Multiple networked forms of storage such as storage area network (SAN), network attached storage (NAS) and storage as a service (STaaS) have become quite popular across the globe. There is a huge demand for skilled storage professionals in the IT industry due to the exponential data growth and strategically migrating the data assets to modern systems from the legacy ones.
Professionals looking forward to getting a new job or advance in their career should think about opting for some storage certifications. The certifications help the hiring managers to validate the skills of any candidate and know about his/her expertise and knowledge in the domain.
If you wish to advance in the storage domain, then here is a list of top 5 storage certifications that one must check out.
Top 5 Storage Certifications
- Cisco Certified Network Professional Data Center (CCNP Data Center)
Cisco offers plenty of certifications, and there is huge credibility of its certifications in the IT industry. The CCNP Data Center certification is an in-demand course for all the professionals who are into designing, implementing, and maintaining a data centre with the help of Cisco tools and technologies. There is plenty of information available on the Cisco Learning network about this CCNP certification.
The CCNP course focuses on some concepts like network designing, automation, and wireless networking. People who wish to build a career either in the networking domain or in the storage domain should opt for this CCNP training. There are plenty of CCNP courses available in the market that vary based on the domain you want to move further. The CCNP certification cost is Rs. 21,258 in India, and it might vary on the basis of the certification that you choose.
The candidates appearing for the CCNP Data Center certification need to be CCNA Data Center certified or possess any other Cisco CCIE certification.
- NetApp Certified Data Administrator (NCDA)
NetApp is pretty much famous for its systems, software, and services that are useful for managing and maintaining storage for some mission-critical data. The NCDA credential would validate the skills of a professional to implement, manage, and support NetApp data storage high-availability controllers that are running on the Data ONTAP operating system. The candidates also gain further skills in several other NetApp technologies.
If you are thinking about staying in the field of working with the NetApp products, then this is the perfect certification for you in the long run. The candidate needs to possess at least 6-12 months of experience in working with the NetApp data storage solutions to get a good job.
- EMC Proven Professional
As per the status of EMC in the IT industry, this certification is considered to be the most common among all the other storage certifications. The EMC Proven Professional certification is divided into various domains like big data, data science, storage administrator, data centre architect, cloud architect, and even some product-specific tracks.
EMC merged with Dell, and it is currently offering storage training to all the candidates who wish to move ahead in that particular field.
- Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA)
The main focus of SNIA certification is on vendor-neutral storage skills as well as networking knowledge. There are four levels of SNIA certification, which are SNIA Certified Storage Professional, SNIA Certified Storage Engineer, SNIA Certified Storage Architect, and SNIA Certified Storage Networking Expert. SNIA focuses more on its certifications and educational resources to complement different vendor certifications.
It is essential for a candidate to understand how the storage products fit in any multi-vendor environment. SNIA education would provide the candidates with the knowledge of networking concepts, architecture, management, administration, and troubleshooting. The SNIA training would make a candidate fully prepared to architect as well as deliver multi-vendor solutions.
- SNIA Certified Storage Networking Expert (SCSN-E)
The SNIA is a pretty famous non-profit organization that works towards imparting knowledge and offering certifications on IT storage technologies to the candidates. There are various certifications offered by SNIA in its program like SNIA Certified Storage Architect (SCSA), SNIA Certified Storage Engineer (SCSE), and SNIA Certified Storage Networking Expert (SCSN-E). Among all the certifications, the SCSN-E is at the highest level, and it validates the skills of the candidates who are into designing, deploying, and managing storage networks in the multi-vendor environment.
It is a pretty difficult certification to achieve, and it might take up years to study and pass this one. The professionals who are able to gain an SCSN-E certification are highly valued in any organization, and they are considered to be at the top in their field.
Other than the top 5 storage certifications, there are plenty of others available in the market. Still, these are the top 5 best storage certifications that one can rely on for better prospects in a career. If you want to fit in the storage domain in any organization, then this is the right time to opt for some certification.