Journey To Cloud Update 03 Sep 2020

Journey to Cloud ☁️
Table of Contents
What is Cloud Computing? 4
Fundamentals of Cloud Computing 7

Why Should I Learn Cloud Computing? 9
10 Common Use Cases of Cloud Computing 11
I have no IT background. Is it possible for me to make a career shift to Cloud Computing? 14
The Top Three Cloud Cloud Service Providers 16
Amazon Web Services 16

What is AWS? 16
AWS Global Infrastructure 17
How does AWS Pricing Work? 19
Essential AWS Services 22
Microsoft Azure 25
What is Azure? 25
Azure Global Infrastructure 26
How does Azure Pricing Work? 27
Essential Azure Services 28
Google Cloud Platform 31
What is Google Cloud? 31
GCP Global Infrastructure 32
How does GCP Pricing Work? 33
Essential Google Cloud Services 35
Certifications Path for AWS, Azure, and GCP 38
AWS Certifications Path 39

Foundational 40
Associate 42
https://portal.tutorialsdojo.com/ Page | 2
Professional 46
Specialty 48
Azure Certifications Path 54
Fundamentals 54
Associate 55
Expert 56
Google Cloud Certifications Path 58
Associate 58
Professional 59
AWS vs Azure vs GCP - Which One Should I Learn? 65
Are Cloud Certifications Enough to Land me a Job? 70
Unique Ways to Build Credentials and Make a Successful Career Shift to Cloud Computing 71
Interview Tips to Help You Land a Cloud-Related Job 73
Summary 76
Tutorials Dojo 77
About the Authors 78
What is
Cloud Computing?
The first time you hear the term Cloud Computing, you probably have asked yourself these
questions: “What exactly is the Cloud in Cloud Computing?” and “Why do so many
companies use it?”
Basically, cloud computing is an on-demand computing service that you can avail over the
Internet to host and run your applications. The “cloud” in cloud computing simply refers to
the underlying network or servers that run your web applications, database, and many
others. Of course, the term “cloud” does not allude to that white, puffy, and cotton-looking
thing in the sky. The physical servers are not hovering above the troposphere either. These
servers are actually hosted on data centers around the world and possibly could be situated
in one of the buildings in the city that you live in.
In the past, before you could launch a website or an enterprise application, you needed to
procure and set up your own physical servers first to deploy your applications. You are also
responsible for managing, patching, and troubleshooting your servers and network devices.
The problem here is that it takes a lot of time, effort and money just to make your solutions
available online.
But with cloud computing, all you need to do is avail of the computing services over the
Internet and the cloud service provider will be responsible for managing the underlying
infrastructure that runs your websites. It’s like you are ‘renting’ a server and after you are
done using it, you have the option to end your subscription to stop accumulating
unnecessary costs. This empowers you, as well other businesses, to focus on building
solutions rather than spending a lot of time setting up and managing servers.
Cloud Computing provides a plethora of helpful services that small and big companies can
leverage on. Its services include domain registration, Internet of Things (IoT), data analytics,
machine learning, gaming, mobile development, Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS), quantum
computing and many more. This is why there are so many companies and even startups
leveraging its power to launch their products faster, save on operating costs, and scale
globally with ease.
Benefits of Cloud Computing
Agility
1 You have the ability to quickly adapt and deploy services in the most cost-
effective way in response to changes in business requirements.
Elasticity
2 In the case of varying workloads, it allows your resources to adjust quickly and
to scale back and forth as the business capacity and needs change.
Cost Savings
Instead of building and managing your own data center and physical servers,
3 you can trade your Capital Expenses for Operational Expenses and pay only
1 the amount you consume.
Deploy globally in minutes

4 With just a few clicks, you can quickly deploy your application to different
locations and enhance the experience of your users with reduced latency.
Types of Cloud Computing
Infrastructure as a Service
Platform as a Service Software as a Service
Full control of your
In this model, you can focus on The software is ready to be
infrastructure without the
the deployment and used and operated by the
maintenance and operating
management of your service provider. SaaS is also
costs of the servers. IaaS
applications. PaaS eliminates known as end-user
provides access to servers,
the need to manage the applications.
storage, networking, and
underlying infrastructure.
operating systems.
Fundamentals of Cloud Computing
Before you deep dive on different cloud services, let's first take a look at the summary of
the fundamentals of cloud computing. Cloud services are usually classified by their general
use cases that make up an IT infrastructure. You can think of them as lego blocks. One piece
of a lego block looks dull and doesn't really mean much. But once you've learned how to fit
those blocks on top of each other in a creative fashion, you could build anything that you
can think of! Interestingly enough, I've seen someone build a titanic replica out of lego pieces
before. And just like those lego blocks, you can create any Cloud architecture that you want
in a short span of time by connecting the fundamental blocks together in congruence to
your needs.
Some of the fundamental blocks of Cloud Computing are Compute, Storage, Database,
Networking, and Security.
Compute
Instead of provisioning your server in a local data center, you can outsource the computing
power needed by your server from a cluster of virtual machines in the Cloud. Compute is
the processing power required by applications and systems to process data and carry out
computational tasks.
The compute capacity of a virtual machine solely depends on the hardware resources
attributed to its host computer. The compute resources refer to the CPU, Storage, Memory,
and the Network Bandwidth available to the machine where your VM is running. Today,
most cloud service providers have done a pretty good job designing a wide selection of pre-
configured machines that can accommodate a variety of workloads.
Storage
The main benefit of storing data in the cloud is the convenience of increasing your storage
capacity without maintaining and buying more local hard drives. You cannot prevent data
corruption from happening in the event of a hard disk failure. In the cloud, your data is
stored persistently across logical pools in a physical storage hosted by your cloud service
provider. You can store different types of data such as objects, files, and backups.
Database
The database is a system that stores and manages structured and unstructured information.
Databases in the cloud are typically managed and offered as a service by a cloud service
provider. This means that maintaining and updating the underlying components of your
database instance, such as OS updates and software patches, are no longer your
responsibility. Databases in the cloud are also scalable and highly available in nature.
Networking
The cloud is a large ecosystem of computers that communicate and integrate with each
other to deliver a specific service to customers. Cloud service providers make sure that they
always maintain a high speed network connection within their infrastructures to support
the needs of their end users. You can use the cloud to provide a global link to distribute
your application all over the world.
Security
In the cloud, data is stored in secured remote data center facilities. This means that threats
like theft and data breach are unlikely going to happen. As a cloud user, your responsibility
is more on data management. The cloud has sets of tools to help you enforce high levels of
security. For example, you have control on the encryption and decryption of your data. You
can also choose to authenticate and authorize selected users and services to access your
applications.
Why should I learn Cloud Computing?
We have a long history of how technological advancements have influenced the way society
thinks and strives. Needless to say, technology has created and destroyed livelihoods. One
good example is the rise and fall of switchboard operators. A switchboard operator is a
person whose job is to be the intermediary between callers by manually connecting phone
plugs to the appropriate jacks in the old telephone switchboard. The emergence of
transistors back in the day led to the invention of automatic switches that replaced the role
of switchboard operators.
I like to believe that Cloud Computing is the “transistor” of our generation. Did you know
that the size of a computer was once as big as a room? Thanks to the advent of transistors,
portable handheld computers with insane processing power are now possible. Just like how
transistors transformed our lives, the Cloud is also undertaking the same path. Cloud
computing is the next frontier of digital transformation.
The Cloud has changed the way we view and interpret data. AI-based predictions powered
by cloud resources are now the prevalent solutions in dealing with critical business decisions
and goals by reducing operating costs and human error. It has also revolutionized the
entertainment industry by accelerating the distribution of media content around the globe.
Most of the traditional IT operations are now being migrated into the Cloud. In the future,
our grandchildren might even make fun of the idea of how we used to rent physical spaces
and buy dedicated computers to host servers and databases.
There are three reasons why we think you need to learn Cloud Computing:
Future-Proof Your Career
Cloud Computing has become the backbone of many IT solutions and operations for the
past decade. And according to research, it will continue to do so for the coming years. It
appears that the demand for skills in Cloud computing has been on the rise with no signs of
slowing down. Today, even non-technical job roles are required and expected to have some
basic knowledge on at least one Cloud Platform.
Here is a fun fact, according to the World Economic Forum - it is estimated that 65% of
children entering primary school today will ultimately end up working in completely new job
types that don’t exist yet. At this point, we can only make assumptions. But if you closely
observe and follow the job trends in the market today, it is becoming hardly a surprise that
tech skills will dominate the job market in the future. Cloud computing is in front of the
movement in digital transformation and if you’d ask me, there’s a high probability that jobs
in the future will emerge from the advancement and maturation of Cloud technologies.
With that being said, there has never been a better time to learn Cloud Computing than
now. Whether you are an IT professional, a student, or even an average Joe who’s
interested in tech, investing your time and resources in learning cloud computing skills is
going to be worth your while. This is a decision that you’ll not regret and will make a big
impact in securing yourself a bright future and career.
Raise Your Value as an IT Professional

The good news is that if you already have an experience and a position in the IT field then
it would be easier for you to adapt and learn cloud computing. You could transfer your
current skill sets in automation, development, or networking in the Cloud. If you’re looking
for a way to raise your professional status by updating your skills for a chance of increasing
your salary then you can start by earning a Cloud Certification. Cloud Certifications are a
great way of projecting yourself as a high caliber IT Professional. It will show your hunger
and willingness to stay relevant which will ultimately open up opportunities for you to get
role promotions.
Personal Growth and Interest

The purpose of learning the intricacies of Cloud computing doesn’t always mean wanting
to secure job positions. If you are a hobbyist who finds joy in creating modern solutions to
existing problems, then that is also a valid reason to acquire cloud computing skills. Cloud
Providers have an arsenal of technologies that will introduce you to new ways of quickly
building solutions that will solve real-world problems.
10 Common Use Cases

Of Cloud Computing
Cloud computing is a powerful way of quickly building I.T infrastructures that can scale at
any time. Large businesses and corporations have started moving their operations into the
cloud as early as a decade ago. And most of them have attributed their success to their
reliance on cloud services. You might be unaware of this, but the cloud powers most of the
applications that you are probably using today.
In this article, we will discuss the common use cases of cloud computing and understand
why it has become the game-changer in the I.T industry.
1. Storage
This might be the most common use case for cloud computing. Today, replacing local hard
drives with cloud-based storage is quickly becoming the new standard in IT solutions. Cloud
storage is great for storing large amounts of data as it provides virtually unlimited storage.
2. Test and Development

In the cloud, you can switch environments on and off. Unlike traditional servers, the cloud
lets you create, deploy, and terminate environments anytime you want. You don’t have to
wait for a long time for a new environment to be provisioned. With just a few clicks, you
could quickly set up a staging environment where you can experiment your project's proof
of concept. The time to market for your products will be significantly reduced, increasing
your business revenue growth.
3. Serverless Computing
Serverless computing is a cloud architecture that lets you run functions on a computer
managed by cloud service providers like AWS, GCP, and Azure. From a client’s perspective,
we don’t have to worry about setting up and provisioning computers. Things like system
updates, scalability, and high availability are automatically operated and handled within the
cloud. Serverless follows the pay-as-you-go model, wherein you only pay for the time your
function is running and the resources it consumes. For example, you need to process logs
for 5 minutes every week. Unlike in a traditional setup where the computer has to be
running all the time, you will only get billed for the duration your function runs. That way,
not only are you saving energy, you are also reducing your operating costs.
4. High Performing Applications

High-performing applications are critical to every business, especially now that we are
entering the front door of 5G. Speed matters more than ever. Your business is not going to
survive in a fast-paced environment if you have a slow-performing application. With the
cloud's help, even a small business can compete with large organizations in terms of system
performance. You also do not have to worry about your organization's growth, as the cloud
is inherently scalable.
5. Infrastructure as a service (IaaS)

Choosing the right computer specs and network bandwidth for your business can be
troublesome. Let alone the other cost considerations that come with it, like backup storage,
rental expense, and electricity bill. The cloud takes all of these burdens from you so you can
focus on your business goals. If you plan a startup on the cloud, you can start on a small
instance and slowly add capacity as your business grows. If your servers are underutilized,
you can shut down some of them to reduce costs. Instead of building and managing your
own data center and physical servers, you can trade your Capital Expenses for Operational
Expenses and pay only the amount you consume.
6. AI as a service (AIaaS)
With the help of cloud computing, you don’t have to get a degree in Data Science to
experience the benefits of Artificial Intelligence ( AI ). For instance, a web developer could
build a facial recognition app using only his knowledge on web development. In the cloud,
AI is offered as a service, and it is accessed through the Application Program Interface ( API
). You can use AI to save on time and personnel costs by automating mundane tasks. It can
also help businesses make faster and accurate decisions by predicting outcomes based on
previous datasets.
7. Disaster Recovery Plan

Let’s say you are running a business on a local data center that you control. Your means of
protecting customer’s data is by backing it up and sending it off-site to another location.
What would happen if your data center was caught on fire, making your business
inoperable? Sure, you can rebuild your I.T infrastructure with the backed up data, but that
would take weeks, or months even. In business, every hour lost costs money. Just imagine
how much it would cost you if you are unable to recover for months. With cloud, your
system can withstand any disaster by having a stand-by I.T infrastructure in a remote data
center facility. This way, when a disaster happens and affects your operation, you can
quickly recover from it.
8. Building Fault Tolerant System

In 2008, Netflix encountered a devastating loss after running into a database corruption
that stopped their DVD shipments. This experience led them into moving their operations
center to the cloud. Applications running in the cloud have the ability to continue operating
even in the event of a failure. Persisted data in the cloud is replicated. If a server goes down,
you can turn that off and use a replicated copy of it.
9. Security
You can use the cloud to strengthen your data’s security and integrity. One of the benefits
of moving your applications into the cloud is that you’ll get access to tightly secured data
centers. Also, because the data is not physically located in your local servers, risks of losing
and compromising the data through theft and poor management are eliminated.
10. Hybrid IT
A hybrid cloud solution is a mix between a private network and public cloud. Shifting into
the cloud does not always mean moving your entire I.T infrastructure. It is possible to
operate a system where only the core components of your business remain on-site and only
use the cloud for running ad hoc tasks.
I Have No IT
Background. Is it
Possible for Me to Make
A Career Shift to
Cloud Computing?
One of the most common questions that we often get from our subscribers is this: “I have
no IT background - is it possible for me to make a career shift to Cloud Computing?”
It can be quite hard to enter the job market, especially the cut-throat IT industry, if you
don’t have any technical background. However, with the right strategy and steps, you can
successfully jump to a new and exciting career in cloud computing. With the abundant
information we have today, there is very little that you cannot do. Are you interested in
learning an instrument but can’t afford paid lessons? Or perhaps you've found a new passion
for cooking but you don't know how to start. Don't worry, as there is a whole heap of free
learning resources that you can find on the Internet to get you going. The point is that
anyone can virtually learn any skill nowadays as long as you have the heart and the proper
mindset to achieve it.
I understand that switching to a new career is never easy at any age. I was once working in
a non-IT job. I was very comfortable at my workplace since I'm friends with most of my
colleagues. And although I was doing great at my job, there were times when I felt like I'm
reaching a dead end. It was a difficult time in my life. That was when I thought that I had to
explore other options. I decided to make a career shift to Cloud Computing because of its
high business value. But it was not a smooth ride. As someone without an IT background, I
had to spend hours learning different technologies while working full-time. In the process,
I had acquired skills that I didn't know I was capable of having.
Today, most popular cloud service providers like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud offer a ton
of free educational materials that you can use to get started with cloud computing. In my
case, I started by creating a free account where I have free access to selected cloud services
for 12 months. I used this to explore the platform’s services in terms of their function and
how they can be integrated with other services. For your reference here are the links you
can go to in order to create a free tier account:
 AWS Free Tier
 Azure Free Account
 Google Cloud Free Tier
If you’re a total newbie to the general concepts in IT, learning Cloud will expose you to
technologies that may seem intimidating and foreign. As for me, I had to learn the basic
operations of Linux so I could spin up a web server, or write codes in Python so I could
develop simple applications in the Cloud. I was not so sure about what I was doing at first.
And I found myself binge-watching free video tutorials on the Internet (YouTube has tons
of helpful tutorials that are absolutely free!) I kept moving forward one step at a time and
did not stop studying until I could make sense and see how the different cloud services fit
together to create a solution.
A famous saying goes, “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” It’s in this spirit that I recommend
you to lay out a study plan. Take incremental steps and focus on learning a new concept
every day. Find time to apply the theories that you’ve learned into practical knowledge by
building simple personal projects. This will help you break an entire Cloud service into small
pieces. Also, you can take the Cloud Certifications to validate your knowledge and acquire
the necessary credentials. These small steps will build your background and reputation in
the cloud computing space, helping you make a successful career shift.
The learning curve for learning the Cloud will be different for every person. And it surely is
going to be a steep one, especially if you are coming from a non-IT background. Remember
that cloud computing is like any other skill, and it can be acquired if you put in the hard
work. You do not have to be a genius to start learning it. We are lucky to be living in today's
world, where we have access to a lot of information. Use it to your advantage. If you want
to learn cloud computing, perseverance and determination will be the critical factors.
Don't forget that everyone starts as a beginner. Believe in yourself and trust the process,
because it will be a gratifying decision that you're going to make, and all your effort is going
to be worth it in the end.
The Top Three Cloud Cloud Service Providers - AWS, Azure, and GCP
What is
Amazon Web Services?
In 2006, Amazon launched its own IT Infrastructure Services called Amazon Web Services.
AWS is a cloud platform where you can create, build, and deploy applications. The different
AWS services can be accessed over the Internet and it provides premium support plans to
help companies run their business applications and workloads on the cloud.
Amazon Web Services also has the biggest market share in the cloud industry and has the
most extensive global cloud infrastructure in the world.
AWS Global Infrastructure
The Cloud Infrastructure of AWS is built around:

Regions - provide multiple, physically separated, and isolated Availability Zones which are
connected with low latency, high throughput, and highly redundant networking.
Availability Zones - consist of one or more discrete data centers, each with redundant
power, networking, and connectivity, housed in separate facilities.
Local Region - is a single datacenter designed to complement an existing AWS Region.

Local Zone - places AWS compute, storage, database, and other select services close to
large populations, industry, and IT centers where no AWS region exists today.
Edge Locations - where end users access services located at AWS.
Well-Architected Framework: Five Pillars
Having well-architected systems greatly increases the plausibility of business success

which is why AWS created the AWS Well-Architected Framework. This framework is
composed of five pillars that help you understand the pros and cons of decisions you
make while building cloud architectures and systems on the AWS platform.
Operational Excellence
Run and monitor systems to deliver business value and to continually improve supporting
processes and procedures.
Security
Protect information, systems, and assets while delivering business value through risk
assessments and mitigation strategies.
Reliability
Recover the system from infrastructure or service disruptions, dynamically acquire
computing resources to meet demand, and mitigate disruptions such as misconfigurations
or transient network issues.
Performance Efficiency
Use computing resources efficiently to meet system requirements, and to maintain that
efficiency as demand changes and technologies evolve.
Cost Optimization
Avoid or eliminate unneeded cost or suboptimal resources.
How does AWS Pricing Work?
With AWS, you can estimate your monthly cost using the Pricing Calculator and compare
your on-premises environment to Amazon Web Services with the TCO Calculator.
This includes the following pricing model:
Pay-as-you-go Save when you reserve Pay less by using more
Pay only for the services Let’s you provision your Offers users volume
and resources you need. resources in advance for discounts on AWS
1 or 3 years of services.
commitment.
With Reserved Instances, you can save up to 75% over equivalent on-demand capacity.
When you buy Reserved Instances, the larger the upfront payment, the greater the
discount.
All Upfront lets you pay for the entire Reserved Instance term with one upfront
payment. This option provides you with the largest discount compared to On-Demand
instance pricing.
Partial Upfront allows you to make a low upfront payment and are then charged a
discounted hourly rate for the instance for the duration of the Reserved Instance term.
No Upfront does not require any upfront payment and provides a discounted hourly
rate for the duration of the term.
For new accounts, AWS Free Tier is available for limited usage of AWS products at no
charge for 12 months since the account was created.
Support Plans
With hundreds of services and features, AWS provides a combination of various tools,
technologies, programs, and human resources to proactively help their customers. AWS
offers various support plans that customers can choose from based on their needs.
AWS has 4 different Support Plans:
1. Basic
2. Developer
3. Business
4. Enterprise
The Basic Support Plan is already available to all AWS customers by default and is free of
charge. It also offers support for account and billing questions including requests for service
limit increases.
Comparison of AWS Support Plans
You can also choose a type of AWS Support Plan based on your production workload. If
you are only experimenting, testing, or doing a Proof of Concept (POC) in AWS, it is
recommended that you choose the Developer plan. If you have production workloads
running in AWS, it is suitable to opt for the Business plan. Lastly, if you have mission-critical
workloads, it is better to stick with an Enterprise plan because it provides the most efficient
response times to support your systems.
Essential AWS Services
Compute
Elastic Cloud Compute (EC2) - is a web service that lets you rent
scalable and resizable virtual machines in the Cloud. You can control
inbound traffic to an EC2 instance by using a Security Group.
AWS Lambda - is a serverless computing service that lets you run

functions/code without having to manage servers. AWS Lambda
supports Java, Go, PowerShell, Node.js, C#, Python, and Ruby code,
and provides a Runtime API that lets you run code in a programming
language that you like.
Elastic Kubernetes Services (EKS) - is a fully managed Kubernetes

service that lets you orchestrate and manage containerized
applications. Control plane upgrades can be done automatically or
manually, while worker nodes upgrades can only be done manually.
Storage
Simple Storage Service (S3) - is a distributed object storage service.

S3 stores data as an object and can’t be used as a boot volume for
instances. The number of objects that can be stored in an S3 bucket
is unlimited.
Elastic Block Storage (EBS) - is a persistent block storage service

that can be used as a boot volume and storage for a virtual machine.
EBS volumes are replicated within an Availability Zone making it
suitable for mission-critical applications.
Elastic File System (EFS) - is a fully managed Network File System

(NFS) for Linux. EFS is a regional service which allows concurrent
connections for instances across availability zones.
Database
Relational Database Service (RDS) - is a managed relational

database service that has support for multiple database engines like
MySQL, PostgreSQL, MariaDB, Oracle, and SQL Server.
DynamoDB - is a serverless NoSQL database service that supports

key-value and document data structures.
Networking
Virtual Private Cloud - is a virtual network environment where you

can run AWS resources. The minimum size of subnet that can be
created in a VPC for IPv4 is /28 or 14 IP addresses.
CloudFront - is a content delivery network that can be used to

improve an application’s performance by utilizing the AWS global
infrastructure to deliver data across the globe. AWS has the highest
numbers of Point Of Presence (POP) among the other Cloud Service

Providers.
Route 53 - is a highly available Domain Name System (DNS) service.

You can either buy a new domain or import a pre-existing domain
on Route 53. Route 53 supports multiple configurable routing
policies that you can use depending on the application’s
requirements.
Security
Identity Access Management (IAM) - is an identity and access

management service that allows you to create, manage, and control
users and access to AWS resources and services.
Key Management System (KMS) - is a fully managed centralized

key management system. KMS is used to handle the encryption and
decryption of your data. You can either create a Customer Master
Key (CMK) using KMS or import your own key.
AWS Web Application Firewall (WAF) - is a service that helps

protect applications against common attacks like SQL injection or
cross-site scripting at a network level by controlling the traffic that
reaches your application.
What is
Microsoft Azure?
Azure is a cloud computing platform that was introduced by Microsoft in 2010. It gives
you the ability to create, manage, and deploy applications across a vast global network.
Microsoft Azure also offers a range of services to help your company address the existing
and potential business challenges in your infrastructure and applications.
Microsoft Azure has the second-largest share in the cloud industry. It also has specialized
regions for compliance or legal purposes.
Azure Global Infrastructure
Azure Cloud Infrastructure is built around:

Regions - a group of data centers deployed in a latency-defined perimeter and connected
through a dedicated regional low latency network.
Regions that are unique when it comes to compliance:
 Azure Government Cloud - only US federal, state, local, and tribal governments
and their partners have access to this dedicated instance.
 China Region - data center is physically located within China and has no
connection outside of China, including other Azure regions.
Availability Zones - a zone is composed of one or more data centers with independent
power, cooling, and networking facilities.
Azure services that support Availability Zones fall into two categories:
 Zonal services - a resource is pinned to a specific zone.
 Zone-redundant services - replicates automatically across zones.
How does Azure Pricing Work?
Azure helps you estimate your monthly cost using the Pricing Calculator, and compare
expenses and savings against on-premises and co-location environments with the Total
Cost of Ownership Calculator.
This includes the following pricing models:

Pay-as-you-go - increase or decrease capacity and only pay for what you use.
Reservations - commit one-year or three-year terms to reduce your infrastructure costs.
Spot - significant discounts in purchasing unused compute capacity.
Essential Azure Services
Compute
Azure VM - A virtual server that supports both Linux and Windows

operating systems. You can allow or deny the traffic going to your
VMs using a network security group.
Azure Functions - A serverless compute that allows you to write

functions using C#, Java, JavaScript, Python, and PowerShell.
Azure Kubernetes Service - It allows you to orchestrate and

manage multiple containers, but the control plane and worker nodes
upgrades are done manually.
Storage
Azure Blob - An object storage service of Azure. A single blob

container size is the same as the maximum storage account capacity.
Azure Disk - A block storage for virtual machines. You can protect
your disks from failure with the data redundancy feature.
Azure Files - It enables you to mount file shares in popular operating

systems such as Linux, Windows, and macOS.
Database
Azure SQL Database - A relational database service that supports

Microsoft SQL server.
Azure Cosmos DB - A database service for document store, graph

DBMS, key-value, and wide column store.
Networking
Azure VNet - A private network to run your VMs and applications.

You can segment your virtual network between a /16 and /29
netmask.
Azure CDN - It enables you to deliver web content closer to users.

It has multiple point-of-presence locations in a region.
Azure Traffic Manager - Distribute incoming traffic based on the

routing method of your choice and Azure DNS helps you manage
your DNS records.
Security
Azure Active Directory - An identity and access management

service that allows you to create and manage users and groups. You
can use RBAC to grant users certain roles to access specific
resources.
Azure Key Vault - A service that allows you to store tokens,

passwords, certificates, and other secrets. You can also create and
manage the keys used to encrypt your data.
Azure Application Gateway - A web traffic load balancer for the

distribution of HTTP requests. It also has a web application firewall
that protects your web applications from commonly known
vulnerabilities.
What is
Google Cloud?
Google Cloud Platform (GCP) is a global cloud services suite offered by Google that uses
the same infrastructure that they use internally for their end-user products.
In April of 2008, Google announced its first cloud computing service called the App Engine.
It is a platform for developing and hosting web applications in Google-managed data
centers. Since then, Google has added a lot of cloud services on their platform.
GCP is part of the Google Cloud, which includes the Google Cloud Platform public cloud
infrastructure including G Suite, enterprise versions of Android and Chrome OS, and
application programming interfaces (APIs) for machine learning and mapping services.
GCP Global Infrastructure
The cloud infrastructure of GCP is built around:

Multi-regions – a large geographic area, such as the United States, that contains two or
more geographic places
Regions - are collections of zones that provide high-bandwidth, low-latency network
connections to other zones in the same region.
Zones - is an isolated location within a region and is composed of several physical
infrastructures housed in a data center called cluster.
Cluster - is a distinct physical infrastructure that is housed in a data center.

Network edge locations – offers connection to Google Cloud services from different
locations across metropolitan areas.
Projects – a project organizes all your Google Cloud resources. It consists of settings,
permissions, and other metadata that describe your applications. Each resource you
provision and use on GCP should belong to a project.
How does GCP Pricing Work?
You can estimate your cloud computing costs using the GCP Pricing Calculator.
In GCP, a project is linked to a Cloud Billing Account that enables customers to pay for
resource usage. A Cloud Billing Account can be linked to one or more projects.
A Cloud Billing Account is connected to a Payments Profile that includes a payment

instrument to which costs are charged.
GCP’s customer-friendly pricing allows businesses to pay as you go, without termination
fees, and no upfront costs.
Moreover, here are some pricing innovations introduced by GCP.
Sustained-use Discounts
Automatically get up to a 30% worth of discount on workloads that run for a significant
portion of the billing month on Compute Engine and Cloud SQL.
Preemptible instances
Run instances at a lower price point than normal instances. Perfect for fault-tolerant
applications that can withstand possible instance preemptions, which can help you save up
to 79% on your costs significantly.
Custom Machine Types
Customize the type of CPU and memory you use for your instances and save up to 48%
compared to fixed machine types from other clouds.
Committed-use Discounts
This pricing is ideal for workloads with predictable resource needs. When you purchase a
committed use contract, you purchase a compute resource at a discounted price in return
for committing to paying for those resources for 1 year or 3 years. Savings can be up to
57% without upfront cost or instance-type lock-in.
Per-second billing
Pay for services by the second with a minimum consumption of one minute.
Coldline
Archival storage with the speed of disk at the cost of tape. Coldline storages are ideal for
data that you plan to be kept entirely for backup or archiving purposes.
Rightsizing recommendations
Compute Engine monitors the CPU and memory utilization for running VMs and
automatically creates a rightsizing recommendation using the last 8 days of data.
Unfortunately, sizing recommendations are currently not yet available for instances created
using App Engine flexible environment, Dataflow, or GKE, or even for GCE instances with
ephemeral disks, GPUs, or TPUs.
Essential Google Cloud Services
Compute
Compute Engine (GCE) - GCE lets customers provision virtual

machines on demand. GCE virtual machines can live-migrate
between host systems without rebooting, which enables you to
keep running your application even if host systems require
maintenance.
Cloud Functions - is a scalable pay as you go Functions-as-a-Service

that runs your code without the need to manage, provision, or
upgrade servers.
Kubernetes Engine (GKE) - provides a managed environment for

deploying, managing, and scaling your containerized applications
using the Google Infrastructure. GCP automatically handles the
upgrade to run new versions of Kubernetes.
Storage
Persistent Disk - are reliable, high performing block storage for

virtual machine instances and can be provisioned in zones. Regional
persistent disks can also be provisioned to failover workloads on
GKE.
Cloud Storage (GCS) - is a reliable RESTful object storage web

service for storing and accessing data on the GCP infrastructure.
Filestore - fully managed, scalable file network attached storage

(NAS) that you can provision for Compute Engine and GKE
instances.
Database
Cloud SQL - Automate database provisioning and capacity

management with this fully managed relational database service for
MySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQL server.
Cloud Firestore - easily develop rich applications using a fully

managed NoSQL serverless database that scales based on demand.
Networking
Virtual Private Cloud - is implemented inside Google’s production

network. Auto mode VPC networks are built with one subnet per
region at creation time and automatically receive /20 subnets in new
regions.
Cloud CDN - is GCP’s fast, reliable web and video content delivery
with global scale and reach that brings consistent experiences
globally. The service activates with a single click for Cloud Load
Balancing users.
Cloud DNS - High-performance, resilient global DNS service that

publishes your domain name to the global DNS in a cost-effective
way. You can purchase domain names through the Google Domains
service.
Security
Identity Access Management (IAM) - Fine-grained access control

and visibility for centrally managing cloud resources, permissions,
and roles.
Key Management System (KMS) - KMS is a centralized cloud key

management service that can use a key to encrypt, decrypt, or sign
data such as secrets for storage. Meanwhile, the keys you manage
externally with an external key management partner can be used via
Cloud EKM.
Cloud Armor - helps protect your applications from DDoS and web
attacks. With Cloud Armor, you can get access to DDoS and WAF
services, curated rule sets, and other services.
Certifications Path for

AWS, Azure and GCP
In cloud computing and the IT industry in general, one way to prove that you know what
you’re talking about is through certifications. If you are new to cloud, you might be
wondering which AWS, Azure or Google Cloud certification exam is suitable for you.
The first thing you need to do before you start is to write down your purpose in getting
certifications. Is it for career growth, financial growth, or personal growth? Your purpose
will be your driving factor in determining which certification exam is right for you.
In this section, we've listed the most sought-after cloud certifications that are offered by
the top three cloud service providers: AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud.
Amazon Web Services

Certifications Path
Before going through the AWS certifications path below, it is important to note that AWS
has scrapped the prerequisite for Professional-level exams. Previously, you can only take
the Professional-level exams (Solutions Architect Professional and DevOps Engineer
Professional) after passing their Associate-level counterparts. Now, you can take any AWS
exam without the need to pass any prior AWS exam, which is ideal for those who already
have extensive working experience in the industry.
Foundational
If you are coming from a non-technical background. The foundational level will be a good
start for you to learn and understand the concepts of cloud computing.
Cloud Practitioner
Purpose
This certification path is intended for those who want to gain a high-level understanding of
the AWS Cloud Platform. The people that benefit the most from this certification are those
working in technical, managerial, sales, purchasing, marketing, or financial roles. This is the
easiest exam among all of the certification exams, and an individual who wants to establish
a cloud career with or without IT experience can easily make the transition as a Cloud
Practitioner.
Tip: If you are just starting out, you may opt to get this exam first before you aim for the other
certificates. However, if you already have some IT experience then it might be better to go
straight for either of the three Associate level certification exams.
Knowledge
If you have a basic understanding of how the Cloud operates, then the Cloud Practitioner
Exam will help validate your knowledge. By now, you should be able to identify what are
the benefits of using the AWS Cloud Platform, understand the principles of architecting and
operating in the Cloud at a high level, and be aware of the services that are available in the
AWS Cloud.
AWS offers a free online course for this and there are also some well-regarded practice
tests that can help you simulate the actual exam environment. Along with the official AWS
exam guide for Cloud Practitioner, we also have a free study guide to help you prepare for
this foundation-level exam.
Exam Details: The exam consists of 65 questions, with 90 minutes to complete the exam
and a passing score of 700 out of 1000.
Cost: 100 USD
Associate
AWS offers three role-based learning paths at the associate level. To get certified, you need
to pass the exam with a score of at least 720 within 130 minutes.
Solutions Architect Associate
Purpose
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate is the most popular associate-level certificate
and the most common entry point for those who want to learn and start a career in AWS.
This is for individuals who design systems and deploy effective solutions on the Amazon
Web Services platform. If you want to show to your customers and your employers that
you have the knowledge and the skills to architect solutions in AWS, then this should be
the next exam in your lineup. This exam will also measure your preparedness for the
Professional level of the AWS Solutions Architect path.
Knowledge
A Solutions Architect Associate focuses more on architecting solutions using commonly
used tools such as EC2, RDS, S3, and the likes. Be sure to have a solid understanding of the
fundamentals of AWS, such as networking, security, cost optimization, designing scalable
and highly available solutions, and the best practices in architecting in AWS. Being an AWS
Solutions Architect is all about knowing how to apply the best practices in the industry to
help meet your customer’s needs.
You can check out the official AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate exam guide here.
For additional learning materials, check out our exam study guide, which contains a list of
services to focus on and also includes some exam tips. Also, go through some online
courses, labs, and verify your knowledge with our up-to-date practice exams.
Cost: 150 USD
Developer Associate
Purpose
The Certified Developer Associate learning path is designed for candidates who want to
develop and maintain AWS-based applications. This is an associate-level certification exam,
so you can start your journey as an AWS developer through this certification path. Having
experience in software development is a plus in preparing for this exam. If you have
responsibilities that require you to engineer cloud-based applications and deployments,
then this should be the next certificate that you should aim for.
Knowledge
Naturally, you should already have some knowledge of software development. Cloud-based
development is a bit similar to how you develop applications locally. The only major
differences are the tools that you will use to build your applications, as well as the manner
in how you build them so you can utilize the advantages of the cloud. You should be able
to demonstrate an understanding of the core AWS tools, as well as how to use the APIs
and how to apply the best practices in your operations. Understand what resources are
there to help you build your applications quickly, how to make deployments and changes in
a swift and controlled manner, and how to debug them when you encounter bugs and
errors.
To know more, check out the official AWS Certified Developer Associate exam guide here.
We have also prepared a handy exam study guide for you. Our study guide, along with our
AWS Cheat Sheets and practice exams are here to help you pass (and maybe even perfect!)
your AWS Certified Developer exam.
Cost: 150 USD
SysOps Administrator Associate
Purpose
The Operations Learning Path is designed for candidates who want to learn how to create
automatable and repeatable deployments of applications, networks, and systems on the
AWS platform. This path is commonly pursued by those working as Systems Administrators,
IT Administrators, or DevOps Engineers. If your responsibility is to take care of your
company’s AWS environment, from operational management to handling data flow, then
this is the certification you should take next. Since this is another associate-level
certification, you can start off your SysOps career with this certificate and level up your
AWS knowledge in preparation for more difficult certification exams.
Knowledge
The main focus of this exam is provisioning, operating, and maintaining systems running on
AWS, deployment, management, orchestration, and general operations of AWS services.
You must also be able to demonstrate a good understanding of the monitoring, network,
and security services in AWS. Having prior experience as a systems administrator will
benefit you greatly since a good intuition in operational management is required for this
role.
Read more about the SysOps exam in the official AWS Certified SysOps Administrator
Associate exam guide here. We have also prepared a number of resources to help you
prepare and ace this exam, such as our exam study guide, our widely known AWS Cheat
Sheets, and our highly recommended practice exams.
Tip: The majority have found SysOps to be the hardest among all the Associate level exams.
Therefore, if you are planning to acquire all three Associate certifications before jumping to the
Professional-level exams, it might be a good idea to take either the Solutions Architect
Associate or Developer Associate exams first before taking the SysOps exam.
Cost: 150 USD
Professional
Solutions Architect Professional
Purpose
When it comes to enterprises and large corporations, employers prefer hiring people who
hold a professional-level certificate. This is more commonly suited for senior-level or
managerial positions in the company, which requires a lot of experience in architecting large
scale solutions. Some customers may also require you to have this certification before they
can confidently give you a high stakes project. Having a professional certificate in your
portfolio demonstrates your capability in fulfilling the responsibilities of an AWS Solutions
Architect. Furthermore, the certification opens up a lot of opportunities for you -
careerwise, and your company - market-wise.
Knowledge
This is a professional level exam, so expect it to be difficult. A high degree of technical

knowledge and experience in designing AWS-based applications is required for this
certification exam. There is an ongoing debate whether the Solutions Architect Professional
or the DevOps Professional exam is the hardest exam of them all. So if you have taken the
DevOps Pro exam but not this one yet, this might be the time to stop wondering because
the answer is: it really depends on your previous work experience and background. This
exam validates the candidate’s ability to design and deploy enterprise-wide scalable
operations on AWS and implement cost-control strategies.
We highly recommend that you take the associate exam first as the professional level exam
is super tough. The official AWS exam guide can be found here. We have also prepared a
detailed exam study guide that will help you prepare for the exam. There are a bunch of
resources available online for study materials. Afterward, you should take our recommended
practice exams to validate your knowledge.
Tip: Even though it's no longer a prerequisite to take the Solutions Architect Associate exam
before taking the Solutions Architect Professional test, we still highly recommend that you go
for the SA-Associate exam first and if time permits, the SysOps exam as well, before taking the
SA-Professional exam.
Cost: 300 USD
DevOps Engineer Professional
Purpose
One of the most in-demand and searched job titles nowadays is the DevOps Engineer
position. Forming as a link between development and operations in tech, a DevOps
engineer’s duty is to facilitate these two groups to make everything work as smoothly and
as efficiently as possible. Key terms that are commonly associated with DevOps include
cloud and automation.
A DevOps engineer requires an extensive amount of knowledge and experience in almost
all areas to be able to work effectively. Therefore, they rely on the tools and services offered
by the cloud to simplify their work. By taking the AWS Certified DevOps Engineer
certification exam, you are showing to your peers and employers that you are equipped
with the skills to maximize the AWS platform and bring value to your company and your
customers. This value can be quantified through smoother operations, faster deployments
processes, or larger cost-savings.
Knowledge
This is the professional-level certification for both the AWS Certified Developer and AWS
Certified SysOps Administrator associate certification, so we recommend taking at least one
of these first as the DevOps Pro exam is also super tough. This exam validates your
knowledge in provisioning, managing, operating and security of AWS solutions and covers
advanced development topics such as architecting for a cloud-native environment, and
deconstructing on-premises, legacy applications, and repackaging them into cloud-based,
cloud-native architectures.
Knowing and understanding the different AWS services is not enough. You should also be
able to solve problems that would make the most sense to your customer’s needs. This is
why AWS recommends that you should first have experience solving problems in AWS
before tackling this exam. You should also be able to take advantage of automation and
reusable code to reduce errors and increase work efficiency and agility. Services such as
CloudFormation, OpsWorks, Systems Manager, and CI/CD tools are some of the services
you should be very familiar with.
Check out the official AWS Certified DevOps Engineer Professional exam guide here as
well as our exam study guide. We also have our community-recommended AWS Cheat
Sheets and practice exams that will help you prepare for this difficult test.
Tip: Just like in the Architecture path, taking one or more Associate exams first (preferably
Developer Associate and SysOps) is recommended before going for the much tougher DevOps
Pro exam.
Exam Details: The exam consists of 75 questions, with 180 minutes to complete the
exam and a passing score of 750 out of 1000.
Cost: 300 USD
Specialty
If you wanted to have an advanced skill in a specific technical area using the AWS platform.
AWS offers 6 specialty certifications with a passing score of 750 out of 1000 within 170 to
180 minutes.
Purpose
Managing security is one of the most challenging yet fulfilling

responsibilities that an individual can undertake. It is (and always
should be!) every organization’s priority. For each step in the
workflow, there is bound to be a vulnerability which is why
nowadays, there are a variety of roles in the market that target
individuals with specific skill sets in the security domain. We have
titles like InfoSec Engineer, InfraSec Engineer, IT Security
Security
Consultant, Risk and Compliance Analyst, DevSecOps Engineer,
etc. If your main role focuses on security and your company
engages in Cloud technologies, then this specialty certification is a
must-have on your portfolio.
Knowledge
Knowing how to implement the best practices in security can only

be achieved through experience, so it is recommended that you
have some industry experience first before taking this specialty
exam. You don’t need to learn how to secure every service in AWS,
but it is important to have a concrete understanding of
fundamental security practices for core AWS services (i.e. EBS
volume encryption, least privilege access controls in IAM, network
protection using security groups, monitoring and incident response
using CloudTrail). These are just some of the general tasks that
apply to almost any AWS environment.
Resources
 Official AWS Exam Guide
 Tutorials Dojo’s Exam Study Guide
 AWS Security-related cheat sheets
 Tutorials Dojo’s Security Specialty Practice Exams
Exam Details
 65 questions
 Time Limit: 170 minutes
 Passing Score: 750
 Cost: 300 USD
Purpose
The advanced networking specialty certification is built for

individuals whose jobs are to set up and maintain network solutions
in their organizations. Managing a corporate network is a very
tough but rewarding job. You carry the responsibility of making
sure your infrastructure network is working 24/7 and all its
components are running efficiently. If even one router suddenly
malfunctions or gets misconfigured, it could mean disaster to your
operations, which could translate to huge financial losses. Network
Advanced engineers benefit the most from this certification, especially if they
Networking handle networking in the AWS Cloud.
Knowledge
You should have mastery over networking fundamentals and have

a strong understanding of AWS network concepts and their
underlying components. These include different network
architectures and models, common network technologies,
monitoring and security solutions, and application of best practices
in AWS. It is also recommended that you first get experience in
designing and implementing network solutions in both AWS and a
hybrid setup. Get exposed to different use cases and approaches,
either by reading about them or trying them out yourself.
Resources
 AWS Networking-related cheat sheets
 Tutorials Dojo’s Advanced Networking Specialty Practice

Exams
Exam Details
 65 questions
 Passing Score: Not published but ~680 based on research
 Cost: 300 USD
Purpose
If you are a database administrator, a database architect, or a

developer with a large focus on database programming then you
should consider taking the AWS Certified Database Specialty for
your next certification exam. If you are a professional with tons of
experience in databases and are looking to transition to a database-
related role in the AWS cloud, this specialty exam should also serve
as a good starting point for your journey. This certificate is primarily
designed for people who want to validate their skills in AWS
Database database technologies and display their expertise in the area to
potential future employers and customers.
Knowledge
AWS offers different types of databases in its catalog and you

should have a strong background in database management using
Amazon RDS, Amazon DynamoDB, and Amazon Redshift. You
should also be familiar with different design principles that
emphasize security, high availability, fault tolerance, and/or
scalability. Lastly, you should also have comprehensive knowledge
of database migration, monitoring, and troubleshooting common
database issues.
Resources
 AWS Database-related cheat sheets
 Tutorials Dojo’s Database Specialty Practice Exams
Exam Details
 65 questions
 Cost: 300 USD
Purpose
There is no doubt that everything we do now and every decision

we make is driven by data. The market demand for data scientists
is increasing rapidly since they help drive strategic decision-making
to boost profits. The AWS Data Analytics Specialty certification is
aimed at these types of people who work with data each day. They
manage data lakes and use different technologies to transform data
into something more meaningful for stakeholders, such as
predictions on market trends. If you use AWS data analytics
Data Analytics services or similar tools in your work, then you should also aim for
this certificate. It will demonstrate and validate your expertise in
using these services.
Knowledge
Since this is a specialty certification, having prior experience in data

analysis and data lifecycle management is recommended before
taking the exam. You should already possess the knowledge
needed to produce outputs and gather insight from different data
sources. You should also have hands-on experience with AWS
Analytics Services such as Amazon Kinesis and Amazon Redshift.
Understand which services integrate with one another to allow you
to construct an end-to-end analytics solution ― from ingestion to
storage, retrieval, and visualization.
Resources
 AWS Data Analytics-related cheat sheets
Exam Details
 65 questions
 Cost: 300 USD
Purpose
Machine learning is a part of almost every business nowadays.

Utilizing computers to perform complex tasks with agility and
precision has allowed industries to increase their overall
productivity and revenue. Furthermore, machine learning and
cloud technology are two inseparable partners, since the cloud
offers you the compute and storage capacity you need to run
your solutions cost-effectively. If you are working in this field
such as a role in data science or if you have a passion for machine
learning, deep learning, and AI development, be sure to add this
certification to your portfolio. This certificate will indicate that
Machine Learning your capabilities meet the qualifications for building and
deploying quality ML/AI solutions for businesses using AWS.
Knowledge
The exam will validate your knowledge of utilizing different ML

approaches to resolve specific problems. Therefore, you should
already possess a strong grasp of basic ML algorithms and
frameworks such as TensorFlow and PyTorch. You should also be
familiar with the services in AWS that will allow you to implement
these algorithms and frameworks. A good example would be
Amazon SageMaker, which would enable you to build, train, and
deploy machine learning (ML) models. Lastly, since this is a
specialty exam, you should already have a fair amount of
experience in machine learning and AI prior to taking this
certification exam. This is because the exam will also quiz you on
the best practices for different ML deployments and operations,
and it would be an advantage if you have some experience with
these situations.
Resources
 AWS cheat sheets
Exam Details
 65 questions
 Cost: 300 USD
Purpose
The AWS Certified Alexa Skill Builder Specialty is a very unique

kind of certification. As the name suggests, it is centered around
Amazon’s AI-powered virtual assistant application known as
Amazon Alexa. If you are pursuing this certification, then it means
that you’re working as an Amazon Alexa Skill Builder or are
planning to work as one. An Amazon Alexa Skill Builder is an
individual who develops new skills for Alexa’s AI capabilities.
Generally, these capabilities include, but are not limited to,
building smart devices and smart technologies. If you think
Alexa Skill Builder working with Alexa to produce smart solutions is for you, then
have a go at this certification exam.
Knowledge
AWS recommends having at least 6 months of hands-on

experience building Alexa skills using the Alexa Skills Kit, and
incorporating services from the AWS Cloud in your solutions.
Additionally, you should also be comfortable with handling JSON
data. It would be best to broaden your knowledge in building
Alexa Skills by taking on more projects and extending them to
AWS. Try to build Alexa skills that rely on processing speech,
video, image, audio, and text. Also take note of the errors that
you encounter along the way, and how to properly troubleshoot
them. Lastly, you should be familiar with the best practices in
using the Alexa Skills Kit. The exam will include scenarios that will
require you to meet specific conditions such as security and
compliance, appropriate storage selection, and proper use of
physical interfaces and devices.
Resources
 AWS cheat sheets
Exam Details
 65 questions
 Cost: 300 USD
Microsoft Azure
Certifications Path
Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900)
Purpose
The AZ-900 Microsoft Azure Fundamentals certification exam is intended for individuals
who want to have a foundational knowledge when venturing into the cloud. Although the
AZ-900 test is the easiest to acquire among all the Azure certification exams, you still need
to learn and properly understand the concepts of cloud computing, and know the basics of
the Azure services.
Knowledge
You should be able to understand the various concepts in cloud computing, such as benefits,
economies of scale, deployment models, and types of cloud services. Azure’s core services
on compute, storage, network, security, and database are also an important part of the
exam. Having an Azure account will help you better understand the concepts written in the
documentation. The exam itself contains different types of questions (multiple-choice,
statement, drag and drop, hotspot, and dropdown) to test your knowledge on these
services.
Exam Details: The exam consists of 30-40 questions, has a time limit 90 minutes, and a
passing score of 700 out of 1000.
Cost: 99 USD
Associate
Azure also offers role-based learning paths. To get certified in the associate level, you need
to pass the exam with a score of at least 700 within 210 minutes.
Azure Administrator Associate (AZ-104)
Purpose
You can start your journey as an Azure administrator through this certification path. Since
this is designed for candidates who want to implement, manage, and monitor an
organization's cloud infrastructure, having this certification under your belt will help improve
your capabilities in maintaining Azure solutions. If your responsibility is to handle operational
management then this exam will help you validate your knowledge and skills in governing
multiple Azure environments.
Knowledge
The main focus of this exam is to have a strong understanding of Azure core services,
workloads, security, and governance. You must also have hands-on experience using the
Azure portal, CLI, PowerShell, and Resource Manager templates. Configuring and managing
a virtual network, storage, and backups are also one of the skills needed before taking this
exam.
Exam Details: The exam consists of 50-60 questions, has a time limit of 210 minutes, and
a passing score of 700 out of 1000.
Cost: 165 USD
Azure Developer Associate (AZ-204)

Purpose
The Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer is designed for individuals who want to design,
build, test, and maintain cloud applications and services on Azure. If your role requires you
to develop and deploy cloud solutions then this should be the next exam in your lineup.
This exam, together with the administrator associate certification, will measure your
preparedness for the Expert level of the Azure DevOps Engineering learning path.
Knowledge
You must have a strong understanding of Azure SDKs, data storage options, data
connections, APIs, app authentication and authorization, compute, container deployment,
debugging, and performance tuning. Be sure to have hands-on experience in implementing
solutions before sitting in the official exam. Previous experience in software development
can help you understand the concepts quickly.
Cost: 165 USD
Expert
Becoming a certified expert in Azure entails passing two certification exams.

 To become an Azure Solutions Architect Expert, you’ll need to pass both Microsoft
Azure Architect Technologies and Microsoft Azure Architect Design exams.
 To become an Azure DevOps Engineer Expert, you’ll need to pass either the Azure
Developer or Azure Administrator Associate exam before taking the Designing and
Implementing Microsoft DevOps Solutions exam
You have to finish the test with a score above 700.
Azure Solutions Architect Expert (AZ-303 and AZ-304)
Purpose
This certification path is suited for people who already have in-depth knowledge in
implementing design solutions in Azure. If you are an IT professional who advises
stakeholders and translates business requirements to meet your customer's needs then you
are an ideal candidate for this exam. An expert-level certification allows you to demonstrate
and validate your capabilities in handling a secure, scalable, and reliable cloud solution.
Knowledge
In order for you to obtain this expert-level certification, you must pass both the Microsoft
Azure Architect Technologies and Microsoft Azure Architect Design examination.
Familiarization of different Azure services is not enough to pass this exam. You should also
have advanced experience and knowledge of IT operations, such as networking,
virtualization, security and identity, business continuity, disaster recovery, data platform,
budgeting, and governance. This exam will measure your ability in designing, implementing,
and managing Azure infrastructure and security solutions.
Cost: 165 USD for Microsoft Azure Architect Technologies (AZ-303)

165 USD for Microsoft Azure Architect Design (AZ-304)
Azure DevOps Engineer Expert (AZ-104/AZ-204 and AZ-400)

Purpose
A DevOps Engineer focuses on the development and operational environment of your
organization. They oversee processes and use technologies to deliver business value on an
ongoing basis. By taking the Azure DevOps Engineer Expert certification exam, you
understand the lifecycle of software development and the various automation tools that
you can use in the Azure portal. It will also help you validate your skills to your peers and
future employers.
Knowledge
Passing either the Azure Developer or Azure Administrator Associate exam is required prior
to taking the DevOps exam and earning this certification. This exam validates your
knowledge in designing and implementing strategies, collaboration in code, infrastructure,
source control, security, compliance, continuous integration, testing, delivery, monitoring,
and feedback. Having a previous background in both Azure administration and development
will be an advantage in preparation for this exam.
Cost: 165 USD for Designing and Implementing Microsoft DevOps Solutions (AZ-400)
Google Cloud
Certifications Path
There are no prerequisites in taking any GCP certification exam. Also, the official passing
score on associate and professional level certification exams is not published by Google.
Associate
The associate level certification focuses on the fundamental skills of deploying, monitoring,
and maintaining projects on the Google Cloud Platform.
Associate Cloud Engineer
Purpose
The GCP Associate Cloud Engineer Certification is a good starting point for IT professionals
who are new to cloud and can be used as an entry point if you are planning to acquire
professional level certifications.
An Associate Cloud Engineer has the capability to deploy applications, monitor operations,
and manage enterprise solutions like the Cloud Storage, Compute Engine, and Kubernetes
Engine.
Knowledge
The certification requires candidates to have a solid understanding on how to work with the
Google Cloud Console and the command line interface to perform common platform-based
tasks to maintain or deploy solutions that leverage Google-managed and self-managed
services on the Google Cloud Platform.
The official exam guide for the GCP Associate Cloud Engineer Certification can be found
here. It contains details about the exam and recommended steps that will help you prepare
for the test.
Exam Details: The exam consists of 50 questions and has a time limit of 120 minutes.
Cost: $125
Professional
GCP offers eight role-based certification exams at the professional level that assess
advanced skills in design, implementation, and management.
Professional Cloud Architect
Purpose
A Professional Cloud Architect enables teams and organizations to leverage cloud
technologies with a deep understanding of cloud architecture and Google Cloud Platform.
This assessment is suited for individuals who plan to design, develop, and manage robust,
secure, highly available, and dynamic solutions to accomplish business objectives.
Knowledge
Expect the exam to be difficult since this is a professional level exam. The exam revolves
more around how to perform the cloud architect role instead of the Google platform itself.
Most of the exam questions are scenario-based which means questions are real-world like
problems and you need to find the best approach and solution to the problem. Furthermore,
Google also assumes that you have a background in software development when taking the
exam.
Read more about the GCP Associate Cloud Engineer Certification through this official guide
here.
Cost: $200
Professional Cloud Developer

Purpose
This exam is for software developers that have proficiency with at least one general-
purpose programming language and are capable of producing meaningful metrics and logs
to debug and resolve code issues.
A Google Professional Cloud Developer has the ability to develop, design, test, and deploy
highly scalable, available, and reliable cloud native applications using Google-recommended
practices and tools.
Knowledge
In this certification exam, you should be comfortable with building and designing high
performing applications, working with APIs, working with Stackdriver to generate metrics
and logs, and integrating Google Cloud services in your application.
The exam does not directly assess your ability to code, instead it focuses on your ability to
leverage GCP services and recommended practices in order to develop, test, deploy, and
manage scalable and highly available applications.
Check out the official GCP Cloud Developer Certification guide here.
Exam Details: The exam consists of 102 questions, with 240 hours to complete and can
only be taken in accredited test centers.
Cost: $200
Professional Data Engineer

Purpose
Business decisions nowadays are mostly driven by data. Data is everywhere and
understanding how to build systems to collect, transform, and publish data is in-demand.
The cloud is growing and if you are an IT professional looking to progress your skills in the
world of data, taking the GCP Professional Data Engineer certification would be suitable for
you. The ability to use cloud technologies is becoming more of a requirement for any kind
of data focused role.
Knowledge
The exam covers topics on designing, monitoring, and building secure data processing
systems with emphasis on security and compliance, scalability and efficiency, reliability and
fidelity, and flexibility and portability.
In this exam, you should have a strong hands-on experience on working with GCP storage
systems like Cloud BigTable, Cloud Spanner, Cloud SQL, BigQUery, Cloud Storage, Cloud
Datastore, and Cloud Memorystore. You should also be familiar with leveraging pre-built
ML model services like Vision API, Speech API, Diagflow among others.
To read the official GCP Professional Data Engineer Certification documentation, check out
this link.
Cost: $200
Professional Cloud DevOps Engineer

Purpose
A Cloud DevOps Engineer is the one in charge of efficient development operations. These
professionals are highly skilled at using GCP to build software delivery pipelines, deploy and
monitor services, and manage and learn from incidents.
This role requires an in-depth knowledge and experience in almost all areas of the cloud to
be able to work effectively and efficiently. Their main job is to ensure efficient development
operations without sacrificing delivery speed, as well as automating the development
workflow.
Knowledge
Knowing and understanding the services on a high level will not be enough to pass the exam
as it deep dives on implementation of the GCP services. The exam is a complex combination
of topics on DevOps, Site Recovery, and Google Services such as Stackdriver, Cloud Build,
Kubernetes Engine, Container Registry.
We highly recommend that you take the GCP Professional Cloud Developer exam first since
there is a bit of an overlap on both certification exams. It can help you gain in-depth insight
on building software delivery pipelines alongside deployment and monitoring infrastructure.
For the official GCP Professional DevOps Engineer Certification exam details, check out the
official guide here.
Cost: $200
Professional Cloud Security Engineer

Purpose
Security management has proven to be the most challenging responsibility but a totally
rewarding job for IT professionals. Knowing how to implement security practices properly
and efficiently is essential for organizations especially with the prevalence of security
attacks happening online.
As a Professional Cloud Security Engineer, you will be able to help businesses and
organizations design and implement a secure GCP infrastructure through your
understanding of security best practices and industry security requirements.
Knowledge
This professional level certification exam covers a wide range of security topics and
technologies. You will be tested on your ability to manage identity and access management
(IAM), using Google technologies to provide data protection, configuring network security
defenses, collecting and analyzing logs, managing incident responses, and your
understanding of regulatory concerns.
To learn more about the GCP Professional Security Engineer Certification, visit the official
guide here.
Exam Details: The exam consists of 50 questions, has a time limit of 120 minutes, and can
only be taken in accredited test centers.
Cost: $200
Professional Cloud Network Engineer

Purpose
As cloud technologies grow, it’s crucial that cloud professionals understand how to
implement and manage networks on the cloud particularly since it involves a different
mindset from the way we used to manage on-premise networks.
The role of a Professional Cloud Network Engineer is to implement and manage network
architectures in Google Cloud Platform. The function entails having an in-depth
understanding on implementing VPCs, hybrid connectivity, network services, and security
for established network architectures.
Knowledge
The certification exam measures a candidate’s ability to demonstrate critical job skills like
designing, planning, and prototyping a GCP network, implementing a Virtual Private Cloud,
configuring network services, implementing hybrid connectivity, and implementing network
security.
It is recommended that you expose yourself to different use cases and approaches and try
implementing them using the command line interface or the Google Platform Console
whenever possible.
Check the official GCP Professional Cloud Network Engineer Certification guide here for
more details.
Cost: $200
Professional Collaboration Engineer

Purpose
A Data Collaboration Engineer looks for opportunities to educate an organization’s end
users and is actively advocating the use of G Suite and Google Toolset to increase
operational efficiency.
Though there are some overlap with other certification exams in terms of user management
and IT security, this exam would not be necessary if your primary focus is in architecting
software solutions, networking, or data engineering. Moreover, most of the G Suite options
are logical and straightforward so you won’t find the exam too hard.
Knowledge
Google Cloud encompasses a wide array of G Suite solutions like Mail, Calendar, Sliders,
Drive, Hangouts, etc. You can also provision or manage devices like Chromebook, mobile
phones, teleconference equipment, and others that are typically accessed using Google as
Identity Provider.
Exam candidates will be assessed on their ability to plan and implement G Suite
authorization and access, managing resources and team drive lifecycles, managing mail,
configuring endpoint access, and monitoring organizational operations.
For more information about the GCP Professional Data Engineer Certification, read this
Google documentation here.
Exam Details: The exam consists of 50 questions with a time limit of 120 minutes.
Cost: $200
Professional Machine Learning Engineer

Purpose
Machine learning enables organizations to observe large sets of data, learn patterns, and
improve their own knowledge of the data to make better business decisions. To perform
machine learning, you need to utilize computers to perform tasks with agility, precision, and
cost-effectively.
Remember that there is a limited number of machine learning jobs in the market. Right now,
there is a wide, open space with less competition for GCP Professional Machine Learning
Engineers, which means that this is a great opportunity to be part of the early adopters.
Knowledge
Machine Learning has become an integral part of businesses in their pursuit of solving
business challenges with data science. In this exam, you need a strong foundation on topics
like ML models, data pipeline interaction, metrics interpretation, infrastructure management,
data engineering, and security.
The exam will validate your ability to frame specific machine learning problems and
implement solutions using Tenserflow deep-learning framework and GCP services. Unlike
other GCP certification exams, this exam does not have a practice exam available yet since
it’s relatively new.
Learn more about the GCP Machine Learning Engineer Certification by reading this guide.
Cost: $200
AWS vs Azure vs GCP -

Which One Should I Learn?
Selecting a cloud platform to learn depends on several factors like your current skills or
demands in the job market. There is no absolute rule in learning a particular cloud platform,
as most of them can be used to solve the same problems. This article will look at the key
takeaways from the prominent three leaders in cloud computing and we’ll analyze them for
you. At the end of the article, we will share our thoughts and give you bits of advice to help
you decide which cloud platform to learn and can give you an edge in the competitive job
market today.
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
AWS is the most widely used cloud platform globally, having more than a decade of
experience with an expansive range of services tailored for different use cases. AWS is
currently at the top of the food chain, holding the world's largest public cloud market share.
It has been around since 2006 and was the first to offer infrastructure services through the
Internet. That being said, AWS has the advantage of having the most evolved technologies
in terms of support and functionality.
 Pros
o Leading Cloud Innovator
o Broad Global Presence
o Mature and Feature-riched Cloud Technologies
o Good Documentations Of Services
o Extensive Training Materials
 Cons
o Complex Billing System
 Notable Companies that use AWS
o Netflix
o Airbnb
o Spotify
 Why learn AWS?
o AWS Certifications are the most sought after in the cloud industry.
o There is more demand on AWS skills when compared to other Cloud
Platforms.
o AWS is easier to learn if you have no prior Cloud experience as there are
more learning materials (blogs, eBooks, video tutorials) that you could find
online.
Microsoft Azure
Azure is the second largest Cloud Service Provider next to AWS. The Azure platform has
an excellent support for interoperability with data centers (especially with Microsoft’s
software integration) making hybrid cloud its major advantage.
 Pros
o Offers a familiar environment to native Microsoft users
o Ease of integration with other Microsoft products
o Hybrid cloud
 Cons
o Costly pricing models
o Complicated interface
o Poor documentations of services
 Notable companies that use Azure
o eBay
o Boeing
o Samsung
 Why learn Azure?
o You’ll have a deeper reason to learn Azure if you are an experienced user of
Microsoft’s services (Windows Server, SQL Server, .NET, Dynamics Active
Directory)
o If you have existing Microsoft Certifications like MCSA: Windows Server
2016, MCSA: Office 365, MCSA: Windows 10, then it is more logical to learn
Azure to further solidify your credentials when applying for a Cloud-related
job.
o Azure has two certifications (Azure Fundamentals and Azure Administrator
Associate) that are included in the 15 top paying IT certifications as reported
by Global Knowledge.
Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
GCP is relatively new to cloud computing. And despite being an underdog, GCP is slowly
catching up and becoming a threat to AWS and Azure. Among the three cloud platforms,
GCP offers the cheapest pricing model and has flexible cost-control, allowing you to try the
different services and features. It is estimated that 1.17 billion people use Google Search.
And It is impressive to note how Google handles traffic with that kind of magnitude. One
of the main benefits of running your applications in GCP is that you’ll get access to the same
resources and tools that powers Google.
 Pros
o Live Migration of Virtual Machines
o Cheap Pricing Model
o Broad Toolset for Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
o Strong Integration and management of Google’s technologies (Google APIs,
Kubernetes)
 Cons
o Limited Product Range
o Smaller Global Presence Compared To Other Cloud Platforms
 Notable companies that use GCP
o Coca-Cola
o Snapchat
o Ubisoft
 Why learn GCP?
o According to Global Knowledge, Google Certified Professional Cloud
Architect is the top paying IT certification with an average salary of
$175,761.
o Whether you’re a hobbyist or a professional developer who mainly uses
Google’s services (Firebase, Google Maps API) in your application, learning
GCP would be beneficial to you or your company. GCP provides easy
management and monitoring of APIs that are supported by Google by default.
o Despite the limited features and products offered by GCP, it has pretty
powerful integration with Google’s open-source technologies like
Kubernetes. Kubernetes is a famous orchestration tool for managing
containers. Modern applications are usually deployed on controlled
containers in the cloud. And if you’re interested in operating Kubernetes, then
learning GCP will make you more valuable than learning other cloud
providers.
Below is a visual representation of the core services for AWS, Azure, and GCP. You can use
this as reference when studying or working on a specific cloud platform to easily
differentiate their respective service counterparts:
Summary
If you're fresh out of college or a newbie with no whatsoever background in cloud
computing, we recommend learning AWS. AWS has an easy user interface, which makes it
attractive for beginners. You'll also have a better experience in studying AWS as you can
find many great tutorials on the Internet on how to use its services. Because AWS is the
widely used cloud platform, you'd quickly find online AWS communities and groups that
could answer your questions when encountering problems that you don't understand while
doing hands-on exercises.
If you want to enter an entry-level position in a cloud-related job, you'd have a better chance
if you choose to learn AWS as more job offerings seek expertise in AWS. And if you are
interested in specialized fields like Big Data and Machine learning in the cloud, then consider
looking into GCP. If you're applying for a company that heavily uses Microsoft Services,
then chances are you'll have to learn Azure.
In terms of demands in the job market, AWS and Azure have the upper-hand. But high
demand isn't always a good thing. If a particular skill is high in demand, the odds are the
competition will also be high. Because GCP is less popular, it has a relatively low market in
job postings, which means fewer people compete for a job position. Now, I don't mean to
burst your bubble, but companies won't hire you out of desperation. They will still need the
required competence to perform the job. So, if you have the time and resources to learn
the necessary skills in GCP, then you'd have an easier path when looking for a job.
Regardless of the cloud platform that you choose, you should understand the core concepts
of the cloud since the fundamentals and principles behind it are not different between cloud
providers. Your time and effort will not be wasted whichever you choose to learn as you
could still apply your skills and knowledge when switching to a different cloud service
provider. Look at the bigger picture. Remember that these are just tools to solve problems.
There is not a one size fits all solution to all problems. If your long term goal is to be an
excellent Cloud Consultant, there's a possibility that you'll have to learn them all anyway.
Are Cloud Certifications

Enough to Land Me A Job?
The sad truth is that getting a job with just a certification alone is difficult or almost
impossible to achieve. Cloud Certifications are a great way to display your credibility and
validate your knowledge. It also shows that you have invested time and money into
improving your skill set. But if you want to pursue a career in cloud computing, having
certifications alone isn't gonna cut it; you need to have relevant skills and experience to
demonstrate your expertise to employers.
So does it mean that certifications are just a piece of paper, and you should discard your
dream to get certified? Well, not quite. Before you start losing hope, let me remind you that
Cloud Certifications are highly in-demand and popular with companies for a reason. Getting
certified means that you've passed the minimum requirements and standards needed to
perform whichever role the cloud provider has set. This means a lot, especially to a company
that has a partnership with a cloud provider. It indicates the company's commitment to the
services offered by that cloud vendor.
From a recruiter's perspective, certifications are the most effective way to quickly screen
out many resumes to assess the job applicants' qualifications. Use this as an opportunity to
be readily acknowledged and get shortlisted right away. Finding a job is like a battlefield,
especially now that most job searches are happening online. And if you manage to pass the
initial stage by getting invited to an interview, then half the battle is won.
Keep in mind that experience is still king. And if you pair that with a widely recognized cloud
certification, that puts you in a different league among the other job candidates and will
inevitably boost your chance of successfully passing the interview.
Instead of treating cloud certifications as a free pass or a magic spell to get your dream job,
treat them as a product of your hard work. Aim to pass the certification by learning and
understanding the concepts by heart and don't rely on just memorizing the answers on
practice exams. Acquiring a certificate gives you leverage for job opportunities, and that will
be your stepping stone towards advancing your career. Through commitment and
progressive effort, you will surely be able to achieve your dream job.
Unique Ways to Build

Credentials and Make a
Successful Career Shift
to Cloud Computing
Trying to land a job in the field of cloud computing with no prior work experience can drive
people mad. Most entry-level positions on job postings demand at least two years of
professional experience. But how the heck can you get experience if you can't get a job to
acquire that experience in the first place? This is a dilemma faced by people hunting for a
job every day.
The truth is that you can break into cloud-related jobs even though you don’t have any prior
professional experience yet. Usually, the "two-year work experience" that you see on a job
description is just a way for employers to screen out people who are just riding the trend
and don't have any skills or credentials to show for it. This makes the company's hiring
process more manageable.
In this article, I will share some ways to increase your qualifications and build your
credentials even if you still don't have the required work experience.
1. Build Cloud Projects
One way to improve your current skill set is to challenge yourself in creating various cloud-
related projects. Show your hunger to learn technologies in the cloud. Create a project using
the cloud services that you've learned. It doesn't have to be flashy. Build something even if
it is just a basic application hosted in the cloud. Make an online portfolio or a blog/website
about it. Write down the steps on how you made your application and the problems that
you have encountered while doing it. Discuss the solutions that you made to solve them.
Doing this will show your eagerness, persistence, and the drive to learn more to your
prospective employer.
2. Share your Knowledge About Cloud with the Community

Join online communities that have the same passion in cloud computing as you. Interact and
discuss cloud-related topics with professionals. This is an excellent opportunity to gain
insight into what is happening in the real-world scenario. If possible, be active in the group
and help others by answering their questions or giving recommendations. You can list this
as an experience on your resume. It will also help if you know people from the industry who
can attest to your knowledge and character. These opportunities will help you build a strong
foundation and show your future employers that you are a highly qualified professional.
3. Join and Participate in Webinars, Events, and Hackathons

If you’re new to cloud computing, I encourage you to attend virtual events. Finding online
workshops and webinars shouldn’t be difficult as most popular cloud service providers offer
them free of charge. These events will build your cloud skills and help you grow your
network in the cloud. You can also participate in the Hackathons and work with a group of
programmers to solve problems using different Cloud technologies and solutions. This is a
great avenue for you to showcase your skills and ideas, and be known globally as a high
caliber IT professional.
4. Develop Good Communication Skills

Delivering your point across a wide variety of people already makes you an indispensable
member of an organization. To become a competent cloud architect, you need to know how
to interact with customers with little or no technical expertise, while at the same time
aligning your ideas with their business goals.
5. Raise Pull-Request to the Official Documentation

You might stumble upon some incorrect information in the official AWS, Azure or Google
Cloud documentations. For instance, you might be following a step-by-step procedure on
how to set up a virtual machine to host a website. If you see that there's something off, feel
free to raise a pull-request by clicking the Github’s link, which you can usually find on the
page footer. This is an opportunity for you to become an active participant in the cloud
community. You can also include the pull-requests you've raised in your Linkedin or CV for
added credentials.
Interview Tips to Help

You Land a Cloud-Related
Job
The average time for a job interview lasts around 30-45 minutes. And within this limited
time-frame, you must leave an impressive mark and good impression to your prospective
employer. We will clear off the soft skills for now as you can find many of them on the
Internet and instead focus on the technical matters that will help you have an excellent
interview experience to get your dream job in the cloud computing field.
Have A General Knowledge On Cloud Computing
Although the questions' complexity will depend a lot on the position you are applying for,
you must still have a solid foundation on the general concepts of cloud computing. You
should expect basic questions like:
"What is Cloud Computing?"

"What Are The Benefits Of Cloud Computing?"
"What is the difference between Public and Private Cloud?"
If you are applying for a more technical role like a Solutions Architect, then you should
prepare yourself on explaining cloud architectures. Start by researching the most common
cloud architectural patterns and techniques. I'll give you one good example; you can start
by familiarizing yourself with the three-tier architecture pattern, which is popular among
companies. Learn the appropriate cloud services that can be applied to this type of
architecture. You should be comfortable reading cloud architecture diagrams as this kind of
skill is expected of you. It’s also ideal that you know the difference between high availability
and fault tolerance.
The same strategy applies regardless of the job position you are applying for. First, find the
most common practices in your line of work. Then, learn the relevant cloud services and
techniques that you can use to perform the work required. If there are specific technologies
or software listed on your job description, focus on them, and find as much information as
possible. Make time for gaining hands-on experience to ready you for real-world scenario
questions. If your current experience is insufficient, you should still be able to explain the
concepts at a general high-level overview.
Show Your Proficiency On Your Chosen Cloud Platform
Have an adequate understanding of the core cloud services and their differences.
Depending on the cloud platform, your employer will test you on how well you know
specific services (especially the commonly used ones). What are the services used for
computing? What about storage? Are there different types of storage? If yes, then what are they,
and which services could be used to support them? - these are just some of the questions that
you should anticipate when going to an interview.
For example, you might get asked to tell the difference between block, file, and object
storage and the appropriate services for them. Just try listing possible questions as you can
and prepare an answer for each of them. There is a chance that you won’t be asked about
questions that you have put together, but would you dare risk that chance? I would prefer
not to, and I highly suggest you do the same. Remember that failure to plan is planning to
fail.
Know Cloud Terminologies
The cloud is rich in jargon, and while it may seem impossible for you to know them all, you
must be aware of the commonly used terms in the field of cloud computing. You don’t want
to end up having awkward conversations where your employer will have to explain to you
terminologies that you are not familiar with.
The following are some of the usual cloud terminologies that can help you prepare better
for a job interview:
IaaS - Infrastructure as a Service

PaaS - Platform as a Service
SaaS - Software as a Service
Private Cloud
Public Cloud
Hybrid Cloud
You don’t have to deep dive into these terminologies. Just have a basic understanding of
them in terms of their definition and function. Also, if you have enough time, it wouldn’t
hurt to know their differences and how they are used in a real-world setting.
Highlight Your Skill and Experience
Not all interviews are perfect. Worry not if you can’t correctly find the answer to a question
or don’t have the same experience being asked. The best workaround for that kind of
scenario is to figure out the root problem of the question. Then, after identifying the main
problem, you could proceed by sharing your experience that you’ve undertaken before that
would’ve solved the same problem nonetheless. You could also say things like “I don’t have
any experience using that service before, but if I were to solve that problem, I would do this
and do that.” This will show your ingenuity in solving practical problems.
For example, you might get asked to design an application using a cloud-native NoSQL
database. Say, you have used MongoDB in your projects before, and your employer is
interested in how you will use DynamoDB. You don’t have any practical experience with it
yet, but you are aware of its concepts and how it is used. One thing you can do is to relate
your previous experience to the given scenario and explain how you will redesign the data
structure if you’ll be using DynamoDB.
Although there is no wrong in admitting what you don’t know, you’ll have a higher chance
of passing the interview if you find a way to answer in this manner. Your future employer
will highly appreciate this kind of response instead of responding with a tight lipped smile.
Summary
In today’s ever-changing business climate, most in-demand jobs right now require
knowledge in cloud computing. AWS, Azure, and GCP are the three major providers that
offer this platform to help businesses scale globally and save on operating costs. With just
a click of a button, you can set up your own compute and storage resources for your
applications. It eliminates the need for businesses to allocate upfront capital in setting up
their physical infrastructure, saving them valuable time and money.
According to Gartner's forecast, the market for public cloud will grow exponentially for the
coming years as more companies migrate their operations to the Cloud. However, this kind
of movement is not possible without the support of cloud computing skills. Because believe
it or not, enterprises today are facing a large talent shortage needed to modernize their
operations. As reported by Forbes - data shows that 63% of U.S. organizations anticipate
the IT skills gap to widen, and 59% expect this talent shortage to continue in the next two
years. That is why companies like Amazon have been hosting programs to train a cloud-
ready workforce. Cloud certifications are consistently among the top-paying IT certifications
in the world and you can earn an average annual salary of $150,000. If you’re planning to
learn cloud computing then now is the best time to do it.
If you’re now ready to take this challenge, check the resources in the Tutorials Dojo site
and always remember that haste makes waste. Don’t rush and take your time when
reviewing, so you can pass your exam on your first try!
Tutorials Dojo
Who Are We?

Trusted by over 160,000 IT Professionals around the world, Tutorials Dojo is a fast-growing
EdTech startup that provides educational materials on various tech topics, particularly in
the cloud computing space. We provide high-quality courses and practice tests for AWS,
and soon, we will expand our offering to Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform (GCP).
Founded in Manila, Philippines

Tutorials Dojo is your one-stop learning portal for technology-related topics, empowering you
to upgrade your skills and your career.
About the Authors

Jon Bonso is born and raised in the Philippines, Jon is the Co-
Founder of Tutorials Dojo. Now based in Sydney, Australia, he has
over a decade of diversified experience in Banking, Financial
Services, and Telecommunications. He's 8x AWS Certified and has
worked with various cloud services such as Google Cloud, and
Microsoft Azure. Jon is passionate about what he does and
dedicates a lot of time creating educational courses. He has given
IT seminars to different universities in the Philippines for free and
has launched educational websites using his own money and
without any external funding.
Gerome Pagatpatan is certified in AWS, Azure, and Oracle. After

graduating from college with a degree in Electronics Engineering,
he decided to pursue the field of Information Technology through
self-study. He is passionate about education, and now it's his turn
to share his knowledge, experiences, and passion in Cloud
Computing.
El John Acebedo is an Electronics Engineer and a certified AWS

Solutions Architect - Associate who's passionate in the field of
Cloud Computing and Web Development. He's a self-learner who
enjoys building solutions in the Cloud. His main interests are
serverless computing, machine learning, technical writing, and
reading blogs.
Chris Wayne Comendador is a full stack developer driven by his

strong interest to continuously learn and take his skills to the next
level. He considers himself a ‘forever student’, always eager to build
his technical and professional foundation. Working as an educator
in his previous work at a technical school, he was able to train
students as well as IT professionals who were interested in shifting
their careers into software development.

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Journey to Cloud ☁️

Fundamentals of Cloud Computing 7

10 Common Use Cases of Cloud Computing 11

I have no IT background. Is it possible for me to make a career shift to Cloud Computing? 14

The Top Three Cloud Cloud Service Providers 16

Amazon Web Services 16

Certifications Path for AWS, Azure, and GCP 38

AWS Certifications Path 39

AWS vs Azure vs GCP - Which One Should I Learn? 65

Are Cloud Certifications Enough to Land me a Job? 70

Interview Tips to Help You Land a Cloud-Related Job 73

About the Authors 78

Benefits of Cloud Computing

Deploy globally in minutes

Types of Cloud Computing

Fundamentals of Cloud Computing

Why should I learn Cloud Computing?

Raise Your Value as an IT Professional

Personal Growth and Interest

10 Common Use Cases

2. Test and Development

4. High Performing Applications

5. Infrastructure as a service (IaaS)

7. Disaster Recovery Plan

8. Building Fault Tolerant System

AWS Global Infrastructure

The Cloud Infrastructure of AWS is built around:

Local Region - is a single datacenter designed to complement an existing AWS Region.

Well-Architected Framework: Five Pillars

Having well-architected systems greatly increases the plausibility of business success

How does AWS Pricing Work?

This includes the following pricing model:

Pay-as-you-go Save when you reserve Pay less by using more

Comparison of AWS Support Plans

Essential AWS Services

AWS Lambda - is a serverless computing service that lets you run

Elastic Kubernetes Services (EKS) - is a fully managed Kubernetes

Simple Storage Service (S3) - is a distributed object storage service.

Elastic Block Storage (EBS) - is a persistent block storage service

Elastic File System (EFS) - is a fully managed Network File System

Relational Database Service (RDS) - is a managed relational

DynamoDB - is a serverless NoSQL database service that supports

Virtual Private Cloud - is a virtual network environment where you

CloudFront - is a content delivery network that can be used to

numbers of Point Of Presence (POP) among the other Cloud Service

Route 53 - is a highly available Domain Name System (DNS) service.

Identity Access Management (IAM) - is an identity and access

Key Management System (KMS) - is a fully managed centralized

AWS Web Application Firewall (WAF) - is a service that helps

Azure Global Infrastructure

Azure Cloud Infrastructure is built around:

How does Azure Pricing Work?

This includes the following pricing models:

Essential Azure Services

Azure VM - A virtual server that supports both Linux and Windows

Azure Functions - A serverless compute that allows you to write

Azure Kubernetes Service - It allows you to orchestrate and

Azure Blob - An object storage service of Azure. A single blob

Azure Files - It enables you to mount file shares in popular operating

Azure SQL Database - A relational database service that supports

Azure Cosmos DB - A database service for document store, graph

Azure VNet - A private network to run your VMs and applications.