Broadcom has announced three specialized VMware Certified Advanced Professional (VCAP) certifications for VMware Cloud Foundation, coming very soon. These new credentials - Administrator, Architect, and Support - validate practical, role-specific expertise in full-stack private cloud operations.
As organizations consolidate infrastructure investments around integrated platforms, VCF has become the strategic foundation for enterprise workloads. These certification paths reflect this shift, moving beyond component-level knowledge toward holistic platform competency.
The New VCAP-VCF Certification Trio
Broadcom has launched three distinct advanced professional certifications, each targeting a specific operational role within VCF environments:
VMware Certified Advanced Professional – VMware Cloud Foundation Administrator (3V0-11.26)
This certification validates the skills required to manage day-to-day operations across the VCF stack. Administrators holding this credential demonstrate proficiency in lifecycle management, workload domain operations, automation workflows, and platform monitoring. The exam focuses on operational tasks that keep VCF environments running efficiently—from deploying new services to managing capacity and ensuring compliance with organizational policies.
VMware Certified Advanced Professional – VMware Cloud Foundation Architect (3V0-12.26)
The Architect track addresses design and strategic planning for VCF deployments. This certification confirms expertise in architecting scalable, resilient private cloud infrastructures that align with business requirements. Architects are expected to make informed decisions about workload domain strategies, network segmentation, storage architecture, and disaster recovery design. The exam emphasizes design principles, solution sizing, and architectural patterns specific to VCF environments.
VMware Certified Advanced Professional – VMware Cloud Foundation Support (3V0-13.26)
The Support certification is tailored for professionals responsible for troubleshooting and maintaining VCF platforms. This credential validates hands-on diagnostic skills, performance optimization techniques, and root cause analysis capabilities. Support engineers need deep technical knowledge of VCF components, log analysis, and remediation procedures to maintain service level objectives and resolve complex incidents efficiently.
Availability
All three exams are listed as "coming very soon" on the Broadcom certification website, with registration expected to open in the near future. Each exam follows a consistent format: 60 questions delivered over 135 minutes, with a passing score of 300 on a scaled scoring system. Each exam costs $250 USD and will be proctored through Pearson VUE.
Why These Certifications Matter
Role-specific VCF certifications reflect a fundamental shift from managing individual components to operating integrated platforms. VCF professionals need full-stack understanding—how vSphere compute, NSX networking, vSAN storage, and automation interact as a unified system.
Each exam covers common technical foundations but evaluates them differently: administrators on operational execution, architects on design decisions, and support engineers on diagnostic methodologies. This structure aligns certification with real-world responsibilities.
For enterprises, these credentials provide hiring benchmarks and skills validation. As VCF adoption accelerates in sovereign cloud and security-focused deployments, organizations need verified expertise. The VCAP-VCF certifications deliver that assurance.
Role-Specific Expertise Breakdown
Administrator Track: Operational Excellence
The Administrator certification validates day-2 operations: workload domain lifecycle management, certificate rotation, password management, and platform upgrades. Administrators demonstrate competency with VCF Operations monitoring, diagnostic findings, and health checks.
Automation capabilities are critical—VCF environments operate through declarative APIs and workflows. The exam tests practical knowledge of automation frameworks, API interactions, and orchestration tool integration. Network and storage operations, including network pool management, distributed switch configuration, and vSAN health monitoring, complete the operational skillset.
Support Track: Diagnostic Mastery
The Support certification emphasizes troubleshooting methodology across compute, network, storage, and platform services. Support engineers must master VCF log structures, diagnostic tools, and common failure patterns.
Performance optimization extends beyond component-level analysis to understanding integrated stack behavior under load. Root cause analysis skills—correlating symptoms across VCF layers, interpreting logs, and applying structured troubleshooting—are central to this track. The exam validates when issues require internal resolution versus vendor escalation.
Architect Track: Strategic Design
The Architect certification validates design decisions impacting VCF deployment success: workload domain models, network segmentation strategies, and scalability planning. Architects balance technical constraints with business requirements, making informed trade-offs between performance, cost, and operational complexity.
Resilience and disaster recovery design are substantial exam components, including high availability mechanisms, backup strategies, and multi-site deployment patterns. Capacity planning—forecasting growth, cluster sizing, and workload distribution—completes the architectural skillset.
Market Impact and Industry Relevance
These certifications align with organizations consolidating infrastructure investments toward integrated private cloud platforms. VCF addresses this need through a validated stack bundling compute, network, storage, and management.
Sovereign cloud initiatives drive VCF adoption in regions with data residency requirements. Government agencies and regulated industries need private cloud solutions offering public cloud automation with complete infrastructure control. Security-focused deployments leverage VCF's integrated security posture, including NSX micro-segmentation and vSAN encryption, combined with centralized lifecycle management.
Large-scale deployments benefit from VCF's operational scalability through declarative APIs and automated lifecycle management—critical for organizations managing hundreds or thousands of workloads.
Who Should Pursue These Certifications
These VCAP certifications target mid to senior-level professionals with hands-on VCF experience. The exams assume foundational knowledge validated by VCP-VCF credentials and test advanced, practical skills developed through real-world platform management.
Administrators currently managing VCF environments should consider the Administrator track to validate their operational expertise. This certification confirms proficiency with the daily tasks required to maintain VCF deployments and positions professionals for senior operational roles.
Engineers responsible for troubleshooting and maintaining VCF platforms benefit from the Support certification. This credential demonstrates diagnostic capabilities and technical problem-solving skills valued in support engineering and site reliability engineering positions.
Architects designing private cloud solutions should pursue the Architect track. This certification validates strategic design skills and positions professionals for senior architecture roles, pre-sales engineering, and consulting engagements.
For organizations, investing in certified staff reduces operational risk and improves platform reliability. Teams with validated VCF expertise deliver better outcomes, from smoother deployments to faster incident resolution.
Looking Forward
These specialized VCAP certifications signal Broadcom's commitment to VCF as the strategic private cloud platform. As VCF evolves with enhanced automation and deeper Tanzu and Aria integration, certification paths will advance alongside the platform.
For VMware professionals, these credentials differentiate expertise in a consolidating market. The shift from product-specific to integrated platform certifications reflects infrastructure's evolution toward full-stack requirements. As private cloud adoption scales, demand for certified professionals grows correspondingly.
The investment extends beyond credential acquisition—preparation builds capabilities translating directly to improved performance. The certification validates expertise, but real value lies in skills developed through the process.
