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AWS Certification

AWS Certification

MSRP: $449.00
$447.00
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Includes a practical, ready-to-use toolkit containing implementation templates, worksheets, checklists, and decision-support materials used to accelerate real-world application and reduce setup time.
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What does the AWS Certification course cover?

AWS Certification is covered here in 10 modules: Strategic Cloud Adoption and Business Alignment, Secure and Governed AWS Account Architecture, Identity and Access Management at Scale and 7 more. The outline lists 80 specific topics, opening with evaluate total cost of ownership (TCO) trade-offs between on-premises, hybrid, and cloud-native architectures under variable workload projections.

How do you approach AWS Certification step by step?

The work is sequenced in 10 stages. It starts with Strategic Cloud Adoption and Business Alignment, moves through Secure and Governed AWS Account Architecture and Identity and Access Management at Scale, and ends at Continuous Improvement and Cloud Maturity Assessment. Each stage carries its own topic list, so the sequence is followed rather than summarised.

What is in Module 1 of the AWS Certification course?

Module 1 is Strategic Cloud Adoption and Business Alignment. It works through evaluate total cost of ownership (TCO) trade-offs between on-premises, hybrid, and cloud-native architectures under variable workload projections., map business capabilities to AWS service categories (compute, storage, networking, security) to prioritize migration candidates based on ROI and risk., assess organizational readiness for cloud adoption across people, process, and technology dimensions, identifying.

How is the AWS Certification course delivered?

The AWS Certification course is fully self-paced with immediate online access after enrolment. Access does not expire and future updates are included at no cost. It can be taken on any device, and a certificate of completion is issued by The Art of Service when you finish.

How much does the AWS Certification course cost?

The AWS Certification course is $445 as a one time payment. There is no subscription, no per seat licence and no hidden fee. Enrolment carries a 30 day satisfied or refunded guarantee, so it can be assessed in full before you commit.

Closely related courses: AWS Solutions Architect Certification Masterclass, AWS Certified Solutions Architect Certification Path, AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional, AWS Solution Architecture.

More answers: what you get with every course, refund policy, all help answers.

This curriculum reflects the scope typically addressed across a full consulting engagement or multi-phase internal transformation initiative.

Module 1: Strategic Cloud Adoption and Business Alignment

  • Evaluate total cost of ownership (TCO) trade-offs between on-premises, hybrid, and cloud-native architectures under variable workload projections.
  • Map business capabilities to AWS service categories (compute, storage, networking, security) to prioritize migration candidates based on ROI and risk.
  • Assess organizational readiness for cloud adoption across people, process, and technology dimensions, identifying critical capability gaps.
  • Define cloud governance boundaries by aligning AWS account structures with business units, regulatory domains, and cost centers.
  • Develop cloud funding models (showback vs. chargeback) and integrate them with existing financial systems and budget cycles.
  • Identify key performance indicators (KPIs) for cloud transformation success, including time-to-market, operational efficiency, and compliance adherence.
  • Establish escalation paths and decision rights for cloud-related investments, ensuring executive sponsorship and cross-functional alignment.
  • Analyze failure modes in cloud migration programs, including scope creep, skill shortages, and misaligned incentives across IT and business units.

Module 2: Secure and Governed AWS Account Architecture

  • Design multi-account strategies using AWS Organizations to enforce isolation for production, development, and sensitive workloads.
  • Implement Service Control Policies (SCPs) to restrict region availability, service usage, and resource creation at scale across accounts.
  • Configure AWS Control Tower for standardized landing zones, balancing automation with customization for enterprise requirements.
  • Integrate identity providers via SAML or OIDC to enable centralized access management and meet least-privilege principles.
  • Define tagging standards and enforce them through automated guardrails to support cost allocation, security classification, and resource discovery.
  • Implement cross-account access patterns using IAM roles, evaluating trust boundaries and audit implications.
  • Establish centralized logging and security monitoring accounts with appropriate resource sharing and data retention policies.
  • Assess trade-offs between single-sign-on integration depth and operational complexity across hybrid identity environments.

Module 3: Identity and Access Management at Scale

  • Design IAM policies that balance granularity and maintainability, avoiding over-permissioned roles in dynamic environments.
  • Implement role-based access control (RBAC) and attribute-based access control (ABAC) models for large-scale AWS deployments.
  • Configure identity federation with enterprise directories, managing session duration, MFA enforcement, and Just-In-Time provisioning.
  • Rotate and manage long-term access keys, evaluating risks of embedded credentials in legacy applications.
  • Monitor and audit IAM activity using AWS CloudTrail, identifying anomalous behavior and privilege escalation attempts.
  • Define break-glass access procedures for emergency administrative access, including time-bound permissions and notification workflows.
  • Enforce MFA across all privileged roles and evaluate usability impacts on developer productivity and operational response times.
  • Integrate third-party identity governance tools for access certification, role mining, and compliance reporting.

Module 4: Network Design and Connectivity in Hybrid Environments

  • Design VPC architectures with public, private, and isolated subnets, aligning with application security and data residency requirements.
  • Implement AWS Transit Gateway for centralized routing across multiple VPCs and on-premises networks, evaluating scalability limits.
  • Configure site-to-site VPN and AWS Direct Connect connections, comparing cost, performance, and availability trade-offs.
  • Manage DNS resolution across hybrid environments using Route 53 and Resolver endpoints, ensuring consistency and low latency.
  • Enforce network segmentation using security groups, NACLs, and AWS Network Firewall, avoiding overly permissive rules.
  • Plan IP address allocation across regions and accounts to prevent overlap and support future growth.
  • Implement private access to AWS services using VPC endpoints, reducing exposure to public internet and improving performance.
  • Diagnose and resolve network performance bottlenecks using VPC Flow Logs, CloudWatch, and AWS Trusted Advisor.

Module 5: Resilient and Scalable Compute Strategies

  • Compare EC2 instance types, purchasing options (On-Demand, Reserved, Spot), and auto-scaling group configurations for cost-performance balance.
  • Design fault-tolerant applications across Availability Zones, evaluating RTO and RPO targets for critical systems.
  • Implement containerized workloads using Amazon ECS or EKS, assessing operational overhead versus flexibility.
  • Manage stateful workloads on EC2, including backup strategies, AMI lifecycle, and disaster recovery planning.
  • Evaluate serverless compute (Lambda) for event-driven use cases, considering cold start latency and execution duration limits.
  • Configure lifecycle hooks and health checks in auto-scaling groups to ensure safe deployments and instance replacements.
  • Monitor compute utilization and rightsize instances using AWS Compute Optimizer, balancing performance and cost.
  • Design blue/green or canary deployments using Elastic Load Balancing and AWS CodeDeploy for zero-downtime releases.

Module 6: Data Management and Storage Optimization

  • Select storage classes (S3 Standard, IA, Glacier) based on access patterns, durability requirements, and cost constraints.
  • Implement S3 bucket policies, encryption (SSE-S3, SSE-KMS), and access points to enforce data protection and sharing controls.
  • Design cross-region replication and versioning strategies for compliance, disaster recovery, and data sovereignty.
  • Optimize RDS deployments using read replicas, Multi-AZ configurations, and parameter group tuning for performance and availability.
  • Manage database licensing costs for commercial engines (SQL Server, Oracle) in AWS, evaluating Bring-Your-Own-License (BYOL) vs. license-included models.
  • Implement data lifecycle policies in S3 and EBS snapshots to automate tiering and deletion based on retention rules.
  • Use AWS DataSync and Storage Gateway for hybrid data transfer, evaluating bandwidth, latency, and consistency requirements.
  • Assess trade-offs between managed databases (RDS, DynamoDB) and self-managed instances on EC2 for control and operational burden.

Module 7: Cost Management and Financial Governance

  • Interpret AWS Cost and Usage Reports (CUR) to identify cost drivers by service, account, and resource tag.
  • Set up budget alerts and anomaly detection using AWS Cost Explorer and Cost Anomaly Detection, minimizing overspending risks.
  • Negotiate and manage Reserved Instance and Savings Plans commitments based on historical usage and forecasted demand.
  • Implement chargeback models using cost allocation tags, ensuring accuracy and stakeholder acceptance.
  • Optimize data transfer costs between regions, availability zones, and services using architectural adjustments.
  • Evaluate egress fees and their impact on multi-cloud or hybrid exit strategies, incorporating them into vendor lock-in assessments.
  • Conduct regular cost reviews with business units to align spending with value delivery and strategic priorities.
  • Identify and remediate cost overruns caused by untagged resources, orphaned volumes, or idle instances.

Module 8: Security, Compliance, and Audit Readiness

  • Implement AWS Config rules to enforce compliance with internal policies and regulatory standards (e.g., HIPAA, GDPR, PCI-DSS).
  • Use AWS Security Hub to aggregate findings from GuardDuty, Inspector, and third-party tools for centralized risk visibility.
  • Conduct evidence collection workflows for audits using automated scripts and AWS Artifact reports.
  • Design encryption strategies for data at rest and in transit, managing CMKs in AWS KMS with rotation and access policies.
  • Respond to security incidents using CloudTrail logs, VPC Flow Logs, and GuardDuty findings to trace attacker behavior.
  • Implement least-privilege access for third-party vendors and contractors using time-bound, scoped IAM roles.
  • Evaluate shared responsibility model implications for SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS services in audit planning.
  • Integrate AWS with SIEM and SOAR platforms for real-time threat detection and response orchestration.

Module 9: Operational Excellence and Incident Management

  • Define operational runbooks for common incidents (e.g., service degradation, failed deployments) using AWS Systems Manager.
  • Configure CloudWatch alarms and dashboards to monitor application health, setting appropriate thresholds and notification channels.
  • Implement structured logging with CloudWatch Logs Insights to enable rapid troubleshooting and pattern analysis.
  • Use AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store or Secrets Manager for secure configuration and credential management.
  • Automate routine operational tasks (patching, backups, restarts) using Systems Manager Automation and Maintenance Windows.
  • Conduct blameless post-mortems for production incidents, capturing action items and updating controls to prevent recurrence.
  • Design monitoring coverage for serverless and containerized workloads, addressing visibility gaps in ephemeral environments.
  • Integrate AWS operations with existing ITSM platforms (e.g., ServiceNow) for incident ticketing and change management.

Module 10: Continuous Improvement and Cloud Maturity Assessment

  • Conduct cloud maturity assessments using AWS Well-Architected Framework, prioritizing improvements across pillars.
  • Establish feedback loops between development, operations, and business teams to refine cloud usage and investment.
  • Measure technical debt in cloud infrastructure, including outdated AMIs, unpatched systems, and deprecated services.
  • Implement infrastructure as code (IaC) using AWS CloudFormation or Terraform, ensuring version control and reproducibility.
  • Manage IaC pipeline security, preventing privilege escalation and unauthorized changes in deployment workflows.
  • Evaluate new AWS services and features for potential adoption, balancing innovation with stability and support burden.
  • Develop cloud center of excellence (CCoE) operating models, defining roles, responsibilities, and decision-making processes.
  • Track cloud competency development across teams using skill matrices and hands-on validation exercises.
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