Prepare for cloud

[gwn]

I am a Jira, JSM, and Confluence administrator, as well as a system administrator on Data Center. We might be moving to the Cloud, and I want to prepare myself.

I will continue in the same role on Cloud, so what should I focus on learning and getting familiar with?

I’m also interested in certifications—where should I start? Do anyone have any tips for me?

[Valerie Knapp]

Hi @gwn , thanks for your post.

I would say generally, between Cloud and Data Center, they are the same tools of Confluence and Jira. If you have experience with them, it's not like going into the cloud, you will have no idea what is going on.

Do you currently have any certifications? 

When I first started doing certifications, I began with the Jira Project Administrator. However, this was in 2021, before the Associate certifications existed, so it also depends a bit on you.

Are you someone who has recently studied for a certification or exam (ITIL)? Are you happy / do you have time to study each day for a sustained period of time to prepare yourself?

If you are just starting out, I would say you could have a look at the Associate pathways. The exams are cheaper. The courses are newer and so they are better (in my opinion) structured and the practice exam questions are more closely aligned to the exam.

However, it also depends, for example, if your employer is willing to pay for the exam and some of your preparation time, you might want to go straight for an ACP, or the Certified Professional.

I would say the most different thing in the cloud is how the organization is managed, so this might be a good course to start with - https://community.atlassian.com/learning/landing/certification-detail/atlassian-cloud-organization-admin . I also thought the course was well structured and I didn't have to study for as long or as much to pass the exam. (I prepared for about a month after having used extensively the admin.atlassian.com site)

If you want to check out the Associate courses, they are here - https://community.atlassian.com/learning/certifications . 

Have a look, have a think and write us here if you have other questions.

Cheers and best of luck!