CompTIA to offer advanced cloud networking certification

A new series of advanced certifications from CompTIA aims to validate IT pros who have multiple years of work experience and expert-level skills in data, cybersecurity, and cloud networking.

“Each certification exam will validate deep expertise in job roles recognized as being at the expert level,” said Thomas Reilly, chief product officer at CompTIA, in a statement. “Beyond validating technical skills, IT pros who earn a CompTIA Xpert Series certification will have demonstrated their ability to understand, implement, and articulate advanced technology solutions in any business environment.”

Among the new CompTIA Xpert Series certifications is CloudNetX, which is intended for advanced network and systems architects who design and manage complex, hybrid IT infrastructures.

CloudNetX will cover critical advanced infrastructure skills that employers are demanding, including hybrid architecture solutions (on premises and cloud), automation and AI, data management and security, relevance of DevOps processes, and newer technologies such as mesh capabilities and zero-trust architecture for building modern solutions, according to CompTIA. 

The CloudNetX certification, currently under development and expected to be released in Q4 2024, will cover the job skills of IT pros working with secure, scalable networking technologies in a complex hybrid enterprise environment, according to Patrick Lane, director of product management at CompTIA. The certification will focus on network architecture, design, engineering, and integration.

For the year ending June 2023, there were more than 170,000 U.S. job openings for network architect, network engineer, enterprise architect, cloud architect, and systems architect, Lane says.

“CompTIA CloudNetX is designed to meet employer needs for qualified candidates to fill job roles,” Lane says. “Good candidates would be IT professionals with multiple years of IT work experience (5+ years) in network architecture and engineering. When it comes to proving their expertise, they can walk the walk and talk the talk and provide their worth in interviews by talking specifics with other IT professionals.”

As technologies evolve, IT professionals must keep pace with those advancements and be able to show they have experience with the technology in today’s competitive job market. With the CloudNetX certification, CompTIA is also accounting for the popularity of generative AI and other automation technologies.

“Automation is no longer a nice to have but a requirement of network architecture solutions and will be covered in CloudNetX,” Lane says. “The tech industry is constantly changing, and as an expert in the field, they need to stay on top of emerging tech so that they understand how their business might benefit or otherwise be impacted.”

One IT professional who sees the value in CompTIA’s new offerings is Riaz Khimji, who heads the IT Support Staff Services and Business Relationship Management Collegiate IT at the University of Oxford.

“Ongoing career professional development by gaining new skills and experiences is vital to anyone working in IT,” Khimji said in a statement. “Individuals can be even more successful in their current role and gain further knowledge in other areas of interest as they progress in their careers. Certifications such as those offered by CompTIA allow them to validate their newly acquired skills.”

Two additional expert-level certifications will be part of the CompTIA XPert Series debut:

• CompTIA DataCX, an advanced-level data science credential.
• CompTIA SecurityX, the next iteration of the current CompTIA Advanced Security Practitioner (CASP+), aimed at security architects, senior security engineers, and others responsible for an organization’s cybersecurity readiness.

The CompTIA Xpert Series certifications are scheduled for release throughout 2024.