What’s free at ACG: January and February 2021

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With Valentine’s Day approaching, love is in the air. Or maybe it's cedar pollen. Either way, we’re celebrating our warm and fuzzy feelings for Microsoft Azure with two dozen free, fresh-picked cloud courses, including a sweet-smelling bouquet of Azure content. The current crop of 24 courses will be free now through the end of February, giving you extra time to get one-on-one time with this outstanding content.

New to A Cloud Guru? Sign up for free to get started with this month's free courses today — no credit card required!

There's never been a better time to develop your cloud skills in Microsoft Azure and level up your career.

As Azure’s use continues to grow, it’s becoming increasingly important for cloud learners to understand and experience the Azure ecosystem. Whether it’s because you get the value of embracing a multi-cloud approach or you see how Azure is winning over enterprises, there are plenty of reasons to get Azure certified.

AZ-900 Microsoft Azure Fundamentals
If you’re new to Azure and wondering where to begin or which Azure certification path is right for you, our awesome Azure Fundamentals course is step one.

This 13-hour course was made in partnership with Microsoft and has been refreshed alongside recent updates to the AZ-900.  It's ideal for anyone seeking the foundation needed to comfortably explore the Azure platform and sit the Azure Fundamentals AZ-900 exam. It's an intro appropriate for everyone from engineers deep in the cloud weeds to sales and management staff. No previous experience required!

Need another reason to snag your Azure Fundamentals certification? Landing this cert won’t immediately elevate you to the status of cloud guru, true, but it’s clearly a valuable bit of information: it was one of the top-paying cloud certifications of 2020.

Using Azure for Disaster Recovery Quick Start
The cloud can save your bacon (and your backups), even for organizations unwilling to fully move to the cloud. Learn more in this beginner-level course on using Azure for disaster recovery, which covers how Microsoft Azure can be a real disaster recovery solution for on-premises environments.

Using Microsoft Azure Database Services
The cloud has rocked every bit of IT — even databases. Microsoft is at the forefront here, creating services in Azure to address your data needs. In this intermediate-level course, you’ll learn what these services are, how to use them, and how to select the right one for your business needs.

Azure Architectural Design Concepts 
This advanced-level course will introduce you to some of the primary concepts that form the basis of Solution Architecture, including design principles, the utility and practice of technical and non-technical requirements gathering, and concepts around resource consumption and cost control.

Azure Concepts
This one-hour crash course on Azure concepts will help you get up to speed on the core components of Azure. You'll learn how cloud-savvy organizations use Azure and how (and why) people pick cloud providers.

Introduction to Azure Security 
This intro-level course will give you a high-level look at Azure security concepts, terms, and architecture. You’ll learn about how security relates to Azure resources and get insights into configuring Azure’s many security options to best meet your needs. 

• Amazon DynamoDB Deep Dive — Learn how to build scalable, high-performance applications using DynamoDB. All skills welcome!
• AWS Essentials — Get an overview of the core AWS services.
• Choosing the Right Database Service on AWS — See the AWS database options and the benefits of each.
• EKS Basics — Unlock the power of Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service.
• How to Properly Secure an S3 Bucket — Learn how to secure S3 buckets and remediate security issues.

• GKE Basics — Learn about Kubernetes and Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE).
• Google Cloud Concepts — Get an intro to GCP basics.
• Google Cloud Security Essentials — See how to secure your Google Cloud environment.

• Big Data Fundamentals — Learn about Big Data, cluster computing, distributed storage, and cluster management.
• Data Science for Absolute Beginners — Get a no-experience needed intro to data science.
• Machine Learning for Absolute Beginners — What is machine learning? Learn the basics of what it is (awesome) and isn’t (The Matrix).

• Docker Quick Start — Learn about Docker and how to run containers.
• DevOps Concepts — See how DevOps transforms software development.
• Network Routing Fundamentals — Build an understanding of routing.
• Serverless Concepts — Get a high-level overview of serverless, including vocab and concepts.
• Introduction to Cloud Computing — Our explain-it-like-I’m-five intro to cloud breaks down the basics in layman's terms.

• How to Get a Linux Job — Learn how to land your first Linux job.
• Linux Operating System Fundamentals — Pick up the history of Linux and the open-source movement.

Looking to level up your cloud career? With an unrivaled hands-on approach and a heaping helping of awesome instructors, we’ll help you hone your skills and make your way from novice to cloud guru.