about monitoring, metrics, and
logging systems, as well as maintaining operational
systems.
CompTIA Cloud+: CompTIA’s Cloud+ certifies your
in-depth understanding of cloud terminology and
methods for adopting the cloud. If this sounds more
basic than the AWS training, well, it is. But if you’re