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Many large and small enterprises are considering a transition to cloud technology, but wonder how their teams can best leverage the technology for their business. As the Director of Training and Certification at AWS, I believe the best way to get the most out of your cloud investment is to invest in training to help build cloud skills within your organization. Doing so will enable you to leverage the skills of your existing staff, reach your business goals sooner, and feel confident that your organization is getting the most out of the cloud.

This post will look at why training is such an important and valuable step of the cloud journey, and how, specifically, AWS can help you navigate the transition to the cloud and turn your employees into true experts.

You already have the people you need

Last year, Stephen Orban wrote about the importance of educating existing staff about the cloud. He noted that “everyone you need to move forward with the cloud is already there, you just have to enable them.”

Training can help your staff leverage the fundamental IT skills and institutional knowledge they already have to transition to cloud roles. Training current employees saves you time and money since you won’t have to hire new staff to fill cloud-based roles.

Essentially, regardless of your cloud platform, the sooner you evaluate the roles you currently have and the ones you need, then invest in the training to develop your employees, the easier your job becomes.

Training helps you reach your business goals sooner

Training your staff will allow them to better use the cloud so you can accomplish your objectives more efficiently. Cloud training gives your employees the skills they need to innovate faster.

Training is particularly important for organizations undergoing complex migrations. Here are a few key ways training can help accelerate a transition:

• Training will help your employees understand how to use the cloud. For example, they can learn to efficiently manage, operate, and deploy applications using AWS.
• Alleviating your teams anxiety by teaching them the unknown can build internal buy-in.
• Training will give your staff a common language, and allow them to work together more effectively.
• A trained staff, whether with AWS or another platform, will be able to spot the services and solutions they need much faster, which means you can quickly develop better solutions for your customers.

Validate knowledge with certifications

Encourage staff to get certified so everyone feels confident in the team’s skills. A core group of AWS Certified staff can help lead your organization through the change and implement best practices. Certification can help you identify individuals who are ready to be promoted within your organization.

If you do need more cloud experience within your organization, look for certified candidates so you can fill any remaining holes with confidence.

A tour through AWS Training and Certification

AWS Training and Certification helps build cloud skills to make your transition to the AWS Cloud easier so you can get the most out of your investment, faster.

There are several training options with AWS:

Awareness Days:

Before or during training, you can ask AWS to come to your company and hold an Awareness Day. This is an especially useful resource if you’re having a hard time selling the cloud in your organization or just simply need someone to come in and present a clearer picture of the cloud’s benefits. Awareness Day sessions cover elements like general AWS advantages, how to become an agile organization, and the many ways the cloud will help you innovate. You can contact the AWS Training team to schedule an Awareness Day.

Role-based Training:

AWS offers role-based learning paths for employees in Architecting, Developing or Operations roles. Each path includes training, labs, and certifications that are most relevant for how they will work with AWS. Each path leads to associate and professional certification exams so employees can validate their new skills.

Customized Training:

You can work with AWS on building a customized training strategy, including a step-by-step guide and timeline that lays out who should take what training. This way, your staff will have a clear roadmap to follow. Here is an example of how training can be broken into phases for your organization:

Phase 1: Cloud awareness and essentials training for a very broad range of employees

Phase 2: Role-based foundational training for technical employees and key lines of business

Phase 3: Associate certification for select technical staff with relevant experience

Phase 4: Advanced and specialty training for select technical staff as required

Phase 5: Professional certification for select technical staff with relevant experience

Online Training:

Once your staff knows the basics, they can use free or low-cost labs to get practice using AWS. They can also explore free online course offerings on topics like big data and security. This is a simple, cost-effective way to go about getting your staff the skills they need for your organization’s cloud.

Accessibility:

Whether you prefer in-person or online, self-guided or instructor-led, AWS has an option to suit your organization. Training is available across the globe and in eight languages through AWS and the APN Partner Training network. That means training can be delivered in your location using local language and customs.

AWS Training and Certification can help you prepare your staff for your move to the cloud. In the end, training is about more than just building knowledge and awareness. It’s about helping your business accomplish your goals sooner for less. With the right training, you’ll have a cloud-knowledgeable staff to help you leverage the cloud so you can innovate more and get to market faster. AWS works with a network of authorized AWS Training Partners and delivers training across the globe. You can get started building your training strategy by contacting AWS Training and Certification today.