Welcome to the Real-World Cloud Product Management Specialization. By the end of this Specialization, you will be familiar with the business, technical, and cross-functional resources that will enable you to be effective in a product management role or any other role that is within the Cloud computing space. You'll gain this familiarity by using the leading Cloud, the AWS Cloud as a reference, and by the end of this course, you will be able to pass the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner examination, which is a general purpose examination for all job families at AWS. Of course, who doesn't want to be more familiar with the Cloud? My name is Nancy Wang, I'm the General Manager of AWS Backup and Data Protection Services. A general manager at Amazon Web Services owns both product as well as engineering to deliver top value for our customers. In a sense, it's really like being the CEO of your own business and product. In addition, I also founded and serve as the CEO of Advancing Women in Tech or AWIT or AWIT. I want to thank AWS, Coursera, and of course you, the learner, for your support of our AWIT educational content. All proceeds of this course and all of our other content goes directly back to enriching the community and our main purpose, which is to empower more women and minorities to become executive leaders in technology. It's been one year since we launched our first Coursera Specialization, the Real-World Product Management Specialization. That Specialization tested our hypothesis that many of you wanted real-world technical skills. Content that equipped you to answer hundreds of real interview questions that are asked by Amazon, Google, Facebook, and Microsoft, and projects directly from the current playbooks of those and other successful companies. We thought that you would want instruction from full-time industry leaders, the CEOs, the vice presidents, and directors who run tech companies full-time and make hiring and promotion decisions. We've featured those leaders in our guest appearances. Since then, over 18,000 Coursera learners, like you, have enrolled in the Real-World Product Management Specialization, with some of you getting that technical role, promotion, or company of your dreams. Congratulations! While our first specialization focused on the product management discipline as practiced by many tech companies, this specialization that you'll be taking applies the product management discipline to the Cloud as practiced by AWS. Why should you consider a career in the Cloud? Well, first off, because it is a field of incredible growth. AWS' high rate of growth means that we're always looking for new talent and advance our existing colleagues to leadership positions. It also means that completing this specialization is a great investment that you can make for yourself and your career. The illustration next to me comes from a New York Times article. In that article, the journalist wrote, "You have little reason to know about AWS because AWS is not for you." I'm sorry, but that journalist is largely mistaken. By committing to finishing this specialization, we hope to show that not only is AWS for you, but also it, and Cloud computing generally, will accelerate your career. Here's a brief list of the Cloud professionals I lead every day. They include technical product managers, software development engineers and managers, technical program managers, pieces intelligence engineers, user experience designers, solutions architects, Cloud support engineers, technical account managers, security engineers, operations managers, technical writers and editors, product marketing managers, business development leaders, finance managers, legal counsel, and so many more. No matter your background or job family, there is a home for you on the Cloud. However, no matter your background or job family, our hires at AWS must meet the standard technical bar. That means, during their interview loops, they must demonstrate insight into how Cloud computing business and technology works. This is how we make sure that they're able to contribute from Day 1, and it requires greater effort than simply memorizing the US National Institute of Standards and Technologies' definition of Cloud computing. It requires the type of knowledge that we cover in this specialization.
