Blog is Back

So my Q4 resolution is to restart this blog and aim for a weekly update.

The first update is around EMC's Cloud Architect certification - a course I took last week. The Cloud Architect certification is pretty unique right now, especially the way EMC have implemented it as an 'open' course rather than a vendor or product specific course. This is entirely consistent with EMC's strategy of enabling open clouds which reduce customer lock-in by allowing them to move their workloads to any compatible cloud platform. Compare this to Cloud offerings from Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Oracle, IBM and HP which all have greater degree's of lock-in.

So going into the course, you are expected to have a decent working knowledge of Cloud components, specifically the network (CCDA equivalent) and hypervisor (VCP equivalent). This implied to me that the course might get quite technical, but far from it. As the course assumes candidates already know VMware and Cisco technology it never gets so technical. Instead, the course introduces issues, considerations and challenges which are inherent in Virtual Data Centre and IT-as-a-Service architectures. Working examples help bridge the theory with the practice by highlighing features and products such as Cisco OTV, EMX VPLEX and the VMware suite of products.

I was disappointed as I don't think completing this course serves to create Cloud Architects anymore than passing the old MCSE exams created good engineers (paper MCSE's!). I was hoping that this Cloud Architect certification might be something like TOGAF for the Cloud or similar.

However, there is still value in this course, especially for those that are looking for a broad introduction to Cloud Solutions. It is likely that the forthcoming IT-as-a-Service certification will provide the missing guidance on 'how' to go about creating a Cloud based architecture (i.e. what a Cloud Architect would need to know) whereas this course provides a good level-set that might benefit those stakeholders that revolve around the Cloud Architect - including customers.