Cloud architect education and training

How to become a cloud architect

There are plenty of paths to becoming a cloud architect — if you’re still early in your career, you might want to consider a formal degree program. But for those with experience in IT, Gartner suggests IT pros with the following skills and experience will find the transition easiest:

Enterprise architects: Hilgendorf notes that the role of a cloud architect is “a new form of an enterprise architect,” and that it’s an easy transition from enterprise to cloud architect. However, the report cautions it’s best suited to those with “real hands-on program leadership.”

I&O (virtualization): Those with virtualization or infrastructure architecture experience are often a good fit for the cloud architect role, since “many cloud programs begin with simple IaaS projects, and virtualization architects are best-positioned to understand the technical nuances of a ‘virtualizationlike’ environment,” says Hilgendorf.

Integration architecture (network, identity, services and data): Some of the biggest issues with cloud adoption arise with integration across the company. Integration architects are adept at working with complex systems, and they’re typically skilled at working across departments.

Business liaisons: Employees who are known for rocking the boat or pushing the envelope with technology can serve as valuable liaisons to encourage company buy-in to new cloud technologies.

You might even find there’s an “extremely technically savvy individual in a business unit,” who has the right skills and background to bring value to enterprise cloud adoption, says Hilgendorf. If your organization finds it difficult to land the right skills outside your company, there might be someone well suited to the role in another business unit who can transition to cloud architect with a small investment in training and education.

Cloud architect education and training

If you’re just starting out in your career and you have your sights set on becoming a cloud architect, you can attend a master’s program specializing in the field. There are also a variety of certification and professional development programs you can choose from. If you already have an IT background or the right skillset for a cloud architect, you can look into one of these professional certifications to boost your resume:

AWS Certified Solutions Architect: Amazon Web Services (AWS) is one of the most-used cloud services in the industry. This certification establishes your skills when it comes to managing AWS applications and infrastructure.

Google Certified Professional Cloud Architect: Google’s cloud architect certification asses your ability to design, plan, manage and provision cloud solution architecture and infrastructure. It also covers security and compliance, analysis and optimization of cloud architecture.

IBM Cloud Computing Solution Architect: This certification demonstrates your ability to “design, plan, architecture and management principles of an IBM cloud computing infrastructure.”