Amazon Web Services has announced the creation of a new certification program for its cloud computing endeavor.
The company is rolling out several exams throughout 2013 for IT professionals. Amazon has set up a training site to prepare customers. It will provide an approved AWS Certified logo for use on business cards and résumés once an individual has passed the relevant tests.
The first available exam certifies at the “AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate Level”, with tests for Systems Operations Administrator and Developers coming later this year.
Testing facilities will be available in more than 100 countries and 750 locations.
AWS Vice President Adam Selipsky said of the new program:
With cloud computing being quickly adopted by organizations of all sizes around the world, in-depth training programs as well as certifications for individuals who have demonstrated competence with AWS are increasingly important. The AWS Certification Program helps organizations identify that the employees, partners and consultants they depend on for their AWS solutions are well-versed in the best practices of building cloud applications on AWS and have the skills to help them be successful.
Without making too much of it, the arrival of a certification program is a moment of validation for AWS. Amazon has taken the lead in the cloud sector and is fast becoming an industry standard.
However, competition is beginning to ramp up. Microsoft recently revealed that its competing Azure cloud service is now a $1 billion annual revenue business.
See also: Amazon Web Services cuts S3 request prices by up to 60%, making data retrieval a great deal cheaper
Image credit: Fuse
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