Cloud industry expert Bernard Golden has created a vendor-independent course to help people and businesses make the transition to cloud-based services.
Golden developed the course for APMG International which has launched a new end user cloud computing certification scheme. The aim is to give the workforce the cloud skills needed to support the migration to cloud-based computing.
The course, Cloud Computing Foundation Certification, is designed to give an impartial and objective overview as an introduction to cloud computing. This is necessary, according to Golden, before any organisations can move to the cloud successfully.
The certification was developed in response to the mounting need for businesses to understand and prepare for the move to cloud. The course is aimed at all enterprise IT employees, from finance to operations, and sets out to outline the fundamentals of cloud computing. It will then move on to explain the benefits, challenges and pros and cons of rival delivery models.
The most important aspect, according to the author, is to create a cloud computing action plan for course participants. The ultimate proof of the course will be the successful adoption of cloud computing, according to Golden, APMG’s Chief Examiner.
“With cloud computing fast becoming the de facto platform for enterprise computing, the failure to understand its fundamentals poses a real danger,” said Golden. Failure will affect both the productivity of businesses and the employment prospects of the staff within them, he warned.
Though the benefits of moving an organisation’s data to the cloud – from potential cost savings to increased flexibility – are well documented, the execution is not, according to Golden. It is this gap in understanding that he intends to address, he said.
“The fact is that the majority of deployments aren’t as simple as just flicking a switch – you need to fully comprehend the security, technical and regulatory implications to make cloud a success, which is why training and certification are critical,” said Golden.
Many cloud computing training courses tend to be heavily weighted in favour of one vendor, which ultimately provides a skewed view, Golden claimed.
“This course has been designed to provide a vendor neutral knowledge base to provide an objective education about the topic,” said Golden, who promised there would be no ‘abstract knowledge without practical application’. Students will learn concepts and tools that can be applied immediately in the working environment, said Golden.
“For cloud projects to succeed they need to gain acceptance within businesses,” said Richard Pharro, CEO of APMG.
[“Source- businesscloudnews”]
