Ah, can you smell that? A brand new year of Azure and cloud computing. Fantastic.
I'm Lars Klint, and this is the re-energized, re-invigorated, re-scripted, re-formatted,
re-spected, but definitely not recycled, show all about Azure. Now in this first episode
of the year, our fifth season, I'm going to provide some predictions for Azure in 2022,
as well as a few tips on how to get the most out of Azure as well.
Where's cloud going? What is happening to certifications? And where do you start out
in the new year on your cloud journey? I'm trying to answer all of that starting now.
Quiz time. How many new Azure certifications were released in 2021? Nope. Nope. Keep guessing. Nope.
It was five. Yes five. AZ-305, 600, 700, 800 and 801, and DP-420. Is that right? Yeah, pretty sure.
Anyway, my point is that that was a lot, and they were large exams too. And as a training company at
ACG, we endeavor to create the best courses for each certification, but it's tough to keep up.
I digress. Anyway, in 2022 I expect we'll get a couple of more niche certifications, just like
DP-420 for Cosmos DB. Perhaps a DP-410 for Log Analytics? Hmm. The major certs such as AZ-104,
204, 305 have already been revised several times. So I don't think that'll happen again in 2022.
I would guess we get more certifications designed for data scientists, and in the hybrids space.
With the introduction of AZ-800 and 801 Windows Server hybrid exams, I reckon more niche topics
around Azure Active Directory, synchronization of data and other hybrid areas will be looked at
too. Overall the changes and additions for 2022 won't be as serious and heavy
as 2021, as the major topics in Azure are covered. I'm sure Azure will throw
as a curveball somewhere though. What do you think? Let me know in the comments.
Is 2022 the year of picking up cloud computing knowledge, check out ACG’s free plan. It gives
you access to free courses and quizzes, plus learning paths and original series content.
The entire month of January the full courses Introduction to Azure Virtual Desktop and
Introduction to Networking on Azure are free as well as a bunch of other content.
And you don’t need a credit card to sign up. I’ll include links in the description below.
Cloud computing is not a new concept. Azure was launched more than a decade ago and many
services have come and gone in that time. Anyone remember the web role and the worker role? Or the
Sharepoint VMs that you could provision? Whoever used the...what? Oh. Or what about the blockchain
studio? Azure has gone through many iterations to where it is today and that's key. Azure has
matured immensely as a cloud platform to the point where millions of websites are hosted on it,
millions of applications use it every day, and there are thousands of companies using it as well.
Now, my point is with mentioning all of this, that Azure isn't going to change radically
tomorrow. For 2022 I don't think we'll see a bunch of new, amazing Azure services because developers,
system administrators and businesses already have most, if not all, of what they need.
Instead, existing services will mature, features will be added, bugs will be fixed and reliability
will increase. Of course, Azure marketing needs something to send out so you will still see the
glorious nuggets of spin. Who can forget classics such as "The power of extracting and leveraging
data collected from space can transform entire industries and create new paradigms."
However, the platform will change very little and you can breathe easily knowing the buttons
and features will move around less. New improvements of existing features and
support for more third party integrations will most likely be apart of 2022, too.
Anything that can make you more productive, and of course use more Azure services and
features, are on the cards as is many new versions of VMs that are specialized in various areas,
such as: machine learning, data processing, storage, 3D processing, and more. In other words,
don't expect the next Cosmos DB or Azure SQL to come along,
but instead enjoy the many small improvements to keep Azure current, stable and cost effective.
With all that in mind, the maturity and the search coming, how do you get either into cloud or get
the most out of it in 2022? The best time to get started with cloud computing is always right now.
In the past, it has changed more often than it will now. And there are now many more jobs and
opportunities in Azure. The growth is immense still, and the vast majorities of companies are
looking at either getting into cloud or expanding their use of it. Throughout 2021 the team
here at ACG have been creating content to help you on your cloud journey. Certification
guides for Azure and other cloud platforms, series on which cloud role is best for you,
livestreams to answer your questions, office hours for informal conversations on Discord,
and so much more. We genuinely want you to succeed in the cloud using the learning tools that are
right for you. So, in 2022 we'll continue to create content for you in a way that makes
you a Guru too. And let me know what you would like to see more of, and if there's
something specific that we can do to help you on your journey. No more for this first episode
of the year. There's a lot to look forward to including some different phases on this show,
and perhaps a new take on what weekly shows of clouds could be. Let's see what we can come up
with. Hmm. Also check out some of the many other free original series we have on the ACG platform,
such as Cloud Provider Comparisons, certification guides, and Programming Languages of the Cloud.
There's much learning to be done. I'll see you in the cloud. Keep being awesome Cloud Gurus.