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Microsoft and EPAM announce the largest Azure skilling program for IT professionals in the Central and Eastern European Region
Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) has joined forces with EPAM Systems, Inc. (NYSE: EPAM), a leading global provider of digital platform engineering and software development services, in an extensive Microsoft Azure upskilling program. Together, the two companies have partnered to address the demand for advanced digital and cloud technology expertise—upskilling developers and IT professionals—to help organizations to respond to challenges, recover and reimagine their business.
More than 2,200 EPAM engineers and architects, from 14 countries, participated in a 12-month classroom and virtual online training program. This is the largest Microsoft skilling program of its kind in Central and Eastern Europe, and 16th worldwide. EPAM expects another 400+ new Azure certifications will be successfully completed before June 2020. Certifications include: Azure Fundamentals, Azure Developers, Azure Administrator, DevOps Engineer, Solution Architect, Data Engineer, AI Engineer and Security.
Microsoft has built a robust partnership with EPAM Systems, to address the growing demand for advanced digital skills. The global pandemic situation has further increased the need for advanced digital skills as businesses look at technology as driver of change. With combined efforts, the two companies are upskilling developers and IT professionals in Cloud technologies, especially Azure, to help companies increase efficiency, find new ways to create value and stay relevant.
“Upskilling of IT professionals is a crucial driver of development of local economies, as well as a huge opportunity for employees. Digitally savvy people will become change agents in organisations of all sizes as well as for society and I am excited about working with partners like EPAM to enable it. With its strong tradition in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education, more than three million professional developers, and the ubiquitous nature of cloud technology, Central and Eastern Europe is ideally positioned to claim its place as one of the world’s digital hot spots” – told Philippe Rogge, President, Microsoft Central and Eastern Europe.
Skilling is a key enabler of business value creation. Businesses need to prioritize skills as much as technology because, one thing we can be certain is the importance of empowering human ingenuity. And skills required for any job continue to evolve – the average life of a skill today is less than five years.
Reskilling and upskilling IT professionals is more important than ever. More and more IT professionals are acting as change agents, supporting businesses by using both current and emerging technologies. In FY20, Microsoft’s aimed in CEE is to reach 100,000 professionals successfully completing online modules for the required skills according to their job roles. These new specialist roles are likely to include titles, such as AI and Machine Learning Specialist, Big Data Specialist, Process Automation Expert, Human-Machine Interaction Designer, and many more.
“We are committed to providing the highest possible value to our partners in digital product and platform development efforts and look forward to continuing this groundbreaking Azure Upskilling program alongside Microsoft, in order to enable today’s best engineers and build tomorrow’s leaders in technology” – told Eli Feldman, CTO, Advanced Technology at EPAM.
EPAM is a Gold Certified Microsoft Partner. To learn more about EPAM’s partnership with Microsoft, visit www.epam.com/about/who-we-are/partners/microsoft.
About Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.
About EPAM Systems
Since 1993, EPAM Systems, Inc. (NYSE: EPAM) has leveraged its software engineering expertise to become a leading global product development, digital platform engineering, and top digital and product design agency. Through its ‘Engineering DNA’ and innovative strategy, consulting, and design capabilities, EPAM works in collaboration with its customers to deliver next-gen solutions that turn complex business challenges into real business outcomes. EPAM’s global teams serve customers in more than 30 countries across North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. As a recognized market leader in multiple categories among top global independent research agencies, EPAM was one of only four technology companies to appear on Forbes 25 Fastest Growing Public Tech Companies list every year of publication since 2013 and was the only IT services company featured on Fortune’s 100 Fastest-Growing Companies list of 2019. Learn more at www.epam.com and follow us on Twitter @EPAMSYSTEMS and LinkedIn.