Certification Survey Extra is a series of periodic dispatches that give added insight into the findings of our most recent Certification Survey. These posts contain previously unpublished Certification Survey data.

The rapid expansion and widespread adoption of cloud computing technology over the past decade is almost the entire story of cloud computing so far. In 2019, for example, Amazon Web Services generated $35 billion in revenue. In 2009, when the entirety of Amazon generated $24.5 billion in revenue, AWS was three years old and still cruising toward the $500 million mark in total revenue since inception.

Put succinctly, a lot has happened for the cloud computing industry over the past 10 years. And yet, notwithstanding that astounding leap forward, the next 10 years could see even more growth and development. Demand for cloud computing services is still picking up speed, and cloud technology already serves a much greater diversity of applications than it did 10 years ago, when it was still mostly seen as the silver bullet solution to the world's data storage problems.

A key factor in the continued explosion of cloud computing technology is the adaptability of the technology itself. As cloud computing makes everything else better, what will be done to make cloud computing better? What new methods will be found to help extend, adapt, and upgrade the tools and processes that we already have in place?

One promising recent step in that direction is the development and deployment of distributed cloud technology. We covered this still-new arrival to the cloud computing scene in an article for the October issue of Certification Magazine. In a nutshell, distributed cloud takes massive cloud data centers and breaks them into smaller units that are then moved closer to the point of service.

There are a number of benefits, as described in the article linked above. Many observers think distributed cloud technology is the next big springboard that will keep the cloud computing revolution in motion and expanding at its present breathless pace. Since we recently had a body of certified cloud technologists complete a survey for us, we decided to find out what they think.

Here's what we learned:

Q: How important to the continued growth and sustainability of cloud computing is distributed cloud technology?

Very Important — 55.6 percent
Important — 38.9 percent
Somewhat Important — 5.5 percent
Not important — [No responses]

The gist, clearly, is that distributed cloud technology indeed has an important role to ply. An overwhelming 94 percent of those surveyed say it's either very important (55.6 percent) or important (38.9 percent), with just 5.5 percent deeming it only somewhat important. No one at all felt moved to opine that it's not important.

If you have certified cloud skills or work in the cloud technology industry, then it's a good bet that knowledge of distributed cloud computing will give your career a boost.