Serious About Storage? These Certifications Actually Matter

Data storage doesn’t always get the spotlight — but when it fails, it takes everything with it. That’s why more IT pros are sharpening their skills in this area. Especially with hybrid architectures, compliance headaches, and explosive data growth, storage is no longer a background task. It’s a foundation.

And for admins managing storage across bare-metal, virtualization, and cloud — a relevant certification isn’t just a line on a resume. It’s a sign you’ve been in the weeds and know your way around.

Which Storage Certs Still Hold Weight?

• NetApp Certified Data Administrator (NCDA)

Ideal if your org runs ONTAP. Shows you know volume management, snapshots, data protection, and high-availability clusters. Solid for hybrid and on-prem setups.

• HPE ATP – Hybrid IT Solutions

Aimed at those deploying HPE storage, servers, and networking. Covers real-world integration across compute and storage layers. A practical cert if your datacenter is even partially HPE.

• Dell EMC Proven Professional

Still one of the better structured programs. Tracks like ‘Storage Administrator’ and ‘Cloud Infrastructure Specialist’ are respected, especially in large enterprise environments. Lots of hands-on focus.

• IBM Certified Specialist – Spectrum Storage

Niche, but valuable in IBM shops. Shows competence in managing and automating complex storage systems across multi-platform environments.

• Pure Storage Certification

A newer player, but rapidly growing. For teams using Pure FlashArray or FlashBlade, these certs validate performance tuning, deduplication strategy, and enterprise-class scaling.

• AWS Certified Advanced Networking – Specialty

While not a storage cert per se, this one dives deep into how cloud storage interacts with distributed systems. Crucial if you’re managing S3, Glacier, or multi-region redundancy.

• Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate

Covers blob storage, lifecycle rules, geo-redundancy, and file sharing — all wrapped into the Azure ecosystem. A staple for Windows-centric shops moving workloads to the cloud.

• Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA)

Broader in scope, but useful where retention policies, integrity, and regulatory storage practices come into play. Think: healthcare, finance, or legal data handling.

• Hitachi Vantara Certified Specialist

Not as common, but still used in some legacy-heavy sectors. Focuses on high-end SAN solutions and performance tuning in dense enterprise environments.

Should You Actually Bother?

Certs aren’t magic. They won’t land the job for you — but they can open the door, especially when backed by actual experience.

And let’s face it: the storage landscape is shifting. From cold-tier archives to lightning-fast NVMe pools, from object APIs to software-defined everything — the people who get hired are the ones who can speak that language without blinking.

Certifications won’t teach you every trick. But they’ll help you prove you’ve been paying attention.