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In March 2023, we fielded the C2C Member Pulse to observe trends, skill gaps, and challenges in Google Cloud and how our members use community to enrich their cloud experience. This infographic highlights a portion of the findings. Communities exist everywhere. Choosing the right one and getting value from participation can be confusing for members. For community professionals, keeping up engagement numbers is a struggle—every community experiences never-ending effects of the 90-9-1 rule of participation inequality. Overcoming the rule isn’t going to happen, but the inequality curve can be shaped by lowering the barrier to entry in ways members want to participate. The results from the 2023 Member Pulse help us better understand what else our members need and how we can prioritize the evolution of C2C’s online experience.We know our members' top priorities when it comes to Google Cloud, digital transformation efforts, and that respondents are gaining skills from a mixture of in-person events and online learning. Through our research findings, we also have gained valuable insights into the motivations and priorities of our members for participating in communities. To make members feel safe in their choice to spend their most precious resource—time—on us, we can look at all the factors in our control that impact community participation behavior. Which topics we feature and who we invite to the stage can all be adjusted accordingly. Joining Communities Networking emerges as the top driver for community engagement across all job roles. The desire to establish connections, build relationships, and expand professional networks is a common thread that unites our community members. The opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals, share experiences, and foster collaborative endeavors holds immeasurable value.Almost equally important are training and educational opportunities. C2C members seek to enhance their skills, broaden their understanding, and stay up-to-date with the latest advancements in the field. By participating in third-party communities, they gain access to a wealth of knowledge, particularly from Google Cloud experts. These experts, known as Google Cloud Developer Experts, form a trusted and vetted global network. Their hands-on experience and working knowledge of Google Cloud products enable them to provide community members with invaluable best practices and insights.When it comes to choosing the platforms for community engagement, the landscape showcases diverse preferences. Platforms like LinkedIn foster active participation, providing a professional environment conducive to networking and knowledge sharing. In contrast, platforms such as Reddit and Facebook generate limited community building within our context. The inherent anonymity and casual nature of Reddit may not align with the professional networking objectives sought by our members. Education from the Stage Content and agenda topics, costs, and distance to event are the top three factors that impact respondents’ decision to attend events. Factors that impact decisions to attend events are consistent across event type attendance.Across various job roles, respondents express a strong desire to hear from product managers of the specific products they use, such as Google Cloud employees or technology implementation partners. This preference stems from the members' eagerness to gain firsthand insights and practical knowledge related to the technology they employ in their organizations' digital transformation endeavors. These product managers serve as a direct link to understanding and maximizing the potential of the tools and solutions driving their digital journeys. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) play a crucial role in the cloud technology industry. With the industry's growth and impact on our daily lives, it is vital to reflect the diversity of the communities it serves. DEI promotes equal opportunities, fosters innovation and creativity, and encourages diverse perspectives and ideas. Collaboration among people from different backgrounds and experiences leads to unique solutions, enhancing the quality of services and products. Inclusivity in the cloud technology industry fosters a productive and fulfilling work culture, where everyone feels valued and respected. Ultimately, DEI is critical to creating a more equitable and just society through the cloud technology industry.We asked respondents to rate their perception of DEI in the technology industry overall and within their own organizations. Every organization has their own DEI policies in place—or some not at all—but nothing spans the entire tech industry. Respondents rate DEI as much more favorable within their organizations than in the technology industry. Visualizing It All Take a look at how the community ranks the options they were given for participating in communities, who to connect with, and DEI perceptions. View image as a full-scale PDF here. Get the Most of Community As members of our community, your voices shape our initiatives. While we learned a lot about you collectively in this survey, we also want to meet your needs as an individual. Take a moment to update your profile today, and ensure you're receiving the most relevant and valuable content tailored specifically for your interests. Update Your Preferences

In March 2023, we fielded the C2C Member Pulse to observe trends, skill gaps, and challenges in Google Cloud and how our members use community to enrich their cloud experience. This infographic highlights a portion of the findings. As a valued member of the Google Cloud customer community, we understand that each of you is on a unique journey with Google Cloud. Some of you may be well-versed and advanced in your Google Cloud usage, some are exploring and building business cases, and others may be anywhere in the middle of that spectrum. We recognize that not all cloud investments are the same, considering the wide range of products and services offered by Google Cloud.We also understand that respondents’ overall level of investment in Google Cloud—whether their own choice or their company’s choice—changes to meet digital transformation needs. These findings shed light on the investments made, talent needs, and solution usage patterns within our community, which helps us prioritize how to grow our network, foster connections, and curate content in our community. Investments in Google Cloud The survey results indicate that the majority of respondents, regardless of organizational size, are making increased investments in Google Cloud. Overall, respondents are either maintaining or expanding their investments in Google Cloud. The primary reason for increased investments is the integration and consolidation of systems on the Google Cloud platform, closing in on a digital-native or cloud-first approach. On the other hand, some respondents have reported decreased investments due to transitioning to other cloud vendors, with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Azure being the most commonly mentioned alternatives. It's worth noting that a percentage (21%) of respondents were unsure about the changes in their investment levels, possibly indicating limited involvement in the decision-making process. Google Cloud Talent As organizations increase their investments in Google Cloud, it becomes evident that there is a growing need for skilled Google Cloud talent. Interestingly, the most common way organizations find skilled talent is by having their permanent staff learn Google Cloud skills on the job. This was also consistent across all organization sizes—no matter how many people may be available to work on these products, they’ll all be learning as they go, emphasizing the ongoing learning and development required for effectively working with Google Cloud products. Solution Area Usage Among the technologies respondents use most, identity and security, as well as data cloud products, take the lead. This aligns with the challenges faced in data maintenance and integration, highlighting the significance of these solution areas.Although AI and ML are among the least currently used technologies, they are the top Google Cloud products that respondents are planning to use at their organizations. This reflects how AI will be increasingly sought-after in the future. AI-enabled software was also noted as a top technology that will be needed for future digital transformation efforts.Respondents are least aware of startup and SMB solutions from Google Cloud. More guidance may be needed to support this solution, as it is the solution most respondents have no plans to use (16%). That said, many more respondents who belong to organizations that have been active for less than one year are currently using Startup and SMB solutions (48%) with 87% awareness and 23% planning to use. Visualizing It All Take a look at how the community ranks the options they were given for Google Cloud investment levels, nurturing Google Cloud talent, and solution area usage. View image as a full-scale PDF here. Get the Most of Community As members of our community, your voices shape our initiatives. While we learned a lot about you collectively in this survey, we also want to meet your needs as an individual. Take a moment to update your profile today, and ensure you're receiving the most relevant and valuable content tailored specifically for your interests. Update Your Preferences

In March 2023, we fielded the C2C Member Pulse to observe trends, skill gaps, and challenges in Google Cloud and how our members use community to enrich their cloud experience. This infographic highlights a portion of the findings. Whether someone’s role is in business or IT, there’s no denying the organizational impact of constantly evolving and emerging technologies in the cloud and beyond. As the Google Cloud customer community, we want to ensure we’re matching our members’ needs in upskilling and staying on top of the latest in cloud.Organizations are feeling the pressure to either cultivate internal skills to manage new products or risk falling behind their competitors. At the same time, employees are running their own skills-boost race against the demands of their employers for incredibly complicated areas of study. That's why we conducted a comprehensive survey to uncover invaluable insights about the tools driving transformation, the skill gaps organizations encounter, and the avenues individuals and companies pursue to expand their knowledge. Digital Transformation with New Tech Consistent with top focus areas, cloud infrastructure, data analytics and dashboards, and AI-embedded software are the top technologies respondents expect to impact their digital transformation efforts in the next two years. This mix of technologies appeal to cloud practitioners as well as those in roles with less technical acumen and are fairly consistent across industries. More emerging forms of technology, like IoT, blockchain, and AR and VR are all noted as a potential impact by less than 30% of respondents.Interestingly, preparing for AI and ML is currently perceived as the lowest digital priority, with only 37% of organizations currently utilizing AI and ML tools from Google Cloud. However, it's worth noting that these tools are projected to become the number one choice for future adoption. As these technologies are relatively new, bridging the skill gap in training and deploying models is a crucial area of focus, with 41% of companies lacking in-house talent.On the other hand, AI-enabled software is incredibly popular, being used at 56% of organizations. Organizations clearly see the benefits of AI, infusing their workforce with smart tools like virtual assistants or other line-of-business tools. Rather than immediately venturing into building their own AI and ML products and services, they’re opting for empowering their employees with readily available solutions. Skills Organizations are Missing Among the internal skill sets that organizations find lacking, cloud security and data protection take the top spot, closely followed by the training and deployment of machine learning models and cloud architecture design and scalability. Because respondents expect cloud infrastructure to be the top technology to impact their digital transformation efforts in the next two years, we can expect these skills will be in even higher demand in the future. How Organizations and Individuals Acquire Skills When it comes to skill acquisition, Google Cloud training emerges as the preferred choice for organizations to enhance their expertise. That said, hiring—whether for permanent or temporary staff and either virtual or in-person consultants—is still a popular approach overall.How and where individuals acquire or improve skill sets aligns with organizations’ methods—Google Cloud training and certifications top the list. Notably, an equal number of respondents selected educational conferences and events, as well as massive open online courses (MOOCs), signaling that our community values both in-person events and online learning resources as valuable avenues for skill development. Visualizing It All Take a look at how the community ranks the options they were given for areas of focus, challenges, and who is responsible for making technology purchase decisions. View image as a full-scale PDF here. Get the Most of Community As members of our community, your voices shape our initiatives. While we learned a lot about you collectively in this survey, we also want to meet your needs as an individual. Take a moment to update your profile today, and ensure you're receiving the most relevant and valuable content tailored specifically for your interests.   Update Your Preferences 

In March 2023, we fielded the C2C Member Pulse to observe trends, skill gaps, and challenges in Google Cloud and how our members use community to enrich their cloud experience. This infographic highlights a portion of the findings. Understanding priorities and challenges faced by organizations using cloud technology is vital for optimizing C2C’s efforts in content programming. Hearing directly from our members helps us tackle the now and the here—it’s all specific to our community, not generalized based on tech hype in various news outlets.Plus, cloud topics are big. It's crucial that we cover topics that truly meet your needs. While we may already cover data and analytics, for example, if we overlook challenges related to master data and governance that you've highlighted, we miss a valuable opportunity to support you effectively. Areas of Focus Based on the survey results, it's clear that cloud management, data and business analytics, automation, security, and optimizing business processes are top priorities for members this year. The overall digitization and adoption of cloud solutions are significant areas of focus, while less technical and more topical or people-oriented areas like sustainability, training, and supporting remote workforces are of lesser priority but still on the radar for some respondents.Respondents not focused on sustainability expect to be in the next 2 to 5 years. Unless sustainability is embedded in the organization respondents work for, this focus is being pushed further down the road. For example, sustainability is important for certain industries, most often as noted by respondents in the energy and travel industries. Organizational Challenges When welcoming new priorities, challenges are a given. Data-related issues—such as integration, master data maintenance, and governance—are the top challenges respondents’ organizations are currently experiencing. We can observe challenges aligning with focus on cloud management, data analytics, and automation. More than 30% also cite challenges with budget, internal skills to manage new products, gaining actionable insights from data analytics, and cybersecurity and data protection.  Influence Over Technology Purchases The survey also looked into the decision-making process for technology purchases. C-level executives most often hold the responsibility for these decisions, but in other cases, IT staff and buying committees play a significant role. It's worth noting that the size of the organization influences the decision-making approach, with smaller organizations relying more on C-level roles and larger organizations involving buying committees. Visualizing It All Take a look at how the community ranks the options they were given for areas of focus, challenges, and who is responsible for making technology purchase decisions. View image as a full-scale PDF here. Get the Most of Community As members of our community, your voices shape our initiatives. While we learned a lot about you collectively in this survey, we also want to meet your needs as an individual. Take a moment to update your profile today, and ensure you're receiving the most relevant and valuable content tailored specifically for your interests.   Update Your Preferences 

We’re unveiling a piece that’s the first of its kind at C2C: a research report on our community! This is only a preview of what’s included in the full report, but you have the option to download the full report here. BackgroundC2C conducted this research in partnership with the Google Cloud Developer Relations team to better understand cloud users and how they interact with different cloud providers at their organizations. This survey was fielded in June and July of 2022. ObjectivesC2C developed this survey to understand how cloud services are used at different organizations. Research goals included: to recognize pressures users face, to learn what projects customers are working on, and to identify the technologies used to complete these projects. Additionally, we wanted to measure usage of and satisfaction with cloud providers. Key Findings  01 AI and Machine Learning tech is “look but don’t touch.”AI and ML technologies are on the rise. However, most customers are not currently using them. While they have plans to adopt AI and ML and expect to incorporate both more in end-user application development projects, users likely need more information and guidance to prepare to adopt these technologies.    02 Google Cloud is #1 for “cloud native” development.Google Cloud is the cloud service provider used most often to develop “cloud native” apps and processes. Its users are currently most engaged with software as a service (SaaS) end-user applications and development projects, typically for the computer software industry.   03 Storage and migration tools best support high pressures.Due to high pressures on growing and scaling businesses, cloud storage and migration tools are the most used technologies. This is reflected in most cloud service providers being used to deploy on-premises applications to the cloud.     04 Provider satisfaction and open source go hand-in-hand.Google Cloud is the most used cloud provider among C2C members, followed by Amazon Web Services. These providers are also the most committed to open source models. Lower on the spectrum of open source commitment are SAP and Oracle Cloud—the providers most frequently evaluated and rejected—due to lack of support and suitability.  Want the full picture?The report details the key findings with data from the survey, including: Trends in development projects and organizational pressures Current technology use and tech to keep an eye on The competitive landscape of cloud service providers: usage, evaluation, satisfaction, and adoption reasons  Download Report  

Results of the 2022 ASUG Pulse of the SAP Customer Research among Google Cloud Platform users identified key insights for organizations in 2022, including top focus areas and challenges experienced when migrating SAP instances to cloud. View image as a full-scale PDF here. Extra Credit: 

Personal development and professional development are among the hottest topics within our community. At C2C, we’re passionate about helping Google Cloud users grow in their careers. This article is part of a larger collection of Google Cloud certification path resources.Get to Know the Google Cloud Digital Leader Certification was originally published on C2C in October, 2021. This updated infographic reflects the exam revisions going into effect this Wednesday, January 26.Google introduced the Cloud Digital Leader exam in June 2021. Not even a full year after its release, the foundational-level certification was deemed eligible for a refresh. The initial release outlined three key areas of focus: general cloud knowledge, Google Cloud knowledge, and Google Cloud products and services.What, then, are the major differences to expect between that version and this update? Most notably, there’s a shift from defining the “what” of general cloud knowledge to explaining the “why” in terms of specific business drivers for using Google Cloud in new adoptions and digital transformation. You should still be able to define basic cloud technologies. The full exam guide has been updated to reflect evolving solution-area priorities for Google Cloud’s place in the cloud technology landscape, including an unsurprising expansion to dedicate full 30% sections to:Google Cloud data, AI, and ML solutions Infrastructure and application modernization Google Cloud security and operations toolsThe new exam guide makes no mention of compliance, resource hierarchies, geographical segmentation, support options, data pipelines, workload migration, or on-premises networking, all of which occupied entire subsections in the original guide. View image as a full-scale PDF here. Looking for information about a different Google Cloud certification? Check out the directory in the Google Cloud Certifications Overview. Extra CreditGoogle Cloud’s certification page: Cloud Digital Leader      Example questions Exam guide Coursera: Google Cloud Digital Leader Training Professional Certificate Pluralsight: Google Cloud Digital Leader TrainingHave more questions?We’re sure you do! Join C2C staff and community members on Tuesday, Jan. 25 for an open discussion with Mattias Andersson, a Senior Community Training Architect at A Cloud Guru / Pluralsight. 

Personal development and professional development are among the hottest topics within our community. At C2C, we’re passionate about helping Google Cloud users grow in their careers. This article is part of a larger collection of Google Cloud certification path resources.The Google Cloud Professional Security Engineer works to verify all controls related to security operations, network security, and compliance within a company’s cloud infrastructure. Exam takers should be prepared to design, develop, configure, and manage secure workloads and data access.The skills a security professional brings to any team help to protect a business’s assets from malicious attacks by identifying threats and applying security best practices. In a fully secure environment, these configurations also shield the business from misstepping in areas of high legal risk. Worldwide, privacy and data protection is trending in national legislative measures, with approximately two thirds of all countries having passed laws and about a dozen more with drafts prepared. And while GDPR-like laws regulate all sectors, cloud security professionals are especially in demand for the financial services, ecommerce, tech, healthcare, and life sciences industries.These laws are turning consumer privacy into a hot topic, but consumer privacy is not the only security concern businesses need to keep in check. In the United States, for example, an executive order was passed earlier this year to improve the nation’s cybersecurity measures. Given the ever-evolving landscape of cybersecurity regulations and the continually expanding arsenal of security technologies, security skills are some of the most in-demand skills in cloud technology professions. However, cybersecurity certifications aren’t limited to security engineers. Across the board, these are the most popular cross-certifications among the respondents to Global Knowledge’s IT Skills and Salary Report. Whether your goal is to specialize in a security role or to boost your credentials and close skill gaps on security-related issues in another cloud technology role, we have answers to the following:What experience should I have before taking this exam? What roles and job titles does Google Cloud Professional Security Engineer certification best prepare me for? Which topics do I need to brush up on before taking the exam? Where can I find resources and study guides for Google Cloud Professional Data Engineer certification? Where can I connect with fellow community members to get my questions answered? View image as a full-scale PDF here.  Extra CreditGoogle Cloud’s certification page: Professional Cloud Security Engineer Example questions Exam guide Coursera: Preparing for Google Cloud Certification: Cloud Security Engineer Professional Certification Pluralsight: Preparing for the Google Cloud Professional Security Engineer Exam AwesomeGCP Cloud Security Engineer Playlist Global Knowledge IT Skills and Salary Report 2020 Looking for information about a different Google Cloud certification? Check out the directory in the Google Cloud Certifications Overview. 

Personal development and professional development are among the hottest topics within our community. At C2C, we’re passionate about helping Google Cloud users grow in their careers. This article is part of a larger collection of Google Cloud certification path resources.The Google Cloud Professional Data Engineer certification covers highly technical knowledge concerning how to build scalable, reliable data pipelines and applications. Anyone who intends to take this exam should also be comfortable selecting, monitoring, and troubleshooting machine learning models.In 2021, the Professional Data Engineer rose to number one on the top-paying cloud certifications list, surpassing the Professional Cloud Architect, which had held that spot for the two years prior. According to the Dice 2020 Tech Job Report, it’s one of the quickest growing IT professions, and even with an influx of people chasing that role, the supply can’t meet the demand. More than ever, businesses are driven to take advantage of advanced analytics; data engineers design and operationalize the infrastructure to make that possible.Before you sit at a test facility for the real deal, we highly recommend that you practice with the example questions (provided by Google Cloud) with Google Cloud’s documentation handy. All the questions are scenario-based and incredibly nuanced, so lean in to honing your reading comprehension skills and verifying your options using the documentation.We’ve linked out to plenty of external resources for when you decide to commit and study, but let’s start just below with questions like:What experience should I have before taking this exam? What roles and job titles does Google Cloud Professional Data Engineer certification best prepare me for? Which topics do I need to brush up on before taking the exam? Where can I find resources and study guides for Google Cloud Professional Data Engineer certification? Where can I connect with fellow community members to get my questions answered? View image as a full-scale PDF here.  Looking for information about a different Google Cloud certification? Check out the directory in the Google Cloud Certifications Overview. Extra CreditGoogle Cloud’s certification page: Professional Data Engineer Example questions Exam guide Coursera: Preparing for Google Cloud Certification: Cloud Data Engineer Professional Certification Pluralsight: Preparing for the Google Cloud Professional Data Engineer Exam AwesomeGCP Associate Cloud Engineer Playlist Global Knowledge IT Skills and Salary Report 2020 Global Knowledge 2021 Top-Paying IT CertificationsHave more questions? We’re sure you do! Career growth is a hot topic within our community and we have quite a few members who meet regularly in our C2C Connect: Certifications chat. Sign up below to stay in the loop.https://community.c2cglobal.com/events/c2c-connect-google-cloud-certifications-72

Personal development and professional development are among the hottest topics within our community. At C2C, we’re passionate about helping Google Cloud users grow in their careers. This article is part of a larger collection of Google Cloud certification path resources.The Google Cloud Professional Cloud Architect is a key player on any team that wants to activate the full benefits of Google Cloud within its organization. According to Google, “this individual designs, develops, and manages robust, secure, scalable, highly available, and dynamic solutions to drive business objectives.” Candidates need to have proficient knowledge of cloud strategy, solution design, and architecture best practices before taking this exam.The Cloud Architect debuted in 2017 and quickly became the leading competitive advantage certification that cloud job-seekers can hold; for three years in a row, Global Knowledge has placed the Google Professional Cloud Architect at or near the top of its 15 top-paying IT certifications. The salary from holding this certification doesn’t exist in a bubble, however. Global Knowledge’s report includes additional analysis on its respondents, including average number of additional certifications, average age of the certification-holder, and popular cross-certifications (some of which also place high on the list). That said, we already know from the Associate Cloud Engineer overview that any Google Cloud certification is a substantial value boost in the job market.Now, for anyone who wants to break into that market, let’s get the basics out of the way. These certifications are well-compensated for a reason, so make some time to prepare and answer the following questions before sitting for this challenging exam:What experience should I have before taking this exam? What roles and job titles does Google Cloud Professional Cloud Architect certification best prepare me for? Which topics do I need to brush up on before taking the exam? Where can I find resources and study guides for Google Cloud Professional Cloud Architect certification? Where can I connect with fellow community members to get my questions answered?View image as a full-scale PDF here.  Looking for information about a different Google Cloud certification? Check out the directory in the Google Cloud Certifications Overview. Extra CreditGoogle Cloud’s certification page: Professional Cloud Architect Example questions Exam guide Coursera: Preparing for Google Cloud Certification: Cloud Architect Professional Certification Pluralsight: Google Cloud Certified Professional Cloud Architect AwesomeGCP Professional Cloud Architect Playlist Global Knowledge IT Skills and Salary Report 2020 Global Knowledge 2021 Top-Paying IT CertificationsHave more questions? We’re sure you do! Career growth is a hot topic within our community and we have quite a few members who meet regularly in our C2C Connect: Certifications chat. Sign up below to stay in the loop. 

Personal development and professional development are among the hottest topics within our community. At C2C, we’re passionate about helping Google Cloud users grow in their careers. This article is part of a larger collection of Google Cloud certification path resources.The Google Associate Cloud Engineer certification, like the Cloud Digital Leader, covers broad knowledge of everything GCP. Unlike Cloud Digital Leader, this one’s for the technical folks; going into this exam, you likely have some hands-on experience with Google Cloud Platform and possibly some other technical knowledge of cloud computing.Google describes the Associate Cloud Engineer (ACE) as someone who “deploys and secures applications and infrastructure, monitors operations of multiple projects, and maintains enterprise solutions to ensure that they meet target performance metrics.” In the market, a “Cloud Engineer” also vaguely refers to any of the roles available among the many professional-level certifications. Once you pass the ACE, there’s a good chance you’ll want to eventually pursue one of those to flaunt your area of expertise.It’s important to note, though, that Google does not impose any requirement to obtain ACE certification ahead of the professional-level options. If you already have the recommended experience and working knowledge and feel prepared to skip to the next level, by all means, go for it!If you’re new here and the ACE has caught your intrigue, let’s look at some common questions:Who is Associate Cloud Engineer certification for? What type of salary can I expect for an Associate Cloud Engineer? Which topics do I need to understand to pass the exam? Where can I find resources, study guides, and practice exams for Associate Cloud Engineer? What are some sample questions I’ll be asked on the Associate Cloud Engineer exam? Where can I connect with fellow community members to get more questions answered? View image at full scale here.  Looking for information about a different Google Cloud certification? Check out the directory in the Google Cloud Certifications Overview. Extra CreditGoogle Cloud’s certification page: Associate Cloud Engineer Example questions Exam guide Coursera: Preparing for the Google Cloud Associate Cloud Engineer Exam Pluralsight: Google Cloud Certified Associate Cloud Engineer AwesomeGCP Associate Cloud Engineer Playlist Global Knowledge IT Skills and Salary Report 2020 Have more questions? We’re sure you do! Career growth is a hot topic within our community and we have quite a few members who meet regularly in our C2C Connect: Certifications chat. Sign up below to stay in the loop.  

Personal development and professional development are among the hottest topics within our community. At C2C, we’re passionate about helping Google Cloud users grow in their careers. This article is part of a larger collection of Google Cloud certification path resources.The Google Cloud Digital Leader certification demonstrates broad conceptual knowledge of cloud computing and an understanding of how and when to choose Google Cloud products, services, and features. It’s one level below the Associate Cloud Engineer certification. While Cloud Digital Leader’s market value remains to be determined (as a fairly new release and the first of its kind), fortifying a team with cloud knowledge can only stand to benefit organizations in the times of increased cloud transformations. In the meantime, here’s what we can answer:Which role is Cloud Digital Leader best for? Which topics do I need to brush up on before taking the exam? Where can I find resources, study guides, and practice exams for Cloud Digital Leader? What are some sample questions I’ll be asked on the Cloud Digital Leader exam? Where can I connect with fellow community members to get more questions answered? View image at full scale here.  Looking for information about a different Google Cloud certification? Check out the directory in the Google Cloud Certifications Overview. Extra CreditGoogle Cloud’s certification page: Cloud Digital Leader Example questions Exam guide Coursera: Google Cloud Digital Leader Training Professional Certification Pluralsight: Google Cloud Digital Leader Training Notes from my beta Google Cloud Digital Leader certification exam Have more questions?We’re sure you do! Career growth is a hot topic within our community and we have quite a few members who meet regularly in our C2C Connect: Certifications chat. Sign up below to stay in the loop.  

Any community must support the needs and growth of its members to succeed. At C2C, we’re passionate about helping Google Cloud users grow in their careers. Becoming certified is an excellent way to enhance your career as a Google Cloud professional. Please join us for a  series of conversations breaking down different Google Cloud certification options. What are Google Cloud certifications?Google Cloud certifications prove your technical expertise in Google Cloud technology. Like any education documentation, a certification on its own won’t replace actual working experience, but it’s a reason for potential employers or clients to trust that you have the credentials to complete the tasks at hand. For example, Google Cloud Partners are expected to be certified in the area they are serving. Certifications are also seen by employers as a value-add to any potential candidates they want to hire. How do I get certified?Well, that depends on what you’re interested in! Google Cloud offers varying levels of certification across multiple career paths, and each one has its own recommended amount of experience and training. Ultimately, though, each certification requires taking the exam and walking away with that official badge.But there’s a lot to consider before jumping right in. We’ve pulled together the answers to common questions among our community of Google Cloud users, including:How does a Google Cloud certification benefit me and my career growth? Is certification worth it? What about other cloud certification options? What are Google Cloud’s certification requirements? What are the exam fees and how can I qualify for vouchers or discounts? How can I best prepare for exams and find training, study guides, and other resources? If I want to complete multiple certifications, where do I start? Once I’m certified, does my certification expire?View image as full-scale PDF here.  So which certification is best?Now that you know which certification paths exist, you’re hooked on the pursuit of shiny new tokens of your professional development! But let’s say you’re still mulling over which one will align with your career goals. Over the next few months, we’ll share some helpful information per path and link them all to the below directory.Cloud Digital Leader Associate Cloud Engineer Professional Cloud Architect Professional Cloud Developer Professional Data Engineer Professional Cloud DevOps Engineer Professional Cloud Security Engineer Professional Cloud Network Engineer Professional Collaboration Engineer Professional Machine Learning EngineerNot included in the above-mentioned levels for this infographic are the recently released certifications specific to Looker.Looker Business Analyst LookML DeveloperInterested in pursuing a certification and want to talk about it with the community? We have a *new* chat for that! Register below:   Extra CreditGoogle Cloud Certification Help Center Global Knowledge 2020 IT Skills and Salary Report

In March, we published a series of career conversations to celebrate Women’s History Month. With the gap in representation between men and women in tech, the industry still holds onto that “boys’ club” feeling, evoking imposter syndrome in women and other gender minorities.Now it’s Pride Month, and as one of 5.6% of U.S. adults who identify as LGBTQ+, I’m acutely aware of those feelings creeping into that demographic, too. While more organizations are honing in on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, safely being out in the workplace is still a challenge.Below are some significant highlights in U.S. historical workplace safety, current findings, and additional metrics within the tech industry.View image at full scale here.  Extra CreditHere’s the full list of businesses that earned a 100 percent rating on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index. Some of the ranked tech companies like Google and IBM have promoted inclusion externally and passed nondiscrimination policies for sexual orientation well ahead of the law. Pride, Pronouns, and Progress in 2021 posted by C2C member@dominikkugelmann For resources referenced in the infographic, find the full reports and articles below:Blind—The Road Ahead: LGBTQ+ Inclusivity in the Workplace Boston Consulting Group—A New LGBTQ Workforce Has Arrived—Inclusive Cultures Must Follow Gallup—LGBT Identification Rises to 5.6% in Latest U.S. Estimate Human Rights Campaign—Corporate Equality Index 2021 Stack Overflow—2020 Developer Survey

Vijeta Pai, a Google Cloud expert, and technology leader demystifies cloud using illustrations, comics, and easy-to-understand explanations. Today, we're bringing you her post about Identity Access Management (IAM). What is IAM?  Simply put, it's a framework of policies and processes defined by the Cloud Provider to make sure users have appropriate permissions to access resources, applications, and data on the Cloud. This helps not only secure the data and prevent unwanted threats but also makes sure all the users have the right amount of access to get their work done.There are three main parts to Identity Access Management (IAM) in Google Cloud Platform (GCP). They are Members, Roles, and Policies. You can read more about them on Pai's website, Cloud Demystified. Visual learner? Check out the comic  Best Practices On her blog, you'll also find some of the best practices that Google Cloud suggests for IAM, but here is a highlight.  Get Connected Keep up with her on the C2C community platform (join here!).  Extra Credit Google Cloud IAM DocumentationCloud IAM on QwiklabsIdentity and Access Management (Coursera)

Priyanka Vergadia, a developer advocate at Google, has created more than 300 videos, articles, podcasts, courses, and tutorials to help developers learn Google Cloud fundamentals, solve their challenges, and pass certifications. Or, in other words, she's your go-to Cloud Girl.Vergadia will be sharing her excellent content with the C2C community, and we're excited to embrace her creative solutions to complicated tech. Our first post from Vergadia is about where to run your systems. Have you ever wondered how a tech stack would come together? Take a look at the sketch, and feel free to share your questions on our C2C Community platform (join here) or with Vergadia on Twitter!Want to know more about who Vergadia is and why she started #GCPSketchnotes? A profile featuring Cloud Girl will be coming soon!