Why you might want to get Azure Certified

Lets face it folks the cloud is where its at, you should be at the very least looking to gain cloud skills as it won't be long before most software is deployed to the cloud.

So the following is a list of why you should get certified in the cloud and I decided to go for Azure certification so I will be covering Azure but the same principles apply to AWS, Google cloud etc. (sign up free for a trial)

• In 4 months I have went from knowing absolutely nothing about Azure to knowing how, when and why you would want to use the features of Azure, I am far from knowing about all that Azure has to offer but by studying several courses and by doing hands on labs etc I have the knowledge to know what to use and when.
• If you're a Microsoft Developer then it makes sense to take a look into Azure and get familiar with Azure as you'll be able to pick it up and follow very easily, that said Azure is very easy to get going with and the learning curve for most of it isn't steep, being able to write code and deploy it to Azure is very straightforward.
• Having to wait on servers being provisioned is painful, having to keep them up to date with patches etc is no fun, as a developer you want to write code and create new features and ship them fast, with the cloud this is the way forward, embrace new technologies and you and your team will reap the benefits. The cloud doesn't have all the answers and there is no silver bullet but it's definitely the right way to go.
• Azure has some fantastic options for hybrid cloud, use your own sql server and keep the data on premise or use your own existing active directory etc and use the features of Azure which make sense to you and your team. There are so many options available nowadays, Azure has various ways of ensuring your data is secure such as encryption at rest in Azure SQL, secure Network Groups, access policies, Shared Access signatures when using API's and storage and even an API management feature.
• Having a certification doesn't guarantee anything but it looks good on your resume and shows you at least know what you're doing when it comes to Azure, it also shows that your keen to learn and no harm ever came from learning new skills. Plus its good fun learning new stuff right?
• Getting certified means you'll study and learn all about Azure and the huge benefits of cloud computing in general, and you'll be able to suggest features of Azure your company can take advantage off going forward. You'll also learn about cool stuff like cognitive services, machine learning and ai which are all hot topics right now.
• And last but not least, you'll become a Microsoft Certified Professional if you pass your first Microsoft exam. Then you can look into getting a more specific certification and you can find out more info here.