Top 5 Reasons to Get AWS Certified Right Now

Cloud computing trends are on the rise and have been for some time already. Fortunately, it’s never too late to start learning cloud computing. Skills like AWS and others associated with cloud computing are in high demand because cloud technologies have become crucial for many businesses. According to a forecast by Statista, costs spent on public cloud services are expected to grow to $216 billion by 2022. Cloud services are used by companies of all kinds, from small startups to Fortune 500 companies like General Electrics, NASA, Airbnb, Netflix, and many others. Therefore, there’s no surprise that the cloud computing market grows at a rapid pace — and getting AWS certified is one of the best ways to get started. 

If you’re new to AWS, then you’ll want to check out Cloud Academy’s Fundamentals of AWS. In this learning path, you will learn the core AWS skills and concepts needed to begin working with AWS and start your path to getting AWS certified.

Fundamentals of AWS

Currently, the three biggest cloud providers in the world are Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform. However, AWS has the biggest market share, holding about 32.4% of the market. Besides, it’s already responsible for 11% of total Amazon sales. AWS is also popular among many big companies that spend impressive amounts of money on it:

As you can see, getting AWS certified is a good decision. Now let’s take a closer look at it and its features.

What is AWS?

AWS is one of the greatest cloud developments that help deploy applications of different kinds to the cloud. Amazon is proud of AWS. For this company, web services became an opportunity to provide a complex solution that takes cloud computing to the next level. First, AWS is a flexible on-demand storage service, which is already a necessity for many companies. Secondly, it offers different levels of control over information based on its users’ preferences. Cloud computing services of this type are called service deployment models.

While many cloud computing solutions come in the form of Software as a Service (SaaS), AWS is Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). Users can access cloud storage on the internet and use virtual servers, networks, machines, etc. There is another type of cloud computing called Platform as a Service (PaaS). Such solutions enable developers to create web and mobile applications using cloud servers. AWS also provides a cloud hosting service.

AWS is the biggest and most well-known technology associated with cloud services and products. The main reason for its success is its size, as well as its strong presence in the industry. AWS provides many services, including Amazon Relational Database Service, Amazon Virtual Private Cloud, Amazon Simple Queue Service, and many more. AWS offers many services that can help businesses deal with hundreds of different tasks, including storage, networking, remote computing, mobile development tools, servers, etc.

Storage

Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) is a scalable solution that enables users to create backups of their data. S3 buckets allow you to store and organize your backup files. Amazon also offers long-term storage solutions like Amazon Elastic Book Store and Amazon Glacier.

Amazon Glacier

This is a storage service that allows users to store data that they access rarely at a low cost. This service helps businesses save a lot of money on storing their cold data, which is great for businesses with limited budgets.

Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2)

This is an online virtual server that can be used by businesses to run various applications. Developers can access the computing resources of AWS data centers through these servers that are also called the Instances.

Amazon Elastic Book Store

This is another storage service that enables users to store their persistent data, being able to access it if the Elastic Compute Cloud is shut down.

Data migration

Businesses can also use AWS to migrate their data servers, applications, and databases on a public AWS cloud. Thanks to AWS Migration Hub, they can also manage their data. Amazon also has another data migration service called AWS Snowball.

Database management

To help businesses manage their data, Amazon provides several services, including Amazon Relational Database Service. This solution is compatible with numerous database engines, helping users manage, recover, and migrate their data. It can also help you backup your data.

Security

AWS enables users to manage multiple accounts using the Identity and Access Management system. You can create custom policies for accessing cloud resources.

Cloud configuration and management

AWS Config and AWS Config Rules help users configure cloud resources. In addition, AWS Trusted Advisor can suggest the best methods of configuration, taking into account performance, protection, and cost-effectiveness.

Development tools

Amazon also offers a number of application services and development tools, including AWS Software Development Kits and AWS Command Line Interface. SDKs from Amazon support iOS and Android, as well as many popular languages, such as PHP, C++, NodeJS, Ruby, Java, and Python. There are also many additional services, like AWS Serverless Application Model, AWS Tools for Powershell, and Amazon API Gateway.

Messaging services

There are several messaging services, including Amazon Simple Notification Service (SNS), Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS), and Amazon Simple Email Service (SES). SNS is a flexible service for push notifications that enables users to send messages to several recipients at once. SES allows users to send promotional, transactional, and other emails that meet business standards.

Reasons to get AWS certified

1. Expertise in cloud computing is inevitable for IT professionals

Advanced technologies like machine learning and artificial intelligence encourage developers to come up with cloud solutions. According to Forbes, 50% of IT experts agree that machine learning and artificial intelligence play an important role in the development of cloud computing. These technologies will be the most important factors influencing cloud computing in the upcoming years. Therefore, learning cloud technologies becomes a necessity for IT professionals who don’t want to lag behind.

2. AWS is the fastest-growing public cloud service

Just a year after Amazon launched its cloud services in 2006, there were more than 180,000 developers involved in the platform development. Since then, AWS has continued to grow at a rapid pace. In 2018, its market share reached 49%, and now AWS is still dominating the industry. Amazon Elastic MapReduce, AWS Lambda, and Amazon CloudWatch are the fastest-growing AWS products. Therefore, learning AWS is certainly a great idea for everyone who wants to learn cloud computing.

3. Increased enterprise cloud migration to AWS

Both small and big companies migrate to the cloud. According to research, the number of companies dependent on traditional IT infrastructure dropped from 77% in 2015 to 43% in 2018, and this trend is here to stay. The growth rate of the global public cloud services market is expected to reach 17.5% by 2021. Although many companies decide to migrate, not all of them have cloud professionals who can deal with this complex and time-consuming task. Therefore, there is a significant demand for cloud experts who can help organizations migrate in a well-organized and safe way. Certified AWS architects can effectively manage the whole process, which makes them extremely valuable for professionals. Learning AWS enables you to help organizations shift from their on-premise applications to AWS so you will quickly find a good job.

4. AWS skills are in high demand and pay well

AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate professionals’ average salary is about $121,292. It’s $13,000 more than the average salary of other top 15 IT professionals. In areas like Washington, Austin, Boston, or San Francisco, the salaries for AWS experts are even higher by 25%. However, we recommend that you don’t expect to get such a salary immediately after getting the AWS Solutions Architect certification. There are many factors that might affect your salary, including your location, experience, and additional skills.

5. AWS certifications are feasible

Amazon is different from many other companies because it has a completely realistic certification path that doesn’t require you to take highly specialized training to start. Of course, getting certified isn’t too easy. However, you won’t need to leave your job and pay for expensive training to obtain your first certification.

Most often, cloud experts start with the AWS Solutions Architect because this way, you can familiarize yourself with the core services and the whole AWS ecosystem. An associate certificate is also necessary if you want to take a specialty exam. You will also need this certificate to take a Solutions Architect professional test. To take a DevOps Professional test, you need a SysOps or Developer certificate. Besides, don’t forget about self-learning.AWS Solutions Architect

Final thoughts

Given that Amazon dominates the cloud computing industry, getting AWS certified is a great advantage. Many small businesses and enterprises migrate to the cloud. AWS constantly expands and develops, so cloud experts are in high demand. Expertise in cloud computing is necessary for modern IT professionals, so don’t hesitate to start learning AWS now!

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