How to Drive Digital Transformation with Comprehensive Cloud Skills Training

By John Paxton, Sr. Partner Marketing Manager at AWS

Digital transformation is the process of evolving from rigid, legacy platforms to a modern IT environment equipped to rapidly adjust to changing business and customer needs.

Ultimately, this is driven by two things: technology and people.

To implement emerging technologies, education of the workforce is paramount. Throughout this post, I will explore how comprehensive cloud skills training can enable AWS Partners to modernize their technology and the skills of their employees more effectively.

A 2020 ESG research report found that—among organizations identified as “mature” with respect to their digital transformation initiatives—97 percent currently use cloud services. This correlation suggests a strong connection between successful digital transformation and the cloud.

However, success depends on an organization’s ability to integrate technology and people into a unified strategy. This requires education of your people, as the cloud operates in a fundamentally different manner than traditional on-premises hardware.

It’s important to take a comprehensive approach to cloud training, as it’s not as simple as training individuals on point solutions. They need to have a comprehensive fluency on the cloud to truly enable lasting, organization-wide change.

A Holistic Approach to Cloud Training

Training must provide all of your employees with foundational cloud skills. This means providing all employees with foundational training, as well as more focused, in-depth training for key technical teams.

With workforces becoming increasingly distributed (including many remote-first organizations), it’s important to provide training mediums that enable individuals to learn at their own pace and through their preferred medium.

Moreover, it’s critical that training is made available on a role-specific basis. This enables you to provide cloud fluency across all teams and departments, while giving them knowledge that enhances their ability to perform day-to-day tasks.

IDC found organizations that take a more comprehensive approach to training realize:

• Faster cloud adoption, with larger deployments.
• Increased IT staff productivity and job satisfaction.
• Significantly better operational efficiency, performance, and ROI.

How AWS Partners Can Get Started

Cloud success comes down to building a holistic program suited to your unique needs. This means establishing a program that ranges from broad cloud fundamentals to advanced, task-specific concepts.

Every organization, of course, has its own unique requirements that will inevitably shape how cloud training is developed, distributed, and updated. However, there are a few universal tenants that will enable you to succeed.

Conduct a Thorough Analysis

Begin with a thorough analysis of your organization’s location, size, and cloud skills needs. This means surveying every department of your organization to determine the scope of your training initiatives.

Resources:

• Learning Needs Analysis: AWS can collaborate with you on developing your training initiatives with data-driven planning, targeted skills enablement, and organization alignment.
• Ramp-Up Guides: Each guide provides free digital training, classroom courses, videos, whitepapers, certifications, and other information designed to meet your unique needs.

Mix it Up

Mix it up with a variety of training options and media so individuals can learn when and where it’s convenient for them.

You need to give your employees the flexibility to learn at their own pace and provide them with multiple formats and media, including:

• Virtual classroom training
• Digital training
• On-site private training
• Public classroom training
• Hands-on labs
• Certification programs
• Events and workshops
• Communities of practice

Resources:

• AWS Partner Learning Paths: Create a custom learning path for members of your organization with role-based, solution-based, and AWS Partner-driven paths.
• Free Digital Training: Learn with hundreds of free, self-paced digital courses on AWS fundamentals.
• Classroom Training: Deepen your technical skills and learn from an accredited AWS instructor—virtually, or in-person.
• AWS Certification: Validate your AWS Cloud skills and enhance your credibility with an industry-recognized credential.

Build a Community

Build a community with training options that go beyond courses and enable participants to engage with each other. This can include mentorship and peer-to-peer learnings.

Resources:

• Cloud Training Program Development Tools: AWS offers workshops that help managers and employees develop and nurture communities of practice to enrich the continuous learning experience, recognize accomplishments, and find innovative approaches to utilize new skills.

Keep it Real

Keep it real by providing hands-on, role-based training that shows people how to apply their new skills to real-world challenges and job duties.

Resources:

• AWS Thought Leadership Resources: AWS has a collection of resources designed to help you and your organization establish its training strategy and develop cloud fluency, including executive summaries, toolkits, eBooks, infographics, customer case studies, and more.

Incentivize Certifications

Incentivize certifications to help your workforce enhance the credibility of both individuals and your organization with industry-recognized validation of their cloud skills.

AWS recommends offering to fund certification preparation and exam fees for employees who have demonstrated their aptitude with AWS courses. By removing these obstacles for them, they are much more likely to pursue AWS Certifications.

Resources:

• Exam Preparation Resources: Prepare for certification exams with training and materials that complement your hands-on AWS expertise.
• Get Certified Exam Readiness Webinars: Register for live webinars, led by accredited AWS instructors, and prepare for your AWS Certification exams.

AWS Training & Certification Support

From in-person training to on-demand trainings developed by AWS subject matter experts, AWS Training and Certification is constantly seeking innovative ways to help AWS Partners enhance their cloud skills and confidence.

For more in-depth guidance on how to implement comprehensive cloud skills training to drive digital transformation, download our eBook >>

We also have a series of virtual trainings available for AWS Partners:

• Virtual Classes: AWS subject matter experts are now offering virtual classes for individuals in both business and technical roles.
• AWS Partner Accreditations: Establish foundational knowledge of AWS offerings, best practices, value propositions to enhance your conversations internally and with customers in the field.
• AWS PartnerCast: Engage directly with your peers and subject matter experts as you learn about the latest AWS best practices and cutting-edge technology.

Whether you are just getting started with your cloud journey, or looking to operationalize your organization’s cloud education initiatives, AWS Training and Certification can help support you along the way.

To get started, visit aws.training/enterprise.