Telco cloud is a comprehensive area incorporating cloud, networking and automation. A capable telco cloud technical professional needs to have in-depth knowledge of data networking and data center interconnect technologies, be steeped in data center architecture and hardware, and be experienced in state-of-the-art cloud technologies – containers, Kubernetes, micro-services, APIs, CI/CD, public clouds etc. But wait – there’s more! This is TELCO cloud – so the technical professional needs to have in-depth knowledge in the architecture and technologies of the CSP environment and all the telecom industry standards that are related to it – 3GPP standards, ETSI standards and etc.
This translates into a set of unique challenges for employers in this industry:
- How can I gauge if a telco cloud professional candidate has the knowledge and skills to be successful at the position I am looking to fill?
- How can I validate that one of my technical employees has the required knowledge to help us succeed in these transforming environments?
- What yard sticks do I have that I can use to gauge my team’s readiness?
For Technical professionals in our vertical, the challenges are similar:
- How do I differentiate myself from “the pack”?
- How do I prove that I have the knowledge and the skills in all of the different disciplines related to telco cloud that empower me to provide the best service to the customer?
VMware now offers a solution for these challenges: The VMware telco cloud professional badges.
The VMware collection of Telco Cloud Professional Skills Badges are new certification exams for today’s modern, software-centric network world., The badges validate the knowledge, skills, and abilities to plan, deploy, and operate a complete range of VMware solutions in the highly related cloud-friendly and cloud native NFV technologies. These are commonly the skills that companies are seeking for empowering today’s software-driven advanced networks.
Three different skills badges are currently on offer:
- Telco Cloud Automation Skills Badge – Validates knowledge and skills in the ETSI-NFV-MANO area, with a focus on the unique capabilities of the VMware Telco Cloud Automation platform such as “Late Binding”.
- Telco Cloud Platform Skills Badge – Validates knowledge and skills in cloud native (CNF) telco cloud architecture and deployments.
- Telco Cloud NFV Skills Badge – Validates knowledge in Virtual machine (VNF) based telco cloud architecture and deployments. “Telco Cloud NFV” corresponds to VMware’s Telco Cloud Infrastructure (TCI) platform.
- VMware Telco Cloud Practitioner Milestone Badge – A professional level, specialization designation within the VMware Professional skills framework. Earning two VMware Telco Cloud Skill Badges within the framework such as “VMware Telco Cloud Platform Specialist” Skill Badge and the “VMware Telco Cloud NFV” Skill Badge earns industry professionals the coveted “VMware Telco Cloud practitioner” status.
The benefits of the VMware Telco Cloud Skill Badges are vast. For individuals, the program helps you showcase your VMware telco cloud and NFV skills globally as telco cloud continues as one of the hottest areas in networking technologies today. In this rapidly evolving digital, network-centric economy, the program helps you differentiate your skills from peers who do not embrace this rate of change. It’s also important to keep in mind that cloud and ETSI-NFV are skills that are in the highest demand by employers today, so the program will help to enhance your career opportunities internally and externally.
For companies, the program helps you transition your work force from legacy to leading edge – evaluate and validate that your existing SME capabilities will support the new operational models required to help you differentiate and thrive in the digital marketplace. In addition to supporting your existing teams, the program also helps to improve candidate screening and differentiation. VMware Telco Cloud Skill badge exams are technically challenging and speak volumes to the capabilities of the certified professional.
What technical professionals should certify?
Professionals involved in any or all aspects of advanced telco cloud networks and service planning, design, implementation, technical sales and operations are all candidates for VMware’s telco cloud skill badges including:
- Network Strategy Professionals
- Network Architects and Engineers
- Product Managers
- Engineering Managers
- Technical Sales and Pre-sales Engineers
- Product and Service Support Technicians
- Technical Project Managers
- Standards Specialists
- Network/System Consultants and Integrators
- Network Operations and Support Staff
- Technical Trainers
Which companies should leverage the program?
Companies that benefit by training and certifying their employees to VMware’s Telco Cloud Skill Badges include:
- Communications and cloud service providers planning telco cloud virtualized networks and services
- Large enterprises with digital transformation strategies including enterprises planning or already implementing private LTE/5G
- Technology solution providers with software-defined and virtualized capabilities
- System integrators and consultants delivering automated, virtualized, multi-vendor solutions to enterprises and service providers
How can people prepare to take the Badge exams?
VMware now offers a full curriculum of telco cloud courses that are available to customers, partners and employees. These courses are available both as instructor-led classes or as self-paced on-demand eLearning courses.
The courses are not mandatory to acquire a badge – the telco professional can “test out” of the courses if already experienced with our telco platforms.
