Is it a fowl? Is it a aircraft? No, it’s the newest certifications from Cisco Studying and Certifications! That’s proper, I’m comfortable to share some particulars on the three latest Cisco Specialist certifications with you all. And all three relate to that subject that continues to be on the minds of each engineer, IT chief, and firm—the CLOUD!

Each hero deserves an origin story…

Cloud is clearly an vital subject for us all within the IT world at this time, and we knew that cloud-related certifications belonged within the Studying and Certifications portfolio of tech profession certifications.  However we wished to do them proper.

Be part of me on a brief little journey again in time, if you’ll.

It was June 2022, and I used to be in Las Vegas for Cisco Reside.  It was a wonderful occasion, after all, but it surely was additionally the primary time in a very long time that we’d been in a position to get collectively as a Studying and Certifications workforce in individual.  One night as a workforce dinner was ending up, I discovered myself sitting with Par Merat, VP of Studying and Certifications, and Joe Clarke, Distinguished Engineer extraordinaire for Studying and Certification.

We began speaking about what ought to come subsequent for certifications from Cisco (a subject that we speak about quite a bit.. certs don’t stand nonetheless), and Cloud, after all, got here up.  After brainstorming some concepts, a theme began to kind.  We wished to verify any new cloud certification focused features of the cloud that Cisco and Cisco Licensed engineers had vital roles to play. We additionally realized {that a} single all-encompassing “Cisco Cloud Certification” wasn’t sensible.  Cloud is just too large and broad a subject. The concept of use case focused concentrations got here up, a certification that straight aligned to the kinds of initiatives that our neighborhood was being requested to do each day.

For example, I introduced up one thing I’d heard so many community engineers speak about engaged on for his or her firms.  They have been being requested to attach their company community WANs to the general public cloud networks in a method that provided consistency in design, engineering, and operations.  They wanted to combine the cloud networks into the company networks and didn’t simply need to “bolt it on.” So I floated an concept for a “Safe Cloud Connectivity” certification that targeted on this drawback and the Cisco know-how and options that might assist remedy this drawback at this time.

The concept resonated, and it will definitely grew to become “Designing and Implementing Cloud Connectivity,” the primary of the three Multi-Cloud Certifications that got here out of this idea.

Carry out the certs!!!!

This brings us again to at this time, and I’m so proud of the method we took for these certifications and the three new Skilled-level specializations that we’ve launched.

The primary one introduced was the already launched “Designing and Implementing Cloud Connectivity” certification.  This certification is a part of the Enterprise Skilled monitor and covers the structure, know-how, and operation of the safe community interconnections between private and non-private clouds utilizing Cisco applied sciences.  What is actually thrilling to me about this certification is that it acknowledges that there are a number of doable methods to construct community bridges between clouds and that community engineers should steadiness the enterprise and technical necessities of their enterprise when evaluating and choosing what is correct for a challenge.

If you’re an enterprise community skilled managing the connections to the general public cloud, this can be a certification it’s best to undoubtedly take a look at.  The primary date to check is September twentieth, 2023 – which is nearly right here!  As a focus examination within the Enterprise monitor, it may be mixed with a move on the “Implementing Cisco Enterprise Community Core Applied sciences” (ENCOR) examination to earn your CCNP Enterprise certification.

The second new cloud certification is “Designing and Implementing Safe Cloud Entry for Customers and Endpoints” which lives within the Safety Skilled monitor and has what is likely to be the good sounding acronym of all of our certifications, “SCATZ”. With SCATZ, we wished to focus on the change in how enterprises are offering customers entry to purposes and knowledge.

After I first began at Cisco about 13 years in the past, practically each utility, inner web site, wiki, knowledge share, or software I wanted to do my job required that I set up a VPN into Cisco’s community.  This was to make sure that solely licensed customers accessed the vital programs inside Cisco’s company community.  In the present day that isn’t the case.  There are only a few instances that I’ve to open up AnyConnect and hook up with Cisco’s VPN community anymore.  That doesn’t imply that Cisco isn’t fearful about safety, fairly the alternative, Cisco is hyper-aware of safety.  However we’re additionally very targeted on person expertise and making programs simply and constantly out there.  With updates in our safety portfolio from Duo, Umbrella, Firepower, and Safe Analytics, we will now present constant and efficient safety to Cisco’s world and really hybrid workforce with out forcing every of us to be tethered to a VPN connection always.

The SCATZ focus examination evaluates safety professionals’ means to design and implement all these options for their very own enterprises.  It’s a unbelievable addition to the safety focus choices for candidates seeking to earn their CCNP Safety after passing the “Implementing and Working Cisco Safety Core Applied sciences” (SCOR) examination.  The primary date to sit down for SCATZ is November 20, 2023.

The final of the three cloud certifications is “Designing and Implementing Cisco Service Supplier Cloud Community Infrastructure” as a result of as cool as it’s to eat cloud companies, somebody nonetheless has to construct it.  In spite of everything, the most effective definition of “the cloud” is “another person’s laptop”.  Whereas this certification is within the Service Supplier Skilled monitor, I feel it’s value a glance by any enterprise or knowledge heart skilled constructing personal cloud as nicely.  It explores all of the virtualization, automation, and constructing infrastructure at scale matters which are key to providing strong, on-demand cloud companies to satisfy the ever-increasing person expectations.  Additionally it is stuffed with some very cool community applied sciences that make me need to fireplace up Cisco Modeling Labs and begin labing to arrange to take the examination.  And I’ve nonetheless acquired time to arrange, the primary date to check for this certification isn’t till January 20, 2024.

What about coaching?

What would a Cisco certification be with out coaching lessons and supplies to assist candidates get ready?  Properly, it in all probability wouldn’t be a Cisco certification in any respect.  🙂

Our coaching content material growth workforce has been laborious at work constructing new Cisco U Studying Paths and Teacher Lead coaching programs to assist candidates be taught all of the ins and outs of those thrilling cloud use circumstances and prepare to take and move these new exams.  These coaching lessons will embrace the identical high-quality hands-on lab expertise that you simply’ve come to anticipate from official Cisco Studying content material. Simply get a take a look at this topology that might be a part of the “Designing and Implementing Cloud Connectivity” course.

The lessons are in growth now, so keep tuned for particulars on once they’ll be out there to Cisco U subscribers to dive into.  And undoubtedly ask your favourite Cisco Studying Associate once they plan to start providing the brand new lessons.  Even with the supply of a lot on-demand technical coaching content material, I nonetheless love the chance to work with an professional teacher and find out how one thing works.  The non-scripted elements of the educational and with the ability to ask questions and dive down some technical threads at school are so useful.

Properly, that’s about it for now.  I hope you might be as enthusiastic about these new cloud certifications as we’re.  Which one are you fascinated by taking first?  Are you already learning and need to be one of many first to earn the brand new specialization?  Let me know within the feedback!

Assets

Examination subject blueprints

Designing and Implementing Cloud Connectivity v1.0 (ENCC 300-440)

Designing and Implementing Safe Cloud Entry for Customers and Endpoints v1.0 (SCAZT 300-740)

Designing and Implementing Cisco Service Supplier Cloud Community Infrastructure (SPCNI 300-540)