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CompTIA and ITpreneurs, two of the leading organisations for examining and improving IT best practices, have announced today that they are collaborating on a new cloud computing skills credential.

Between them the two organisations will create the ‘CompTIA Cloud Essentials’ exam which will be introduced in December of this year. The exam will offer certification to validate knowledge about the cloud, an appreciation of the business benefits it can offer and an understanding of the processes and barriers involved in migrating to the cloud.

The exam will be focused at both those who are currently utilising the cloud, or looking to do so in the near future, as well as those providing cloud services. The content of the cloud examination is based on the recommendations and insights of leading cloud computing experts from the likes of Amazon, Cisco, Citrix, EMC, Google, HP, IBM, Microsoft, Rackspace and VMware.

With cloud computing such a rapidly expanding and developing part of IT, credentials – for both users and suppliers – are struggling to catch up. This initiative from CompTIA, a provider of vendor-neutral skills certifications, and ITpreneurs, a provider of competence development solutions for IT best practices, is aiming to address this.

Terry Erdle, executive vice president of skills development at CompTIA, said: “The value and benefits of cloud computing are quickly becoming apparent to organisations of every shape and size, from the largest enterprise to the smallest business.

“But there is no one-size-fits-all blueprint for moving to the cloud. It requires thoughtful evaluation, comprehensive planning and technical savvy – exactly the types of skills that CompTIA Cloud Essentials will validate.”

Sukhbir Jasuja, CEO of ITpreneurs, added: “This credential demonstrates IT professionals’ understanding of the key concepts, themes and issues around cloud computing, including definitions, organizational readiness, operating in the cloud and governance and security of the cloud model.

“It is also driving agreements around definitions of key concepts across major vendors, and encouraging the whole industry to cooperate with each other through the Cloud Credential Council as the preferred forum.”