Which VMware certifications and tracks are right for me?

When I started working with VMware nearly 20 years ago, there was only one certification and that was the VMware Certified Professional (VCP). Moving forward, and over 25 VMware certifications to my name, the range of certification have increased massively.

The kinds of VMware certifications available today:

VMware Certified Technical Associate – VCTA

For: Operators

This entry-level technical certification is for anyone new to the industry or advancing their careers who perform operational tasks typically delegated by administrators of virtualised environments.

VMware Certified Professional – VCP

For: Administrators and Engineers

This level is designed for IT professionals who install, configure, manage and optimise VMware solutions.

We offer the following VCP certifications:

VMware Certified Advanced Professional – VCAP

For: Administrators, Architects and Engineers

The advanced-level certifications are for those who design and build VMware Solutions (VCAP Design), manage and optimise (VCAP Deployment) VMware solutions.

We offer the following VCAP certifications:

VMware Certified Design Expert – VCDX

For: Architects

The highest level of VMware certification, VCDX recognises IT professionals who design, build and manage VMware solutions and systems.

We offer the following VCDX certifications:

The areas of VMware specialisation explained:

Data Centre Virtualisation route

VMware Data Centre Virtualisation certifications are designed to gauge your level of skill designing, installing and managing VMware vSphere environments in a real-world environment.

Cloud Management & Automation route

VMware Cloud Management & Automation certifications are designed to gauge your level of skill installing, configuring and optimising VMware vRealize for your cloud solution.

Digital Workspace route

This route consists of the following:

Digital Workspace

VMware Digital Workspace certification is designed to gauge your skill configuring, deploying, managing, maintaining, optimising and troubleshooting VMware Workspace ONE and related solutions.

Desktop and Mobility

VMware Desktop and Mobility certifications are designed to gauge your level of skill designing, installing, and managing a VMware Horizon with View environment deployed on a VMware.

Network Virtualisation route

VMware Network Virtualisation certifications are designed to gauge your level of skill designing, implementing and managing a VMware NSX environment.

Security route

This certification validates a candidate's understanding of VMware's security solutions and the candidate's ability to provide entry-level support for the security features of VMware products, including NSX-T Data Centre, Workspace ONE and VMware Carbon Black Cloud.

Application Modernisation route

VMware Application Modernisation certifications are designed to gauge your level of skill validated by passing specialists exams. Whether it’s developer knowledge of specialised frameworks or administrator knowledge of emerging technologies like Kubernetes and containers, VMware can help you build an effective team with proven skills.

For more information visit the VMware Certification tracks diagram.

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Bryan O'Connor

Bryan O’Connor is a Principal Learning Specialist and looks after QA's VMware, CompTIA and Cloud Credential Council (CCC) curriculums. He delivers a wide range of courses and holds over 50 CompTIA, Microsoft, VMware and other technical certifications himself.

Bryan has worked in the IT industry since 1986 when he was a hardware engineer on Commodore Pets, then moved into networking, and later specialised in virtualisation and cloud technologies. In 1997 he started working for QA training as a Microsoft and VMware trainer.

Bryan has taught VMware Products since 1997, became a VMware vExpert in 2012 and has worked with VMware in developing their range of vSphere courses. He speaks at various technical events and owns and runs his own VMware blog at www.bryanoconnor21.co.uk.

Starting with DOS, Bryan has worked with Microsoft technologies since 1986 and taught it since 1999. He runs his own YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/bryanqa, which hosts hundreds of Microsoft demo videos.

Bryan has been a member of the Cloud Credential Council (CCC) expert panel since its inception, has co-written white papers and has also been a member of the CCC talks sessions.

Outside of QA, Bryan enjoys spending time with his wife Tracey and their two daughters Meagan and Jessica, unless there’s a Grand Prix on the TV, when he enjoys paying Tracey, Meagan and Jessica to disappear for the day.