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Data center certifications target newcomers, experts, and sustainability pros

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As data centers evolve from traditional compute and storage facilities into AI powerhouses, the demand for qualified professionals continues to grow exponentially and salaries are high. According to a recent InformaTech survey, 77% of data center professionals say they saw salary increases last year, with a median compensation now at $130,000.

But it’s not all smooth sailing. Data center managers are now expected to supervise three more people than they did the previous year, and technical employees are being asked to take on non-technical responsibilities in areas such as marketing, finance, and sustainability.

On the infrastructure side, things are changing quickly as well, driven by the explosion of enterprise interest in artificial intelligence and increasing cybersecurity concerns. The rise of AI, in particular, is dramatically reshaping the technology industry, and data centers are at the epicenter of the changes.

“AI is a transformative technology that requires a lot of power, dense computing, and fast networks,” says Robert Beveridge, professor and technical manager at Carnegie Mellon University’s AI Engineering Center. “And they’re very resource-intensive—AI is poised to grow power demand.”

Why pursue certifications?

Certifications can help individuals in their careers and help organizations find talented staff.

“Individuals want to seek out certifications for their own knowledge, skills, and competencies,” says Matt Hawkins, director of Uptime Education at the Uptime Institute, “and for their current job or career aspiration and career advancements.”

Many certifications come with a continuing education requirement, meaning that the certificate holders are expected to stay abreast of major developments. Uptime Education, for example, has a recertification program every three years.

For organizations, certifications provide multiple benefits beyond skills verification. They also serve as tools for risk management, staff retention, and professional development.

“How do we find new staff and bring in new talent?” asks Hawkins. “How do we make sure we’re retaining the individuals we already have? One way to do that is investing in the individual, helping them grow in their roles and careers, and the certification is a way of doing that from an organizational perspective.”

According to the 2023-2024 Skillsoft survey of over 5,000 IT decision-makers and professionals, 96% of respondents think that certificates have measurable monetary value—and 48% say that certified employees have an additional value of $20,000 or more.

“These certifications, generally speaking, they’re good for industry, good for learning specific domain knowledge,” says Carnegie Mellon’s Beveridge. “They’re great for professional credits for industry recognition and credibility. Having some industry certifications throughout my career, I’ve found that they’ve been very helpful in helping me craft my trade in network engineering.”

Certificates are also generally associated with salary increases.

According to Foote Partners’ third quarter skills and certifications report, the average market value for 632 IT certifications increased nearly 1% in the second quarter of 2024 following a 1.3% decline in Q1—a more than 2 percentage point swing in the first half of 2024. This is the highest positive reversal swing over two consecutive calendar quarters since 2006.

However, when it comes to data center-specific certifications, the sector is at such a major transition point right now, that companies are holding off on paying premiums for certifications, says David Foote, chief analyst at Foote Partners.

“Significant changes in the data center landscape are impacting pay for related tech talent,” he says. “As far as data center certifications go, cash pay premiums employers are willing to pay for data center certifications has stagnated in 2024 and worse: half of the twelve in our report have recorded market value declines of 14% to 25% in the same period.”

“Transitional markets are very confusing when it comes to tech workforce management,” he adds. With AI, for example, companies know they have to invest in it, they want to invest in it, but they might not yet know, exactly, what direction they’re going to take.

“Right now, it’s a process,” he says. “It’s not showing up in the tech workforce in terms of compensation, but it probably will over the next six to 12 months.”

Once companies decide on a path to follow and start looking to hire or promote qualified individuals, data center certifications will start to gain value again—and that means that now is a good time for professionals to get training.

Entry-level data center certifications

For those beginning their data center careers, several certification paths provide foundational knowledge and skills validation. Uptime Institute, for example, offers a variety of data center certifications, including one covering the very basics.

“They’re great because they’re taking you through the awareness of what is a data center, what they do, why they’re run the way they are,” says Uptime Institute’s Hawkins. “It gives you that awareness into the industry.”

Uptime Institute Data Center Fundamentals

Uptime Institute’s Data Center Fundamentals (DCF) is a one-day program that provides an overview of what data centers are and what they do. It leads to a CNET certificate and the right to use the official Data Center Fundamentals Digital Badge. It’s a good choice for technology professionals who are new to the data center sector. (You can read more about Uptime Institute’s data center-related certificate programs.)

IDCA Data Center Infrastructure Specialist

Data Center Infrastructure Specialist (DCIS) from IDCA is a two-day program that provides an understanding of the data center industry’s current, and future state, latest trends, and best practices.

CompTIA Server+

CompTIA’s vendor-neutral Server+ certification provides a solid foundation in server technology and data center operations. The certification covers essential skills needed for data center technicians, server administrators, and support engineers.

Schneider Electric Data Center Certified Associate (DCCA)

This foundational program focuses on physical infrastructure components critical to data center operations. It provides comprehensive coverage of facility management basics and infrastructure systems.

Certified Network Cable Installer (CNCI)

The CNCI certification provides essential knowledge for those working with network cabling infrastructure in data centers. It covers both copper and fiber optic cabling systems.

Professional-level data center certifications

For experienced IT professionals, mid-level certifications validate advanced skills and can serve as stepping stones to senior technical roles—or as transitions to adjacent career tracks. These certifications typically require at least a couple of years of hands-on experience and test both theoretical knowledge and practical implementation skills.

Certifications can help professionals start to move up the management ladder. A mid-career professional can also use these certifications to get ahead of new trends in the industry.

“We often get data center managers who want to get a better understanding of how to get better energy reduction for the facility they manage,” says Uptime Institute’s Hawkins.

Uptime Institute Certified Data Center Technician Professional (CDCTP)

Uptime Institute Certified Data Center Management Professional (CDCMP)

According to Foote Partners, Uptime’s Certified Data Center Management Professional is the highest-value data center certification they track, with a median premium of 7% over base salary.

Cisco CCNP Data Center

The CCNP Data Center certification from Cisco validates advanced skills in working with complex data center solutions, covering the entire network lifecycle from design to optimization.

VMware Data Center Virtualization (VCP-DCV)

The VCP-DCV certification focuses on designing and implementing complex data center virtualization solutions. According to Foote Partners, this certification gained 25% in value over the past twelve months and is worth a premium of 5% over base salary.

Certified Data Centre Professional (CDCP)

The comprehensive CDCP certification from EPI covers all aspects of data center operations and infrastructure management, focusing on both theory and practical applications.

Expert-level data center certifications

These advanced certifications validate the highest levels of data center expertise and typically require extensive experience along with rigorous testing.

Cisco CCIE Data Center

One of the most prestigious and challenging certifications in the industry, CCIE Data Center demonstrates expert-level skills in complex data center solutions. (You can see the full list of specialist Cisco data center certifications here.)

Certified Data Centre Expert (CDCE)

The highest level of data center certification from EPI is CDCE, focusing on advanced design principles and strategic planning.

Energy and sustainability certifications

The drive toward sustainable data center operations has moved from a noble goal to a business imperative.

According to a Deloitte survey of more than 2,100 global executives, 85% of companies are prioritizing and increasing sustainability investments this year, up from 75% in 2023.

For data centers in particular, there are new energy efficiency regulations and mandates in multiple jurisdictions, most importantly Europe’s Energy Efficiency Directive, which went into effect in May of this year. That directive requires owners and operators of data centers with 500 kilowatts or more of installed IT capacity to report statistics about installed power, incoming and outgoing data traffic, total data stored and processed, energy consumption, power usage, temperature set points, waste heat utilization, and use of renewable energy.

According to a report from Goldman Sachs, global data center power demand will grow 160% by 2030. Currently, data centers worldwide consume 1 to 2% of overall power, but this percentage is expected to rise to 3 to 4% by the end of the decade.

“Sustainability is a big, big topic in the industry—everyone is talking about it and trying to understand it,” says Uptime’s Hawkins. “A lot of organizations don’t fully understand what it means and how they’re going to report on it. These are metrics they may have never put together before.”

Enterprise sustainability initiatives and regulatory pressures are converging with rising energy costs and the massive power demands of AI workloads to make energy and sustainability certifications some of the fastest-growing credentials in the industry.

Uptime Institute Certified Data Center Energy Professional (CDCEP)

The CDCEP program focuses specifically on energy efficiency and management in data center operations.

Schneider Electric Professional Energy Manager (PEM)

Developed in partnership with the Institute of Energy Professionals, the PEM certification validates comprehensive energy management expertise.

Design and architecture certifications

These certifications focus on the planning and design aspects of data center infrastructure, crucial for new builds and modernization projects.

BICSI Data Center Design Consultant (DCDC)

This certification validates expertise in data center design principles and best practices.

Certified Data Centre Design Professional (CDCDP)

The CDCDP certification covers key elements associated with designing a data center, including best practice principles for the design, construction, and operation of computer rooms and data center operational support facilities. The program also addresses the importance of accurate interpretation of detailed customer requirements at the planning stage.

The path forward

There are many factors to consider when choosing a certification. “It depends on the employer. It depends on the technology you’re working with. It depends on the industry, the job, the domain,” says Carnegie Mellon’s Beveridge.

From a hiring perspective, motivation matters as much as the certification itself, he says. “Hiring managers look for not just the certification but the motivation behind it,” he says. “Some people get the certification to keep up with the industry. Some to say that they want to pursue some other domain even if their current job doesn’t require it. From a hiring manager perspective, I find that extremely valuable. It tells me that the employee takes initiative, that they want to learn.”

Certifications can be particularly valuable for career transitions. “It gives them an idea of what that job entails,” says Beveridge. “I’ve had employees who were network people but wanted to shift into, say, firewalls, for example. And they went out and got the certification and said this is interesting, I like it, I want to pursue those skill sets. And it gives them experience and a chance to get their hands on the technology at a relatively low cost.”

Source:: Network World

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