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In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, cloud computing has become the backbone of businesses worldwide. Among the leading cloud service providers, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) has emerged as a prominent player offering robust, scalable, and secure cloud solutions.
As organizations increasingly adopt OCI for their IT needs, the demand for skilled professionals with expertise in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure is also on the rise. In this blog, we will explore the value of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure certifications and how they can enhance career prospects for IT professionals.
Table of Contents
Reasons To Get OCI Certified
1. Validating Expertise
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure certifications are designed to validate the knowledge and skills of individuals in utilizing and managing OCI services effectively. These certifications cover a wide range of topics, including compute, networking, storage, databases, security, and more.
By earning these certifications, individuals can demonstrate their proficiency and commitment to mastering the OCI platform. This validation is crucial in today’s competitive job market, where employers seek candidates who can quickly adapt to cloud technologies and deliver results.
2. Enhanced Career Opportunities
The demand for cloud expertise is continuously growing as organizations transition their operations to the cloud. OCI certifications can significantly enhance an individual’s career opportunities by opening doors to exciting roles in cloud architecture, cloud operations, cloud security, and database administration, among others.
Certified professionals are more likely to be considered for high-profile cloud projects, providing them with valuable experience and exposure to cutting-edge technologies.
3. Recognition and Credibility
Oracle is a well-established technology company, and its certifications are industry-recognized credentials. OCI certifications not only enhance an individual’s technical credibility but also provide recognition from peers and employers.
When employers see OCI certifications on a resume, they know that the candidate possesses a deep understanding of OCI services and is capable of contributing positively to the organization’s cloud initiatives.
4. Stay Updated with Evolving Technology
Cloud technology is continually evolving, and staying up-to-date with the latest advancements is crucial for professionals in the IT field. Oracle regularly updates its certifications to align with the evolving OCI services and features.
By pursuing OCI certifications, individuals are required to keep themselves informed about the latest developments, ensuring they remain relevant and knowledgeable in the fast-paced cloud landscape.
5. Access to Exclusive Resources and Community
Oracle provides a wealth of resources and study materials to candidates preparing for OCI certifications. The official documentation, practice exams, and training courses are invaluable in gaining the necessary knowledge and preparing for the certification exams.
Additionally, certified professionals gain access to exclusive forums and communities where they can connect with other OCI experts, exchange ideas, and seek advice.
6. Added Value to Organizations
For organizations that have embraced OCI as their cloud platform of choice, having a team of certified professionals brings immense value. Certified employees can efficiently design and implement OCI solutions, optimize cloud resources, and address security challenges effectively.
This expertise leads to improved performance, reduced operational costs, and better security, benefiting the organization’s bottom line.
Next up, let’s look at the most popular OCI Certifications based on the roles.
Popular OCI Certifications by Roles
Oracle University offers comprehensive education and certification programs that enable individuals and organizations to excel in the realm of Oracle technologies. Every year for a limited time, Oracle introduces all its certifications without an exam fee. So, you should check out the Oracle website for more details.
If you are starting with any role on OCI, you need to get the basics right and for that we have:
OCI Foundations Certified Associate: This entry-level certification is designed for individuals who are new to OCI. It covers basic cloud concepts, OCI core services, and provides a foundational understanding of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure.
Next, let’s look at the roles:
OCI Certifications for Developers
The most popular still remains OCI Developer Professional.
OCI Developer Professional
For advanced developers, this certification requires a deeper understanding of OCI services and focuses on building complex applications and integrations within the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure ecosystem. This certification involves:
- Describe Cloud-native fundamentals
- Design and implement cloud-native applications and containers
- Leverage serverless technologies for cloud- native development
- Test and secure cloud-native applications
- Monitor & troubleshoot cloud-native applications
OCI Certifications for Architects
OCI Architect Associate
This certification is ideal for professionals involved in designing and implementing OCI solutions. It focuses on architecture principles, OCI services, and best practices for building scalable and secure cloud environments. Certification includes:
- Implement and manage OCI Virtual Cloud Network and its components
- Deploy and manage OCI compute service and its components
- Implement and manage OCI storage services, including Object, Block and File Storage
- Design and implement OCI Identity and Security solutions
- Implement OCI Observability solutions
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure 2023 Multicloud Architect Associate
This learning path is designed for cloud solution architects and cloud engineers interested in designing and implementing OCI multicloud solutions.
As per Oracle University, in this learning path, you will learn to:
- Understand multicloud and its benefits
- Understand OCI multicloud connectivity options, such as Site-to-Site VPN and FastConnect
- Implement Oracle Database Service for Azure
- Configure and implement OCI-Azure Interconnect
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure 2023 Architect Professional
Geared towards more experienced cloud architects, this certification dives deeper into advanced architectural concepts, multi-region strategies, and highly available solutions using OCI.
Certification includes:
- Design and implement a real-world network architecture
- Design scalable and resilient solutions for high availability and disaster recovery
- Design cloud-native and microservices architecture
- Architect and implement Hybrid and Multicloud solutions
- Deploy and manage Autonomous databases
- Automate using Infrastructure-as-code
- Migrate on-premises workloads to OCI
OCI Certifications for DevOps and Operations
OCI Operations Professional
Targeting more experienced operations professionals, this certification explores advanced topics related to managing and securing OCI environments at scale.
In this learning path, you will learn to:
- Use OCI CLI to create, discover, and terminate resources
- Create shell scripts using OCI CLI
- Use Oracle Resource Manager
- Provision a simple set of OCI resources with Ansible
- Manage custom images
- Describe Network Security Architecture: VCN, Load balancer, and DNS
- Describe Scaling options
- Use OCI CLI to create, discover, and terminate resources
- Troubleshooting
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure 2023 DevOps Professional
This learning path is designed for DevOps professionals and developers who are responsible for DevOps and automation in their OCI environments.
In this learning path, you will learn to:
- Leverage automation and infrastructure as code
- Integrate OCI DevOps with open-source tools like Ansible and Jenkins
- Implement DevSecOps including Identity and Access Management, Key and Secrets Management, and container security
- Instrument DevOps measurement, including Monitoring, Logging, and Events
While there are other OCI Certifications out there, above listed are still the most popular OCI Certifications. For exam preparation, Oracle official courses might not be enough and you should consider taking some practice exams before the actual test. Make sure that you do some enough hand-on training to cement the learnings in the courses.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure certifications hold significant value for IT professionals and organizations alike. With the ever-increasing adoption of cloud services, mastering OCI can catapult one’s career to new heights.
As cloud computing continues to shape the future of IT, OCI certifications will undoubtedly play a crucial role in shaping successful and fulfilling careers in the cloud industry.
Further Reading: How to Prepare for OCI Foundations.