Delivering Customized Cloud Training Across Technologies for Quick Results: Training to simplify cloud processes [Case Study]

The Situation

Headquartered in Australia, and operating in 80 countries, this data analytics software company specializes in transforming massive amounts of data – from emails, social media, communications and other human-generated content – into actionable intelligence. The analytics provider was making its first move to the cloud, starting with AWS, and wanted to upskill its team of 75 IT engineers with an AWS-authorized training company. Before enrolling the entire IT team in initial AWS courses, the analytics company wanted to test the training with only four students. They took basic AWS training remotely with Live Virtual, ExitCertified’s proprietary synchronous two-way video communication, which allows the instructor and students to communicate with each other in real-time. 

After course completion, ExitCertified met with the company and discussed next steps to getting upskilled in AWS and related technologies, as well as in cloud capabilities. The company needed both Architecting on AWS and Developing on AWS. Each of those courses was a three-day course, but the company didn’t want their IT employees to be away from their work projects for six days. 

After ExitCertified delivered a customized AWS training course to the company, the IT team wanted to run containerized workloads using Kubernetes in AWS. With limited experience in both containers and Kubernetes, the company needed basic training in both. And it would then need more advanced training in them to understand how to run Kubernetes on AWS. 

Also, one IT team within the company had been assigned a rush project to update the website using a technology new to the team, React, a framework that simplifies creating user interfaces (UIs). Working in React called for their front-end developers to also know Redux and TypeScript, so they needed training in all three technologies.

Quick Facts

The Challenge

• The company needed 75 people located in various places around North America to be trained remotely, but ExitCertified would first have to prove it was the right company with the right trainers.
• The company would eventually need some people to learn architecting on AWS — a three-day course — and developing on AWS — another three-day course — but the budget was not enough to enroll 75 people in both courses and didn’t want its IT team out for six days.
• The company needed advanced training in running Kubernetes on AWS and training in learn React, Redux and TypeScript quickly.

The Solution

Four employees took various AWS training courses remotely via ExitCertified’s exclusive Live Virtual online learning platform. Through Live Virtual training high-definition two-way audio and video streaming, learners were able to receive a classroom-like experience and the individual attention they needed, along with valuable interactions with their classmates. The other 71 students then followed suit. All courses were limited in size to a maximum of 20 students. 

To train employees in both architecting and developing on AWS, ExitCertified customized a four-day course that covered all the material the company needed from both Architecting on AWS and Developing on AWS. By teaching only the portions of those courses relevant to the students’ roles and their needed skills, two days were shaved off the training time and the cost of the training was significantly reduced. 

Later, to teach employees how to run Kubernetes on AWS, ExitCertified delivered a two-day customized course that combined the essentials from the basic one-day containerization course, Docker Containerization Essentials, with the essentials of the two-day Kubernetes Application Essentials course. That shaved one day off the time employees would need to be away from their regular duties. ExitCertified then taught, privately for the company, Running Containers on Amazon ElasticKubernetes Service (Amazon EKS). 

To help the company quickly complete their Web-design project, ExitCertified delivered the Introduction to Redux for React using TypeScript course three times to three separate groups of employees. The class sizes were limited so instructors could work closely with each student.

Outcome