Google Cloud Certified Cloud Digital Leader Certification Exam

Google Cloud Certified Cloud Digital Leader certification exam is the entry level certification exam offered by Google Cloud Platform (GCP). This exam was announced and launched by GCP in the middle of the year 2021. Before launching this exam, the Associate Engineer exam is considered as the foundation level exam. With the launch of GCP Cloud Digital Leader exam, it has become the most fundamental exam from GCP certifications.

What’s the Google Cloud Certified Cloud Digital Leader?

According to Google, the “certification is appropriate for individuals in non-technical job roles who can add value in their organization by gaining Cloud knowledge and who have little or no hands-on experience in Google Cloud“.

A Cloud Digital Leader’s responsibility is to understand the use cases of a business requirements and how to use the Google Cloud’s products and services to achieve the desired business goals. By looking at the definition from the GCP team, this certification would help the higher management team to take the business decisions with all the knowledge and ideas about available GCP products.

The Cloud Digital Leader exam is job-role independent.

Unlike the other fundamentals exams like Cloud Practitioner from AWS and AZ – 900 fundamentals from Azure, GCP exam is much tougher to pass. You will have to understand the basic concepts of almost all the products and services in the GCP.

This google cloud digital leader certification exam is most suitable if you are:

• New to GCP certifications and wants to start your account with first GCP certification
• You are doing a management or leadership role in your company where you would need only the basics of all the products and services offered by GCP

Here is the details about this google Cloud Digital Leader certification cost, duration, passing score, etc,. of the exam:

How difficult is this exam?

You can’t pass this exam by simply watching videos or going through a mock exam or question dumps (which is not encouraged and should be avoided). The reason is that Cloud Digital Leader exam questions are framed with much harder wordings. It is advisable to go through a good quality paid practice exam like Whizlabs to familiarize yourself with the exam pattern.

Here is the best approach to pass this exam:

1. Go through the complete study guide. This helps you to familiarize the topics that are asked in the exam.
2. Go through a video course from Whizlabs (Our video course is created by GCP expert who has done multiple GCP certifications)
3. Go through Whizlabs’s market leading practice exam paper 

The above three steps would help you to pass this exam.

What will you learn in this certification?

This certification exam objectives are classified into four categories:

Jayendra Patil has written a very detailed elaboration of each topic and what’s considered. This will help you to understand.

GCP Cloud Digital Leader – History

In this section we update the history of GCP Cloud digital leader exam. Primarily it consists of the exam launch date, recent updates, new topics added in the exam, etc. This will be the place where you can find any changes related to this cloud digital leader exam.

• A new syllabus with effect from 26th Jan, 2022 will be updated to the exam questions
• Exam announced and launched: September 16, 2021

Below is a summary of new changes with effect from 26th Jan, 2022:

1. The new syllabus has 4 Sections. The existing syllabus (until 25 Jan, 2022) has 3 Sections.
2. The new syllabus sounds more oriented towards the identification of Google cloud services for business problems.

Google Cloud Digital Leader Certification Topics

We are publishing the most important topics that are required to prepare for this certification exam. Though these guides are not the only one to prepare for the exam, this will help you to get an idea of what to prepare for this certification.

• Google Cloud Support Plans – There would be few questions related to support plans offered by Google Cloud. Exam questions would be like choosing the right plan for an organisation based on the requirements.
• How To Prepare for GCP Cloud Leader Certification – In this blog post, we have explained a step-by-step guide on how to pass the google cloud digital leader certification exam. This will help you to get an idea of how to prepare for this exam.

How to Prepare?

In this section, 7 important tips and ticks to pass this certification exam.

1) Understand The Certification Content and Exam Format

Familiarize yourself with the topics given in Google’s study guide for the Cloud Digital Leader certification exam. The 90-minute exam tests your ability to use Google Cloud products and apply appropriate cloud solutions for real-world technical scenarios.

The Cloud Digital Leader certification exam domains: 

Benefits of becoming Google certified Cloud Digital Leader

Developing your career in the IT sector by becoming a cloud digital leader is highly recommended. These experts not only have the chance to work on cutting-edge initiatives and technology, but they also have the chance to make significant wages. Cloud digital leaders can play a significant role in an organization’s performance and have the opportunity to work on high-profile projects.

Cloud digital executives gain from the potential for a high income as well as the chance to work with some of the biggest corporations in the world. This offers students the chance to pick up knowledge from the top teachers, hone their craft, and obtain priceless experience.

Salary range of Google-certified Cloud Digital leader

After successful completion of Digital leader certification, your average pay range will start from $78920 dollars according to the Glassdoor report. The salary may increase in the future according to your fruitful experience and promotions. The Highest pay for a digital leader may go up to $1,00,000 dollars per annum.

Common Financial Concepts of Cloud Procurement

Google Cloud Products & Services

GCP offers a broad range of products and services around VMs, serverless computing, data management, AI/ML, Cloud tools and SDKs, API management, migration, networking, security, identity, and support. Half of the Cloud Digital Leader certification exam revolves around this section. The candidates require bare-minimum hands-on experience in various Google Cloud product offerings to understand their general functionalities and benefits at least. Experience the following GCP products and services first-hand to ace the exam:

• Learn about the core Google Cloud VM-based compute services, container-based compute options like container registry and Google Kubernetes Engine and serverless compute products like App Engine, Cloud Functions, Cloud Run, and Anthos.
• Understand the benefits of using Google Cloud relational and non-relational data management products like Cloud SQL, Cloud Spanner, Cloud Bigtable, BigQuery, Firestore, Datastore, and Memorystore.
• Distinguish various Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning products and services like Vision API, AI Platform, AutoML, Conversational AI, Tensorflow, ML Compute, and TPUs.
• Learn about Google Cloud workload migration services for Google Compute and Anthos.
• Determine best connectivity offerings like Google Cloud hybrid connectivity and on-premise networking that includes SD-WAN and private Google access.  
• Learn about Cloud Identity, IAM, and Google Cloud Directory Sync.

2) Develop Your Google Cloud Knowledge With Different Instructor-Led Trainings and Learning Paths

The Cloud Digital Leader certification exam is a tough cookie to crack. We recommend exam preparation through industry-guided tutorials, videos, and practice exams. Look for credible and GCP-certified mentors who have decades of hands-on experience to guide you in the right direction.

As a candidate, you have numerous options to prepare for the Cloud Digital Leader certification exam. Do your homework and prepare a potential list of training courses and boot camps. Many free learning resources claim to help you pass the certification exam. Some of them might be good, but our experience after interacting with many cloud practitioners suggests otherwise. 

Spending some money on high-quality, exam preparation is always better. Instead of failing, again and again, a small investment in personal skill-building can take you further in your professional career.

3) Carefully Choosing a Reliable Learning Resource

No matter which learning resource you choose to prepare for your Cloud Digital Leader certification exam, select high-quality and carefully curated content that takes care of your cognitive learning capabilities. Before you start training, weigh the pros and cons of all learning resources. We would like to offer some tips to streamline the selection process.

• Pick a credible platform that has expertise in preparing quality content for certification exams.
• Scrutinize course instructors and make sure they are certified themselves.
• Audit the certification course to make sure it covers each exam topic.
• Skim through sample exams and additional resources to get an overall idea about the quality of the content.
• Make sure that the platform offers hands-on practice labs (free courses usually don’t).
• Read the content reviews and try to reach out to people who have already covered the content.
• If everything checks out, start learning but don’t consume everything in one go.
• Divide the content into small chunks over weeks or months.

Finally, don’t consume content from multiple courses simultaneously to avoid any confusion. Training courses are not going to teach you everything which is why self-study is vital. Read various GCP case studies and white papers to increase your understanding of the Google Cloud.

4) Join a Community

Tech communities provide a vibrant environment with a mix of aspiring practitioners and industry experts. If you have any confusion or need some motivation, you can post your queries on numerous online community platforms to learn from experienced peers. Some of your queries might have been answered already.

5) Practice with Sample Exams

Like any other exam, practicing for the Cloud Digital Leader certification exam is vital. Mock exams are a good place to familiarize yourself with exam format and weightage. Plus, good practice exam scores can boost your confidence manifold. 

Paid training courses usually come with high-quality mock exams. Try to maximize your mock exam scores before attempting the actual exam. If you want, you can try some sample practice questions for the Cloud Digital Leader exam from Google right away.

6) Finally, Schedule an Exam

Once you are confident enough to pass the Cloud Digital Leader certification exam, register yourself and schedule the exam. Candidates have the option to take a remote-based online-proctored exam or they can choose to give the exam onsite at a testing center (if applicable).

If you want to learn how to give an online-proctored Google exam, watch this video.

7) Some Timeless Exam Day Tips

Since Cloud Digital Leader is a foundational certification, we are assuming that this might be your first professional certification exam attempt. You may feel nervous, anxious, and have some butterflies in your stomach—which is fine. Follow some basic exam day tactics to calm your nerves.

• Just relax. All the hours you have spent preparing for this exam will pay off today.
• Read questions and answers slowly and carefully. Some questions can be tricky, poorly worded, complicated, or too simple. Comprehend their meaning completely before marking your answer.
• Pace yourself to use all the allotted time. There are no additional marks for completing your exam early.
• If you don’t know an answer, take a wild guess (mind any penalties) and move on. Certification exams are quite difficult and no one can know everything.
• If possible, only revisit those answers that are surely incorrect. Second-guessing every answer can be dangerous.
• Most importantly, don’t show up late. Have a 15-minute gap of peace and calm before the start of the exam.

Sample Practice Exam Questions

Here is the sample practice exam questions from Whizlabs practice tests. If you would like to pass this exam, please purchase the full length practice tests from Whizlabs.

Q 1. You are working with a Financial giant looking to adopt a public Cloud. The IT advisory group of the company has indicated the intent that they want cloud infrastructure to be solely operated for them and hosted internally.

Which of the below options is the right choice for the organisation?

1. Public Cloud
2. Private Cloud
3. Hybrid Cloud
4. Any of the above

Correct Answer: B

• Option A is incorrect because the Public Cloud deployment model generally offers services to multiple customers unless opted explicitly for. Public Cloud is also not a correct choice because Public Cloud will not be hosted internally.
• Option B is correct because the Private Cloud deployment model caters to the below requirements:

1. Solely operated for one customer
2. Hosted internally for the customer

• Option C is incorrect as this option comprises the combination of both the Private and Public Cloud.
• Option D is incorrect as Public Cloud and Hybrid one are not a suitable choice.

Q 2. You are a Senior Project Manager working on a Request for Proposal (RFP). Architects have completed the high-level architecture of the proposed solution. In addition, this proposed solution includes a section that details how the implementation will ensure that the client application and data will be available in case of unavailability of a particular data center.

How will you put this section in your RFP?

1. Highlight this as a “Business Continuity Plan.”
2. Highlight this as “Proactive Monitoring.”
3. Highlight this as a “Continuous Improvement Plan.”
4. Highlight this as an “Automation” section.

Correct Answer: A

• Option A is correct. As this part of the solution details how the application and data will be available in case of unavailability of a particular data center, we will need to highlight this as a Business Continuity Plan.
• Option B is incorrect. Proactive monitoring is the continuous monitoring of various alerts and monitoring application behavior to identify any potential problem. In the given scenario, the solution discusses ensuring business continuity in case of a particular data center unavailability.
• Option C is incorrect. The Continuous Improvement Plan details efforts to improve ongoing services that are being provided.
• Option D is incorrect. Automation plan details the plans of automation to be implemented and not on Business continuity.

Q 3.  Which of the below is a Google Cloud PaaS product offering?

1. Google Workspace
2. Google App Engine
3. Google Compute Engine
4. Persistent Disk

Correct Answer: B

• Option A is incorrect. Google Workspace is a SaaS offering.
• Option B is correct. Google App Engine is a PaaS offering.
• Option C is incorrect. Google Compute Engine is an IaaS offering.
• Option D is incorrect. Persistent Disk is an IaaS offering.

Q 4.Which Cloud Computing models require customers to own Operating System patching?

1. IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service)
2. PaaS (Platform as a Service)
3. SaaS (Software as a Service)
4. FSaaS (FileSystem as a Service)

Correct Answer: A

• Option A is correct. The IaaS model requires customers to own the patching of the servers.
• Option B is incorrect. Cloud provider is responsible for patching the Operating System for their PaaS offerings.
• Option C is incorrect. Cloud provider is responsible for patching the Operating System for their SaaS offerings.
• Option D is incorrect. FSaaS is not a valid Cloud Computing model.

Q 5.A startup working on self-driving vehicles applications requires to collect data from vehicles on-road.

Which offering from Cloud providers will help the organization transmit the data from vehicles currently on-road for data collection?

1. Machine Learning product offering
2. IoT product offering
3. Data Analytics product offering
4. Storage product offering

Correct Answer: B

• Option A is incorrect. Machine learning product offerings from Cloud providers enable organizations to build, deploy and scale the AI models.
• Option B is correct. IoT offerings from Cloud providers help in data collection from the field, like collecting data from sensors including self-driving vehicles, farmlands, satellites etc.
• Option C is incorrect. Data Analytics offerings from Cloud providers help unlock big data potential by improving data analysis capabilities and eventually improving businesses’ decision-making.
• Option D is incorrect. Storage product offerings from Cloud providers help facilitate storing of the data of various data types.

Q 6. Which of the below defines a Region appropriately?

1. Collection of Data Centers is Region.
2. There is One Zone per Region.
3. Collection of Zones is Region.
4. There is One Data Center per Region.

Correct Answer: C

• Option A is incorrect. Regions consist of Zones, and Zones consist of Data Centers.
• Option B is incorrect. A Region can have multiple Zones.
• Option C is correct. This statement correctly defines a Region.
• Option D is incorrect. A Region comprises one or more Zones. Regions consist of Zones, and Zones consist of Data Centers.

Q 7. Which of the below statements about Google Cloud resources is CORRECT?

1. Static external IP addresses are Zone specific resources.
2. Disk snapshots are Region-specific resources.
3. Any Google Cloud resource that is being used, must necessarily belong to a project.
4. VM instances are Global.

Correct Answer: C

• Option A is incorrect. Static external IP addresses are Regional, not Zone-specific.
• Option B is incorrect. Disk snapshots are Global, not Region-specific.
• Option C is correct. This is a correct statement. All the Google Cloud resources that are being used must necessarily belong to a project.
• Option D is incorrect. VM instances are Zonal, not Global resources.

Q 8.A new team member has joined your project. You need to grant him permission to access a few Google Cloud resources through IAM.

How can you grant permission to your new team member so that he can access the required Google Cloud resources?

1. Directly grant the permissions to access the resources as required.
2. Grant role to the team member to access the resources as required.
3. Grant IAM policy to the team member to access the resources as required.
4. Give pre-authenticated URLs so that the new team member can access the required resources.

Correct Answer: B

• Option A is incorrect. In IAM, permissions are not granted directly to the team member to access resources.
• Option B is correct. The permissions are grouped into roles, and roles can be granted to the team member to access the resources.
• Option C is incorrect. This is an incorrect statement. IAM policy is attached to resources, defines and enforces what roles are granted to which members and the policy.
• Option D is incorrect. Pre-authenticated URLs are not a valid option to provide access to the resources.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Is cloud digital leader certification free?

No. This certification exam is not free. You have to purchase this exam voucher from the Google Cloud authorised exam center.

How many questions are on Google cloud leader exam?

There will be 50-60 questions in the exam which has to be answered within 90 minutes of time.

Can I study question dumps to pass cloud digital leader exam?

It is strongly recommended not to buy question dumps or brain dumps to prepare for any certification exams. Using question banks or dumps would not help you to improve your knowledge and land in a good career.

Where can I find Google Cloud Digital Leader exam practice exams?

Whizlabs providing one of the best practice exams for Google Cloud Digital Leader Certification exam.

What’s the cost of Google Cloud Digital Leader certification exam?

The cost of this certification exam is USD 99.

In Short, here is the summary of this exam:

1. This exam has 59 questions to be answered in 90 minutes. Passing mark is 70%
2. The cost of this exam is $99 USD
3. Covers the wide range of services and products offered by GCP and General Cloud
4. You don’t need hands-on experience to pass this exam. Just theoretical knowledge is good enough to crack this GCP exam.
5. The topics are divided into three categories: general cloud knowledge, google cloud knowledge and google cloud services.
6. This exam was launched in the middle of 2021.
7. This exam is toughest when compared to the CLF-C01 and AZ – 900 exams (other two foundations exams from AWS and Azure respectively)

What’s Next?

Congratulations! If you have followed this step-by-step process, you have passed the Cloud Digital Leader certification exam (hopefully). Celebrate your achievements but this is just the first step in becoming a Google Cloud expert. 

Google Cloud technologies are always evolving which is why it is important to recertify every two years (if needed) or attain advanced certification. After completing this foundational certification, you can try your luck at the associate level certification for Google Cloud Platform. 

Associate level certification builds upon your foundational Google Cloud knowledge and expands it to implement, deploy, and monitor cloud solutions. This level offers an Associate Cloud Engineer certification exam and gives you hands-on experience with many Google Cloud products.

• About the Author
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About Krishna Srinivasan

Krishna Srinivasan is the CEO of Whizlabs. With 15+ years of experience in technology, he is aimed to spread his knowledge and experience with the world. He is a “Tech Personality” and the innovative mind behind the success of Whizlabs. As a CEO, he focuses on the product development, future direction, and business strategy.

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