As organizations, applications, and users alike continue their journey toward the cloud, the demand for cybersecurity professionals with experience in cloud security increases. The knowledge and skills gap are the biggest concerns for all cloud-first organizations. According to the 2022 Cloud Security Report , lack of qualified staff is ranked as the biggest operational security headache trying to protect cloud workloads, while lack of qualified staff and knowledge was also echoed as the most challenging aspect of cloud compliance.

Vendor certifications offer technical expertise

The tech giants like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, have listened to these concerns and invested an enormous amount to develop and promote their vendor certification programs for a good reason – the shared responsibility model of cloud security assigns some level of responsibility to the cloud customer. Cloud vendors want to enforce security professionals like you with the required technical expertise to securely configure and protect data and workloads in the cloud.

Having the expertise to securely configure and manage a cloud environment is beneficial not only for the security expert, but above all for the organization they work for. Business resilience, customer trust, regulatory compliance, and competitive advantage in a digital market are only some of the business benefits of hiring a technical expert in cloud security.

There’s more than vendor certifications

However, your journey in the cloud security industry does not end here – and should not stop at obtaining a vendor certification. As businesses leverage the benefits of multiple cloud platforms, there is an increasing demand for managing not only one, but many environments. According to the 2022 Cloud Security Report , organizations rely on multi-cloud solutions with 76% of respondents using two or more cloud providers, compared to just 62% from the previous year.

Now is the time to make the decision and expand your learning to understand not just how to technically use one cloud provider’s system but how to secure the cloud irrespective of which vendor your organization uses. Here comes the power of vendor-neutral certifications, such as Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP), offered by (ISC)².

“For a vendor-neutral approach to Cloud Security, the (ISC)² Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP) certification is the best to consider. It covers a variety of Cloud security topics including Cloud Application Security, Cloud Platform Security and more, in an environment that would arm you well to work for any Cloud vendor,” notes Stanton house in their report CYBERSECURITY: US Salary & Recruiting Trends Guide 2022 .

Why should you choose CCSP?

There are many good reasons why you should choose CCSP to level up your cloud security expertise and become a well-rounded professional. Here are two really important ones:

Popularity of cloud security skills: The (ISC)² 2021 Cybersecurity Workforce Study revealed that cloud computing security is the top priority for cybersecurity professionals’ skills development in the next two years. This reflects a recognition that cloud-based environments are lucrative targets for cybercriminals.

Popularity of the CCSP: For 6 years, the CCSP has been ranked as “the next big thing ” in Certification Magazine’s annual salary issue. In fact, it has been the fastest growing certification in (ISC)² history, with record growth from 1,000 certified up to 5,000 certified professionals.

What are the benefits of CCSP?

Vendor-neutral CCSP certification builds the end-to-end foundational knowledge that extends your technical skills and allows you to apply your security expertise to any cloud environment. It shows you have the advanced knowledge and skills to manage and secure data, applications, and infrastructure in the cloud. CCSP positions you as an authority in cloud security, being highly proficient in staying on top of the latest technologies, developments, and threats.

The (ISC)² CCSP certification comes with many benefits, including:

• Instant credibility and differentiation: You will be positioned as an authority figure on cloud security, proving proficiency to keep up with new technologies, developments, and threats. The certification conveys knowledge and inspires trust.
• Unique recognition: CCSP is one of the most well-known and established cloud security certifications and is regarded as the highest standard for cloud security expertise. It is vendor-neutral, accredited and requires both practical knowledge and professional experience to earn.
• Strengthen knowledge and skills: Earning the certificate proves that you possess the advanced knowledge and skills to stay ahead of cloud security best practices, evolving technologies and mitigation strategies.
• Versatility: Vendor-neutral and multivendor knowledge can be applied across a variety of cloud platforms, increasing marketability, and ensuring ability to protect sensitive data in a global environment.
• Career advancement: CCSP helps practitioners expand into cloud services and opens up new opportunities to be hired by any business. In addition, the certification helps Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) develop professionally and move into more strategic roles.
• Increased compensation: According to Certification Salary Survey 75 list, CCSPs reported an average annual salary of USD $133,740 in the U.S., and USD $116,920 worldwide.
• Up-to-date knowledge: Certification holders commit to maintain their credential by regularly completing CPE activities that keep skills sharp and knowledge fresh. (ISC)² offers an extensive range of Immersive, Express and Lab courses through the Professional Development Institute to provide great learning opportunities and the ability to earn valuable CPE credits at no additional cost to members.

Want to learn more?

Take the next step toward cloud security certification with The Ultimate Guide to the CCSP . It covers everything to know about the world’s leading cloud security credential. Find out how CCSP and (ISC)² can help you discover your certification path, create your plan, and rise to the top in cloud security.