Why six tracks instead of one universal course
Section titled “Why six tracks instead of one universal course”Cloud competency is not a uniform quantity. A CIO needs strategic understanding, not Terraform knowledge. A platform engineer needs Terraform depth, not FinOps details. An IT controller needs cloud economics expertise, not Kubernetes knowledge.
Six role-specific tracks ensure that each person receives exactly the skills they need for their cloud responsibilities — no more, no less.
Track A — Cloud Awareness (All staff)
Section titled “Track A — Cloud Awareness (All staff)”Target group: 100% of IT staff + relevant business units + management Duration: 4 hours (mandatory, within 6 months of adoption start) Format: Interactive e-learning course + optional live Q&A
Learning objectives:
- What is cloud? What is sovereign cloud?
- What does STACKIT mean for our organisation?
- How does my work change — and what stays the same?
- Why are we choosing STACKIT instead of US Hyperscalers?
STACKIT relevance: STACKIT University Track A covers these topics with STACKIT-specific context.
KPI: Track A completion rate — target: 100% within 6 months
Track B — Cloud Practitioner (IT generalists)
Section titled “Track B — Cloud Practitioner (IT generalists)”Target group: IT staff without cloud specialisation, project managers, IT procurement Duration: 12–16 hours Format: Blended in-person/online course + first sandbox exercises
Learning objectives:
- Understand the STACKIT product portfolio (Compute, Storage, SKS, Managed DB, Object Storage)
- Cloud cost models: pay-as-you-go, reserved instances, cost optimisation
- Basic security principles: IAM, least privilege, shared responsibility
- First hands-on experience: STACKIT console, creating simple resources
STACKIT relevance: STACKIT University Track B + hands-on lab in STACKIT sandbox
Track C — Cloud Engineer (Platform engineers, DevOps)
Section titled “Track C — Cloud Engineer (Platform engineers, DevOps)”Target group: Platform engineers, sysadmins in transition, DevOps engineers Duration: 40–80 hours Format: Technical intensive course + project practical tasks
Learning objectives and content:
| Module | Content | Hands-on |
|---|---|---|
| IaC with Terraform | Terraform fundamentals, STACKIT Terraform Provider | Deploy VPC + VM |
| STACKIT SKS | Managed Kubernetes, create clusters, deploy workloads | App on SKS |
| Network configuration | VPC, subnets, firewall rules, hub-and-spoke | Landing zone network |
| CI/CD integration | GitHub Actions / GitLab CI with STACKIT | Build a pipeline |
| Observability | STACKIT Observability, logging, alerting | Configure an alert |
| IAM in practice | Service accounts, workload identity, RBAC | IAM setup |
Track C final project: Deploy a complete workload (web application + database) on STACKIT — with Terraform, in SKS, with CI/CD pipeline, with monitoring and tagging.
STACKIT relevance: STACKIT University Track C + CKA preparation + Terraform Associate preparation
Track D — Cloud Architect (Enterprise architects, senior engineers)
Section titled “Track D — Cloud Architect (Enterprise architects, senior engineers)”Target group: Enterprise architects, senior cloud engineers, technical leads Duration: 40+ hours Format: Workshop format + architecture review cases
Learning objectives:
- Landing zone design: hub-and-spoke, multi-project topology, CIDR planning
- High-availability architecture patterns on STACKIT
- Migration architecture: 6R strategy (Rehost, Replatform, Refactor, Repurchase, Retain, Retire)
- Cost optimisation architecture: right-sizing, reserved instances, serverless patterns
- Multi-service design: how compute, storage, database and Kubernetes work together
Track E — Cloud Security (Security teams)
Section titled “Track E — Cloud Security (Security teams)”Target group: Security analysts, CISO office, compliance managers Duration: 30–50 hours Format: Technical course + compliance mapping workshop
Learning objectives:
- STACKIT IAM deep-dive: federation, RBAC, service accounts, PAM
- Policy-as-code: Terraform Sentinel, Open Policy Agent
- DevSecOps: security scanning in CI/CD pipelines
- Regulatory compliance in the cloud: GDPR/TISAX/BAIT in practice
- Cloud incident response: forensics, containment, recovery
STACKIT relevance: STACKIT IAM product training + CCSP preparation
Track F — Cloud FinOps (Controlling, IT management)
Section titled “Track F — Cloud FinOps (Controlling, IT management)”Target group: IT controllers, CFO office, IT management Duration: 16–24 hours Format: Business-oriented seminar + dashboard workshop
Learning objectives:
- Cloud cost models: CAPEX vs OPEX, reserved vs on-demand
- Implementing STACKIT tagging strategy
- Creating and interpreting showback reports
- Building chargeback models
- Improving budget management and forecast accuracy
STACKIT relevance: STACKIT Billing Dashboard Workshop + FinOps Foundation Practitioner preparation
Training rollout timeline
Section titled “Training rollout timeline”| Month | Activity |
|---|---|
| Month 1 | Launch Track A for all IT staff; sandbox access for technical roles |
| Months 2–3 | Track C first cohort (platform engineers + DevOps) |
| Months 3–4 | Track B for IT generalists; Track E first cohort (security) |
| Months 4–6 | Track D for architects; Track F for controlling |
| Months 6–12 | Further cohorts, cloud guilds active, external certifications |
Common mistakes
Section titled “Common mistakes”One-size-fits-all: A general cloud course for everyone wastes time.
Training without application: Track C without an immediately following practical project in the sandbox evaporates within 2 weeks.
Training under time pressure: Instructing teams to complete training while maintaining 100% production load reliably results in training not happening.