New Certifications, but which?

[DHR]

I've spent most of my cert time on Microsoft stuff over the years, covered MSSQL, Virtualisation and the lower end windows certs but ever bothered finishing the MCSE.

I'm reaching a point now, that I'm struggling to decide which direction to move in. I do a lot of hosting and architecture work for various CMS systems and custom development projects but I can't decide whether to go Azure or AWS, or possibly the lower couple of exams in both to get an even spread.

Anyone recently gone though something similar with success? Or failure?

 

[ov_sjo]

What are you actually good at?

 

[DHR]

What are you actually good at?

Infrastructure, architecture, hosting, disaster recovery (particularly MSSQL based) and anything surrounding that really?

 

[Skiddley]

We're a partner with both Amazon and Microsoft so I have free access to Azure and AWS training content. I would cover the basics of both and then re-assess where you'd like to specialise.

I'm particularly impressed by AWS.

 

[Slackness]

I've spent most of my cert time on Microsoft stuff over the years, covered MSSQL, Virtualisation and the lower end windows certs but ever bothered finishing the MCSE.

I'm reaching a point now, that I'm struggling to decide which direction to move in. I do a lot of hosting and architecture work for various CMS systems and custom development projects but I can't decide whether to go Azure or AWS, or possibly the lower couple of exams in both to get an even spread.

Anyone recently gone though something similar with success? Or failure?

As someone who has been in the IT industry as an architect for about 25 years, I am seeing a massive shift towards Amazon in the large multinational corporate markets over the last few years. Most notably in the SaaS market.

Of the SME markets and the smaller companies (read: Outsourced and Centralised) the shift is around VMWare and MS.

It really depends on your market. The easiest way to find out is to hit up jobserve and choose your area / locale and see what the metrics are.

For myself, they are simply strategy platforms and I have no preference, it just comes down to ROI for the client, that normally dictates the trend (unfortunately).

The key driver is a known fixed cost with a predictable upscale in cost that must be competitive and resilient. Public sector (read: MOD / NHS . Govt etc) is a totally different ball game as data compliance and security is influencing factor, as such the considerations are different.

Hope this helps!

Regards

Slackness.