Why Architect Certifications Matter

In a technology world of increasing competencies and complexity, certifications have become something of a "seal of approval" for expertise that can help a solution provider win some business.

And for those who can help architect solutions that touch several technologies, especially cloud, those certifications have become increasingly important, and are leading to big salaries for those who can earn them.

Jamie Begin, CEO at Right Brain Networks, an Amazon Web Services partner based in Ann Arbor, Mich., said certifications – especially those from AWS, of which Right Brain staff has about a dozen – help add credibility to a sales pitch and "helps shorten the sales cycle a bit."

Click through for information on 10 architect certifications ranked by average annual salary in the U.S. and Canada last year from a recent report by Global Knowledge, a provider of business training and certification coursework, based in Cary, N.C.