Help desk, endpoint, hardware and enterprise infrastructure operations credentials.
Operations certifications are the usual entry point into the industry. They cover hardware, operating systems, mobile devices, printers, troubleshooting methodology and the customer-facing side of support work.
Higher tiers move into server hardware, virtualisation, directory services, endpoint management and the hybrid identity that ties on-premises estates to cloud tenants.
The hardware half of A+: mobile devices, networking, hardware components, virtualisation and cloud basics, and a heavy emphasis on structured troubleshooting.
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35 exams
34 with practice · 1 guide only
The core Azure operations exam: identity and governance, storage, compute, virtual networking, and the monitoring and backup that keeps a subscription healthy.
The single exam behind CCNA: IP addressing and routing, switching and wireless access, IP services, security fundamentals, and an introduction to network automation.
The hardware half of A+: mobile devices, networking, hardware components, virtualisation and cloud basics, and a heavy emphasis on structured troubleshooting.
The software half of A+: operating system installation and configuration, security practices, software troubleshooting, and the operational procedures a technician follows.
Vendor-neutral networking: concepts and models, implementation of switching, routing and wireless, day-to-day operations, network security, and systematic troubleshooting.
The operations-focused associate exam: monitoring and remediation, reliability, provisioning automation, networking and cost control for running AWS workloads day to day.
Identity administration in Microsoft Entra: managing identities, designing authentication and conditional access, integrating applications, and running identity governance.
What Microsoft 365 includes and how it is sold: the productivity and collaboration workloads, the security and compliance story, and the licensing and support model.
The gateway ServiceNow credential: platform navigation and configuration, user and data administration, self-service and process automation, and the core of platform maintenance.
The flagship vSphere professional exam: installing and configuring vSphere 8, managing clusters and resources, storage and networking, lifecycle management and troubleshooting.
The successor to SOA-C02: operating workloads on AWS — monitoring and observability, reliability and continuity, deployment and automation, security and compliance, then networking and cost.
Running a Microsoft 365 tenant end to end: deployment and management, Entra identity and access, threat protection with Defender XDR, and compliance with Purview.
Managing the Windows endpoint estate with Intune: deployment and provisioning, identity and compliance, device protection and maintenance, and application delivery.
Implementing ITSM on ServiceNow: incident, problem, change and request processes, the configuration management database, service level management, and implementation methodology.
The first half of the Windows Server hybrid track: Active Directory in on-premises and cloud environments, hybrid server management, virtual machines, networking and file services.
Vendor-neutral Linux administration: system management and configuration, security hardening, scripting and container basics, and troubleshooting a running system.
The advanced half of the Windows Server hybrid track: hardening servers, clustering and high availability, disaster recovery, migration and troubleshooting.
A practitioner-level credential for hands-on security roles: access controls, risk monitoring, incident response, cryptography, network security and systems and application security.
The first Oracle DBA exam: database architecture, instance and storage management, user and privilege administration, and the everyday tasks of running an Oracle instance.
The ACI concentration for CCNP Data Center: fabric discovery and topology, tenant policy with EPGs and contracts, external connectivity, and integration and management of the fabric.
A pre-career introduction to IT: computing terminology, infrastructure basics, applications and software, simple programming concepts, databases and security hygiene.
Voice and meetings in Microsoft Teams: planning collaboration communications, configuring Teams Phone and calling plans, running meetings and town halls, and managing Teams Rooms and devices.
Data centre design for CCNP Data Center: network and compute topologies, storage networking, and automation and management design choices.
Administering Google Workspace at associate level: user and resource lifecycle, service configuration, endpoint and data protection, and day-to-day operational support.
Implementing Discovery within IT Operations Management: MID Server architecture, discovery schedules and patterns, CMDB population and reconciliation, and troubleshooting discovery runs.
Advanced call control for CCNP Collaboration: signalling and media, dial plans across clusters, CUBE and SIP trunking, mobility features and call recovery.
Collaboration edge and cloud for CCNP Collaboration: Expressway configuration, mobile and remote access, business-to-business calling, and Webex hybrid services.
Implementing ServiceNow Risk and Compliance: policy and control frameworks, risk assessment and scoring, audit management, and the continuous monitoring that supports them.
Server hardware and administration: installation and management, day-to-day administration, security and disaster recovery, and structured server troubleshooting.
Centralised management with FortiManager: device onboarding and ADOMs, policy packages and installs, configuration revisions, provisioning templates and workflow approvals.
Implementing ServiceNow Discovery: MID Server setup, credentials and probes, pattern-based discovery, and populating and reconciling the CMDB.
A non-technical Cisco specialist exam: the customer success role, adoption frameworks, barriers to value realisation, and the lifecycle from onboarding to renewal.
The 2022 A+ Core 1 exam, kept for reference while the series is phased out in favour of 220-1201. New candidates should book the current series instead.
The 2022 A+ Core 2 exam, retained for candidates who already passed Core 1 in the same series and need to finish the pair before it retires.
The foundation of the Red Hat programme: a timed practical exam covering user and file management, storage, networking, services, containers and system troubleshooting on RHEL.
How many exams each provider contributes here.
Where each exam sits, so you can plan a progression rather than a single jump.
Multi-exam credentials in this category.
The two-exam entry credential for IT support roles, covering hardware and networking in Core 1 and operating systems and security in Core 2.
CompTIA
A two-exam credential covering Windows Server administration across on-premises and Azure, from core infrastructure to high availability and migration.
Microsoft
35 exams from 11 vendors are tagged to IT Operations & Support. Exams appear in this category when it is either their primary focus or a substantial secondary one.
Microsoft Azure Administrator (AZ-104) is the most common entry point. The core Azure operations exam: identity and governance, storage, compute, virtual networking, and the monitoring and backup that keeps a subscription healthy.
Microsoft Azure Administrator (AZ-104), Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) (200-301) and CompTIA A+ Core 1 (220-1201) are the most frequently pursued in this category.
Linux & Open Source
System administration, automation and enterprise Linux platform certifications.
Networking
Routing, switching, wireless, SD-WAN and cloud networking exams from vendor and neutral programmes.
Cybersecurity
Credentials for defenders, testers, analysts and security leaders across every vendor programme.