Certifications · 02 of 3
Levels & Validity
What the levels mean on each cloud, and how long certifications last.
AWS · 3 yrsMicrosoft · 1 yrAlibaba · 2 yrsCKA · 2 yrsTerraform · 2 yrsEarned, not active
01
The Certification Ladder
Every vendor names its levels differently; this is how they line up.
- 01SpecialtyDeep in one domain an engagement depends on.AWS SecurityAWS Data AnalyticsAlibaba DevOps
- 02Professional / ExpertArchitecture trade-offs across many services: the decisions made in an assessment.AWS ProfessionalAzure ExpertGoogle Cloud ProfessionalHuawei HCCDPAlibaba ACPCKS
- 03AssociateBuilding and running in one area.AWS AssociateAZ-104Google ACEHuawei HCCDAAlibaba ACACKACKAD
- 04EntryFoundations of one cloud.AWS Cloud PractitionerAZ-900KCNA
Azure Expert needs an Associate first; AWS Professional assumes it
02
What the Levels Mean, Vendor by Vendor
| Vendor | Entry | Associate | Professional / Expert | Specialty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 AWS | Cloud Practitioner | Solutions Architect, Developer, SysOps | Solutions Architect, DevOps Engineer | Security, Data Analytics and others |
 Microsoft Azure | AZ-900 | Administrator (AZ-104), Developer | Solutions Architect (AZ-305), DevOps (AZ-400) | Specialty certifications |
 Google Cloud | Foundational | Associate Cloud Engineer | Cloud Architect, ML Engineer, Cloud DevOps | — |
 Huawei Cloud | — | HCCDA | HCCDP (professional), HCCDE (expert) | — |
 Alibaba Cloud | Foundation courses | ACA | ACP (professional), ACE (expert) | DevOps, Innovative Computing and others |
 CNCF / Linux Foundation | KCNA | CKA, CKAD (hands-on) | CKS (requires CKA) | — |
03
How Long Certifications Last
Why this page says 'earned' rather than 'active'.
| Certification | Valid for | What it means for the counts |
|---|---|---|
| AWS | 3 years | Earned in 2024: valid into 2027, unless lapsed |
| Microsoft role-based | 1 year, renewed online | Valid only while renewed each year |
| Alibaba Cloud | 2 years | Most 2024 certificates came up for renewal in 2026 |
 CKA | 2 years from April 2024 (3 before) | Earlier passes lapse sooner |
 HashiCorp Terraform Associate | 2 years | 2023–2024 passes need renewal to count as current |
Earned, Not Active
Counts are certifications earned as of the register date. Proposed engineers' certifications are checked against the register in each proposal.
SourcesFPT Software Hanoi certification register (Nov 2024)FPT Software Hanoi certificate summary (Dec 2025)FPT Software Hanoi certification register (Aug 2026)NGT certification snapshots (Jan 2024 – Sep 2024)AWS, Microsoft, Google Cloud, Huawei Cloud, Alibaba Cloud and CNCF certification programme pages