AWS Training and Certification Blog

5 steps to build your skills for AWS IoT

Industry 4.0—also called the Fourth Industrial Revolution—is the next phase in the digitization of the manufacturing sector, driven by disruptive trends in Internet of Things including the rise of data and connectivity, analytics, human-machine interaction, and improvements in robotics. To succeed in Industry 4.0, companies need to upskill and reskill their workers to maximize the benefits of disruptive technologies, in particular individuals who have traditionally focused on operational technology (OT) domains, such as plant managers, product managers, engineers, and architects.

In this blog we’ll share five steps and associated resources for individuals in these roles to learn about AWS Cloud and AWS IoT services to skill up for Industry 4.0.

1. Introduction to AWS Cloud and AWS Technical Essentials

If you are new to cloud and your organization is moving to the cloud, the Getting Started with AWS Cloud Essentials on AWS Skill Builder is a must. This one-hour free course introduces cloud computing, its benefits, and core services including cloud storage, databases, networking setup, security, and pricing details. Then, dive into another free self-paced course, AWS Technical Essentials, to get hands-on experience in AWS and learn how to build highly available, fault tolerant, scalable, and cost-effective cloud solutions.

To round out your foundational knowledge of the AWS Cloud, review the below resources. Your base of knowledge will put you in a good position to pursue your first industry-recognized AWS Certification credential, the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner.

2. Introduction to AWS IoT

AWS IoT provides broad and deep functionality to build IoT solutions for a large number of use cases across a wide range of devices. Review AWS IoT solutions for industrial use cases to improve performance and productivity of industrial processes. This will help you understand how IoT can help with asset condition monitoring and improving predictive maintenance and quality along with an overview of relevant AWS IoT services. As you are getting started with AWS IoT, Yasser Alsaied, VP of AWS IoT has an excellent blog, Sharing a vision for a more connected world with AWS IoT, that helps outline the current- and future-state of IoT technologies and how industrial manufacturers are leveraging the IoT ecosystem.

Next, to understand current challenges on the shop floor with machine connectivity, security, driving insights, and how AWS IoT helps enterprises solve those, review this re:Invent 2022 video and this blog. You’ll learn how to optimize industrial operations using AWS IoT and leverage architectures for Asset Condition Monitoring, Predictive Maintenance, and Predictive Quality.

Now that you have a foundational understanding of the current industry trends, future direction of innovation, and how AWS IoT can be deployed on the shop floor, consider the following list of resources to deepen your learning:

3. Get hands-on with AWS IoT Foundation Series

You have a solid understanding of AWS IoT and now it’s time to get hands-on exposure to IoT services and real-world scenarios. Start by investing your time in the free AWS IoT Foundation Series. The self-paced digital training series is designed for business decision makers, engineers, fleet managers, developers, and security architects to gain broad exposure to the AWS IoT Core and its associated services. Each class in the series is centered around a scenario where a fictitious customer has a business challenge, and you’ll build the knowledge and skills to identify how to overcome the challenge. You’ll walk away with foundational knowledge of AWS IoT and hands-on experience with a broad range of topics, such as Telemetry, Predictive Maintenance, and IoT Automation. Then, consider this edX course developed by the AWS experts, AWS IoT: Developing and Deploying an Internet of Things, where you’ll continue building your skills through demonstrations and hands-on lab exercises to build, deploy, and manage your own IoT solution.

Continue developing an understanding of how to deploy AWS IoT services by following resources below:

4. AWS Industrial Data Fabric

Next, build your knowledge about how AWS IoT fits within the broader umbrella of the Industrial Data Platform. The visual workflow helps you contextualize how to ingest and store data from industrial equipment and enterprise applications, and then build datasets and predictive models.

To go deeper into the Industry Data Platform, review the following additional resources:

5. Continue building expertise through hands-on immersion, workshops, and labs

There is no better way to solidify your knowledge than to get hands-on with AWS services. Bookmark the AWS IoT Resources and take advantage of the multitude of IoT workshops and an AWS IoT Immersion Day. Further, consider investing in an AWS IoT EduKit, which provides an easy way for experienced engineers and professionals to learn how to build IoT applications, with easy-to-follow guides and example codes. AWS IoT EduKit can be purchased at Amazon.com or from AWS Manufacturing partner, M5Stack.

We hope this overview has given you helpful context and a learning path to build your AWS IoT knowledge to further your career opportunities. For the latest AWS IoT updates, be sure to follow The Internet of Things on AWS – Official Blog and YouTube video channel.