News
        
        Amazon Web Services Adds Two New Specialty Certifications
        It also updated its certification portal.
        
        
        
For those seeking to separate themselves from the rest of the IT crowd with certifications, Amazon has just added several new options.
In addition, it has made all its Amazon Web Services (AWS) certification information more easily-accessible via a new portal.
The new AWS Training and Certification Portal lets users manage their AWS training, exam registrations and certifications from a single location.
"Previously, you had to rely on multiple websites to find and manage   training and certification offerings," wrote AWS evangelist Jeff Barr in a blog post announcing the new portal.  "Now you have a central place where   you can find and enroll in AWS Training, register for AWS Certification   exams, track your learning progress, and access benefits based on the   AWS Certifications you have achieved."
More recently, AWS has boosted the number of specialty certifications available to users by two, with the addition of the Advanced Networking and Big Data exams.
AWS has three certification levels -- Associate, Specialty and Professional. The two new exams are Specialty exams, meaning they require test takers to already have an Associate certification and at least five years of hands-on experience in the relevant topic area. 
Information on the Advanced Networking specialty exam, including requirements and test format,  is available here, and on the Big Data specialty exam here. Both exams come with a $300 registration fee.
AWS also announced the launch of a new benefits program for its certified professionals. 
"Designed to help showcase your achievement and further advance your AWS expertise, tiered AWS Certification Benefits include newly designed AWS Certified logos and certificates, digital   badges, free practice exams, branded merchandise, transcript sharing,   and more," Barr said in  a blog post. "Benefits are accessed based on the AWS Certifications you have   achieved. The more exams you successfully complete, the more benefits   you will receive."