Cloud Infrastructure & Services: Foundations of Digital Transformation

Cloud Infrastructure & Services: Foundations of Digital Transformation

About the Course

The Cloud Infrastructure & Services (CIS) course is an essential primer for IT professionals navigating the shift from traditional data centers to modernized, cloud-enabled environments. In an era where digital transformation is no longer optional, this course provides a vendor-neutral foundation, using the Cloud Reference Architecture to explain how organizations can build scalable, agile, and secure infrastructures.

While the course remains open and technology-focused, it integrates real-world Dell Technologies product examples (such as VxRail, PowerEdge, and PowerScale) to demonstrate how these abstract concepts are applied in enterprise settings. Participants will explore the evolution of application platforms—moving from monolithic “Traditional” apps to “Modern” microservices—and learn how orchestration simplifies the delivery of these services to end-users.

By the end of this training, students will understand the “Big Picture” of IT transformation, including the critical roles of software-defined infrastructure, data protection as a service, and the “People and Process” changes required for a successful transition to the cloud.

Audience Profile

This course is intended for:

• IT Professionals seeking a comprehensive understanding of cloud technologies.

• System Administrators and Storage/Network Engineers transitioning to cloud roles.

• Technical Decision Makers evaluating cloud deployment and service models (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS).

• Students and Graduates aiming to earn an associate-level certification in cloud infrastructure.

Learning Objectives

Domain 1: Digital Transformation and Reference Architecture

• Explain how mobile, big data, and social media drive the need for IT transformation.

• Identify the five essential characteristics, three service models, and four deployment models of cloud computing.

• Utilize the Cloud Reference Architecture to map infrastructure components to business services.

Domain 2: Application Modernization and Infrastructure

• Contrast traditional application challenges with the benefits of modern, cloud-native architectures.

• Distinguish between physical, virtualized, and Software-Defined Infrastructure (SDI).

• Evaluate the features of Converged (CI) and Hyper-Converged Infrastructure (HCI).

Domain 3: Governance, Security, and Business Continuity

• Identify cloud-specific security threats and the mechanisms used to mitigate them (encryption, IAM, GRC).

• Define availability requirements and fault-tolerance mechanisms for cloud services.

• Describe Data Protection as a Service (DPaaS), including backup, replication, and archiving in the cloud.

Domain 4: Service Management and IT Operations

• Describe the cloud service lifecycle, from service creation to retirement.

• Understand the role of service orchestration and self-service portals in improving agility.

• Analyze the “People, Process, and Technology” framework for successful IT transformation.

Certification Exam

This course is the primary training for the D-CIS-FN-23 (Dell Cloud Infrastructure and Services Foundations 2023) exam. This associate-level certification validates your foundational knowledge in cloud infrastructure and serves as a prerequisite for specialist-level “Cloud Architect” tracks.

Note: The exam code DEA-2TT4 has been replaced by D-CIS-FN-23 and D-CIS-FN-01 (v2) in the Dell Proven Professional program.

Prerequisites

• Basic understanding of computer architecture, operating systems, and databases.

• Advantageous: Experience in compute system, storage, and network infrastructure management.