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Cloud Solutions

Ready for Cloud Solutions Implementation

AWS Summits are a series of events that bring the cloud computing community together to connect, collaborate, and learn about AWS. As a proud AWS partner, it's an event we can't miss. So, this year, we attended the one closest to our home country of Kosovo - AWS Summit Berlin. Our CTO and CEO, Mehmetali Shaqiri, flew to Berlin to join the community, expand his knowledge, and share his extensive experience with other fellow cloud enthusiasts.

This year's summit featured keynote speeches from AWS executives, technical sessions, hands-on workshops, and opportunities to network with other attendees.

Over 100 sessions were offered throughout the day, covering a range of topics and technical depth. Attendees had the chance to learn about AI and machine learning, architecture, cloud operations, data and analytics, and some of our favorites DevOps and developer productivity, migration, networking, global infrastructure, security, serverless, and more.

Prior to the summit, AWS threw a series of housewarming events to get attendees fired up and mingling with each other. It was the perfect way to kick off the festivities and set the tone for an epic summit.

AWS Partner Summit was an exclusive event that brought together AWS partners like us from all corners of the world. Partners shared best practices, exchanged ideas, and explored new opportunities for collaboration. Attendees got the chance to hear first-hand from AWS executives, participate in informative breakout sessions, and learn about new AWS products and services.

AWS Housewarming Events

The summit kicked off with a highly-anticipated keynote session featuring Kevin Miller, Vice President and General Manager of Amazon S3 and AWS customers. Miller and other speakers, including Florian Hartwig, Julie Kratz, and Hanna Hennig, dove deep into the latest advancements in infrastructure and analytics. They showcased how AWS is empowering companies of all sizes to achieve their goals faster, unlock new opportunities, and shape a brighter future. They also explored cutting-edge technologies such as machine learning and serverless computing, which are revolutionizing industries as we speak.

But the keynote wasn't just about buzzwords and fancy tech. The speakers shared real-world success stories, highlighting how AWS is driving real-world impact and helping businesses stay ahead of the curve. From startups to established enterprises, the keynote provided invaluable insights for everyone.

The Keynote

The AWS World section of the event provided an opportunity to meet with AWS teams, experience expert demos, and chat with peers and other tech enthusiasts. Attendees were also able to ask an AWS expert questions in a 1:1 setting and connect with exhibitors in the Partner Expo to learn how they can support their cloud journey.

For those interested in a hands-on experience, the AWS DeepRacer League was one of the highlights of the event. Attendees were able to compete in a global racing league, putting their machine- skills to the test. 

On another note, AWS Training & Certification was also available on-site, allowing attendees to get trained by AWS experts, expand their skills and knowledge, and build their future with AWS Cloud.

As an AWS Partner, Appstellar is always looking for ways to stay up to date with new technologies so that we continue driving real-world impact with our solutions. The knowledge and connections we gained at the AWS Summit will be invaluable as we continue to innovate and grow. We look forward to putting to use the new insights we gained and adding even more value to the work we do for our clients. Check out our [AWS Cloud Consulting](https://appstellar.io/aws-cloud-consulting) page for more info on how we do AWS Cloud strategy, migration, security, and optimization.

A Daytrip into AWS World

Appstellar Updates

Missed AWS Summit Berlin? We've got you covered! Check out our recap with key takeaways & favorite sessions to catch up on the latest cloud trends.

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AWS Summit Berlin 2023 Key Takeaways

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We are happy to announce that Appstellar will attend the International B2B Software Days 2023 - the Future of Digital Business event in Vienna, Austria, on May 8 - 10, 2023. 

Our Head of Growth, Dafina Zymeri Shala, is excited to attend and meet with prominent industry leaders to explore potential partnership opportunities. With our extensive background in [cloud software development](https://appstellar.io/cloud-solutions) and [DevOps](https://appstellar.io/devops-solutions), we're eager to connect with other professionals who share our vision for driving digital transformation.

We welcome the opportunity to exchange ideas and insights with our peers in the industry, and we invite you to [contact us](https://appstellar.io/contact) before the event to schedule a meeting with Dafina. Let's work together to advance the digital business landscape.

Appstellar is going to the International B2B Software Days 2023 event in Vienna. Our Head of Growth, Dafina Zymeri Shala, is looking forward to seeking potential partnerships and connections with industry leaders who share our vision for driving digital transformation.

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Appstellar Heads to International B2B Software Days 2023 - The Future of Digital Business

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The annual KubeCon + CloudNativeCon 2023 conference has come and gone, leaving Amsterdam buzzing with the latest developments in cloud-native technology. From April 18th to April 21st, the city played host to over 10,000 attendees, including developers, operators, business leaders, and our CTO/CEO, Mehmetali Shaqiri, and Lead DevOps Engineer, Fabian Berisha.

As always, KubeCon+ CloudNativeCon offered an array of insightful sessions, thought-provoking keynotes, and great opportunities for networking. Here are just a few of our highlights:

The event started with its traditional day of colocated events such as CiliumCon, Observability Day, Telco Day, Wasm Day, and our pick ArgoCon.

We, at Appstellar have been using Argo to build and manage continuous delivery workflows on Kubernetes for a while. So, once ArgoCon was announced, we knew we couldn’t miss it.

Co-located Events

Argo, the focus of ArgoCon, is an open-source tool for automating Kubernetes workflows. It has recently [graduated](https://www.cncf.io/announcements/2022/12/06/the-cloud-native-computing-foundation-announces-argo-has-graduated/) from Cloud Native CNCF and gained a significant following in the community alongside Kubernetes, Prometheus, and Envoy. 

So, at ArgoCon, attendees had the opportunity to dive deep into the tool's features, hear from users and contributors, and learn about best practices for using Argo in production environments.


ArgoCon Takes the Stage

The conference kicked off with a  brief video from Priyanka Sharma and then led by Chris Aniszczyk, who shared interesting metrics about the community and gave attendees a glimpse into the future of cloud computing and the security audits being made open source. 

Keynote speakers emphasized that Kubernetes has become the de facto standard for deploying and managing containerized applications and predicted that the platform would continue to evolve to meet the changing needs of the cloud.

Kubernetes and the Future of Cloud Computing

As Kubernetes continues to be adopted by big enterprises and governments, security-related topics are becoming increasingly popular in the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) ecosystem. This year's KubeCon + CloudNativeCon featured over 40 talks dedicated to security.

These talks covered best practices for securing Kubernetes clusters and applications, threat detection, vulnerability management, access control, compliance, and auditing.

Security

You can consider this part of the event as its “playground,” but not only. All kinds of colors were present there, with most of the booths having something interesting for entertaining their visitors after long sessions. Gaming consoles, electric cars showrooms, LEGO, VR gaming, chess, you name it. You could also get free stuff from your favorite organization or project but also ask the experts if you have any questions. 

That’s a great opportunity for individuals but also companies who want to connect or build new partnerships with the leaders of the CloudNative ecosystem.

Solutions Showcase

Beyond the formal sessions, KubeCon + CloudNativeCon 2023 provided ample opportunities for attendees to connect with one another. From meet-and-greets with industry leaders to impromptu hallway conversations, the conference was a hub of activity and collaboration.

Of course, it wasn't all work and no play at KubeCon+ CloudNativeCon 2023. Attendees were treated to delicious local cuisine, relaxing breakout sessions, and stunning views of Amsterdam's famous canals. And for those looking to blow off some steam after a long day of sessions, there were plenty of parties and social events to attend.

It goes without saying that KubeCon + CloudNativeCon 2023 was an incredible gathering of the Kubernetes community, full of innovation, inspiration, and a healthy dose of fun. 

As a Kubernetes Certified Service Provider, Appstellar is always looking for ways to stay up to date with new technologies so that we continue driving real-world impact with our solutions. The knowledge and connections we gained at the KubeCon + CloudNativeCon will be invaluable as we continue to innovate and grow. We look forward to putting to use the new insights we gained and adding even more value to the work we do for our clients. Check out our Kubernetes Enablement page for more info on how we automate the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications.


Networking Opportunities Abound

The annual KubeCon + CloudNativeCon 2023 conference has come and gone, leaving Amsterdam buzzing with the latest developments in cloud-native technology. The city played host to over 10,000 attendees, including developers, business leaders, and our CTO/CEO, Mehmetali Shaqiri, and Lead DevOps Engineer, Fabian Berisha.

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KubeCon + CloudNativeCon 2023 Amsterdam: Highlights and Key Takeaways

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We're thrilled to announce that Appstellar will be attending KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Europe 2023 in the beautiful city of Amsterdam. As a proud CNCF [Kubernetes Certified Service Provider](https://appstellar.io/kubernetes-enablement) (KCSP), we're committed to staying ahead of the curve in cloud-native tech.

Our CTO, Mehmetali Shaqiri, and DevOps Lead, Fabian Berisha, will be at the event networking with fellow experts and discovering the latest trends in cloud-native technologies. To KubeCon, they bring their experience with Kubernetes and Infrastructure as Code. 

They are ready to share how we here at Appstellar have built cloud native and multitenant solutions for [FinTech](https://appstellar.io/case-studies/kubernetes-migration-swiss-digital-bank), MedTech, LogTech and more. We’re sure they’re also ready to experience Amsterdam and indulge in some stroopwafels too.

We're dedicated to helping our clients unlock the full potential of cloud-native technologies, and attending KubeCon is a crucial part of that mission. We'll be bringing back all the latest and greatest knowledge to continue delivering the best possible solutions for your cloud-native needs.

You can set up a time to meet with Tali and Fabian now using this [link](https://appstellar.io/kubecon-europe-2023)!

Our CTO, Mehmetali Shaqiri, and DevOps Lead, Fabian Berisha, will be at the event networking with fellow experts and discovering the latest trends in cloud-native technologies.

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Appstellar Goes to KubeCon  + CloudNativeCon Europe 2023

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Over the past 3 years as a DevOps Engineer, Fabian has earned multiple certifications such as AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional, HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate, and CKA: Certified Kubernetes Administrator. Apart from leading and mentoring the Appstellar DevOps team and working with clients, he’s also involved in efforts to grow the local DevOps community by writing educational content and contributing as a DevOps trainer at ICK and internal Appstellar workshops.

[Linux](https://www.linux.org/) is the most widely used operating system for web servers and applications, where performance is crucial. Proficiency in Linux can open many doors and make it easier to learn new tools.

Many tools are initially developed for Unix-like systems and are later made available for other operating systems such as Windows. Linux is known for its powerful kernel, which is present on a wide range of devices, including mobile devices, servers, microcontrollers, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Therefore, it is important to understand Linux, or at least its fundamental concepts, such as users and groups, root users, file permissions, and text editors.

Linux Fundamentals

Cloud computing is a crucial aspect of DevOps. Familiarity with cloud concepts will be helpful when transitioning to a new cloud provider. Essentially, the cloud can be considered a "virtual computer" with its resources logically isolated and distributed to serve multiple users without affecting one another, but in a much more complex and efficient way when talking from a technical perspective. With cloud computing, we can start small and easily scale up with traffic in seconds without the need to physically rent a server and potentially not even use all of its resources. Instead, you only pay for what you use.

Cloud

AWS has been a leader in public cloud computing since its early days. It is also becoming a major player in emerging technologies such as AI, machine learning, and serverless computing.
A strong foundation of networking is necessary for daily DevOps operations. From setting up build agents and deployment pipelines to designing and setting up infrastructure or debugging internal applications communication issues, knowledge of networking is crucial for success.
Familiarity with protocols such as TCP, UDP, HTTP/S, SUBNETTING, NAT, and Route Tables is an excellent place to start.

Like the cloud, containers are an inseparable part of DevOps methodologies. They are used in almost any part of the application lifecycle, from build agents to application deployments. Like virtual machines that share specific hardware resources but are isolated from each other, the same is with containers but in a different layer. 

Containers are OS, or isolated environments, inside your primary OS. They are designed to give developers independence from the environment where they develop an application and deploy it in any machine by creating a container image. 

Containers and Orchestration Systems 

No matter the underlying environment, your application runs within a bubble inside the server as long as there is a container runtime to run that image. However, like any other system, containers or the applications within them may occasionally crash. To address this, we can use an orchestration tool to manage the desired number of containers and their health. 

Whenever a container is unhealthy or not responding, the orchestration tool creates a new one and terminates the current one.

Additionally, if the desired number of containers differs from what we’ve specified, the orchestration tool will take the necessary actions to achieve that desired state and keep functioning with it. 

[Docker](https://www.docker.com/) and [Kubernetes](https://kubernetes.io/) are the leaders in this sphere where Kubernetes orchestrates the desired number and configuration of our containers, and Docker is a container runtime. Seeing the growing market demand for DevOps Engineers proficient in Kubernetes, Appstellar regularly holds trainings on [DevOps and Kubernetes Fundamentals](https://appstellar.io/insights/updates/devops-and-kubernetes-fundamentals-training), where we focus on equipping the next generation of DevOps engineers in Kosovo with the necessary skills they need to start their DevOps careers right.

As a DevOps Engineer, you’ll often deal with infrastructure modification. Infrastructure As Code (IaC) removes the pain of provisioning the application environment manually by defining infrastructure in a declarative way. This allows us to create identical infrastructure in a matter of seconds by using the exact definition with different variables based on the environment being created. 

Configuration management tools prepare the application environment before anything starts running. Like IaC, we define what should be triggered to prepare our server, like scripts, running different commands, creating log files, installing agents, and more. 

Every time a new virtual machine runs based on that configuration, it will be ready to run your app. Various configuration management tools available can operate in separate layers, and it’s up to you to choose the one that best fits your needs. Some popular options include Terraform for IaC and Ansible for configuration management.

Infrastructure As Code And Configuration Management Tools

As a DevOps Engineer, it is beneficial to know at least one programming language. Although Bash scripting is useful for automating tasks, it can sometimes be limited or time-consuming. Knowing a scripting language like Python will make you more flexible and may help you achieve more things with less effort by using its libraries.

Additionally, learning [Go](https://go.dev/) language can be useful for many cloud-native tools, including [Terraform](https://www.terraform.io/), Kubernetes, [Helm](https://helm.sh/), [Flux](https://fluxcd.io/), etc. However, starting with a different language may be best before diving into Go.

Scripting

Once you feel comfortable with the tools mentioned above, you can start diving into more advanced DevOps topics, such as deployment strategies, like Blue/Green deployments, Canary, Linear, and so on. 

High availability is also important, as it allows you to plan for data center disasters and keep the application running in replicas and decoupled environments. Fault tolerance and disaster recovery will ask you to decide what the company can trade off in case of a disaster. Like what's the maximum allowed downtime or the maximum length of time that data can be backed up, sometimes meaning data loss, DevSecOps, and many more.

To become a DevOps Engineer, you must have a mix of technical skills and hands-on experience, focusing on learning key tools and technologies, understanding protocols, and gaining real-world experience. A good DevOps Engineer is also a lifelong learner who constantly looks for new technologies and methodologies to improve his work.

If you’re a DevOps Engineer dedicated to achieving excellence, embracing challenges, and seeking continuous improvement, Appstellar will be the perfect company for you.

Check out our [open job position for DevOps Engineers](https://appstellar.io/careers/devops-engineer) and take advantage of the opportunity to work with a talented team of engineers in a dynamic, growth-oriented environment.

If you’re thinking about starting your DevOps journey and deepening your Kubernetes skills, but don’t know where to begin, [apply now](https://ickosovo.com/training/courses/devops-and-kubernetes-fundamentals-training-1-2023) to secure your spot at our DevOps and Kubernetes Fundamentals training with ICK beginning Feb 22, 2023.

TL;DR

In a world that is constantly changing and evolving, it is crucial for businesses to continuously and consistently adapt to new developments. As the saying goes, "if you’re not first, you’re last." By being among the first to meet the needs and desires of your customers, you can position yourself at the top of the competition. Ultimately, the primary goal of any company should be customer satisfaction.

DevOps and its methodologies enable organizations to deliver new features frequently through automation and the reduction of human error in processes such as software delivery, infrastructure configuration, and deployment phases. By learning DevOps, you will be well-positioned in the industry to help companies migrate to modern architectures or scale their current systems. 

In this article, I will cover the skills and tools I’ve learned from my own experience as a DevOps Engineer, which we consider to be the foundation of this field. Let's get started!

Being an Engineer

Explore the foundational tools, skills, and protocols necessary to become a successful DevOps Engineer.

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DevOps Engineer Learning Path | Insights From Our Lead DevOps Engineer

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Artiola is our outgoing stellar with a special love for yoga, dogs, and content creation. She is certified by HubSpot Academy for her Content Marketing, Digital Advertising, and Inbound Marketing skills.

Outsourcing is a model that many companies use. It’s a rising market of [$92.5 billion](https://www.zippia.com/advice/outsourcing-statistics/) expected to increase at a [4% compound yearly growth rate](https://www.zippia.com/advice/outsourcing-statistics/) between 2021 and 2025. IT services are among the most outsourced tasks, with a [37% market share](https://www.zippia.com/advice/outsourcing-statistics/). 

Software Outsourcing is a way to benefit from the expertise of another team or individual expert. It allows you to develop your project with better scalability and flexibility, as well as increased efficiency and security at a lower cost than hiring someone in-house.

Understanding Software Outsourcing

Based on your company's needs and your project requirements, there are three software development collaboration models you need to know.

Project-based collaboration model is an outsourcing model where you let another company fully take care of your project. You give them your requirements, and they implement everything at a fixed cost.

### The Project-Based Model is right for you if…
…you don’t have an internal development team. 

In this case, outsourcing a development team that builds your project from scratch and monitors it after deployment is your best choice.

Companies that offer project-based collaboration models are specialized in specific areas and have dedicated software development teams that work together towards your goals.

### Project-Based Model Benefits

1. Project-Based Collaboration Model

The project-based model means scope-based estimation and ensured delivery of your project on time for a fixed price. 

The dedicated team model is a collaboration model where the outsourcing company carefully chooses a team of specialists to work full-time on your project exclusively.
Since it’s a team that already works together in-house, dedicated teams allow you not to worry about team cooperation or trust. Another perk of dedicated teams is that you won't have to deal with paperwork, such as taxes, HR, and social benefits. The outsourcing company handles it while you pick the brains of professionals and have complete control over your project.
### The Dedicated Teams Model is right for you if…
…you are a startup, don’t have time to hire an in-house team, or simply want to cut costs.

Hiring an in-house team can be expensive, stressful, and can take a lot of time. You have to go through each candidate, consider their pros and cons, make an offer, finalize it, and lastly, make sure each and every one is 100% fit for the project you’re working on.

Dedicated teams, on the other hand, are experts carefully selected by your provider to work on your project. They are 100% fit to work and meet your goals.

### Dedicated team model benefits


2. Dedicated Teams

The dedicated team model means having the expertise of the CTO on demand, along with tech advisory and a very responsive team.

Extended teams, otherwise known as staff augmentation model, is a collaboration model that companies use when they don’t have time to hire an in-house expert to fill high-level positions where they lack expertise.

When we provide staff augmentation for our clients, we like to share a few profiles of who we see fit for their project and let them decide on who they want to work with. After our clients decide on that, our staff serves as in-house employees until the project is finished.

### The Extended Teams Model is right for you if…

…if your company lacks expertise in some areas and needs someone to complete specialized tasks in a short time. Extended teams are also a great fit when you need additional labor resources to streamline and speed up the development process.

### Staff augmentation model benefits


3. Extended Teams

Staff augmentation model means controlled hiring, a fast onboarding process, and a faster time to market for a lower cost.

When you consider hiring an outsourcing team or contractor for your project, keep in mind to choose a credible company. Aside from having the expertise your project needs, what’s also a bonus is if they are partners or certified providers of leading companies in the industry.

As [AWS partners](https://appstellar.io/insights/updates/aws-partner-announcement) and [Kubernetes Certified Service Providers](https://appstellar.io/insights/updates/cncf-member-kcsp-announcement), Appstellar has a team of certified experts that are ready to jump on projects and take on new challenges.

How to Choose an Outsourcing Partner

IT outsourcing as a working model is used by [92%](https://www.statista.com/statistics/1089826/companies-sourcing-active-ito-bpo-contracts/#statisticContainer) of G2000 companies and 90% of businesses consider cloud computing a key enabler for their outsourcing initiatives, according to a [Global Outsourcing Survey](https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/us/Documents/process-and-operations/us-how-much-disruption.pdf).

With that being said, outsourcing is a great way for your company to attain talent outside borders, lower operational costs, keep your focus on core business areas, streamline operations, and increase efficiency for time-consuming tasks while benefiting from the expertise of external talent.

While there is no doubt that outsourcing is a beneficial business strategy, when deciding which model is best, that’s a question up to you to answer. It all depends on what your company needs.

As for Appstellar, we are quite flexible when it comes to [collaboration models](https://appstellar.io/collaboration-models). So, if you’re still unsure which one is for you, our team is more than willing to jump on a call and help you find the one that best meets your company’s needs.


So, What is the Takeaway?

Sometimes even if you have a million-dollar idea for a software product or service, when you lack the resources to bring it to life, your million-dollar idea will remain simply an idea.

Thanks to the growing market of software outsourcing, chances are you will find all the resources you need outside of your company to meet your internal goals.


Learn about Project-Based, Dedicated Team, or Staff Augmentation Software Outsourcing Models, and find out which model works best for your project.

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Team working

Project-Based, Dedicated Team, or Staff Augmentation — What's the Difference?

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Career at Appstellar

Before shifting to development, Majlinda started at Appstellar as a Quality Assurance Engineer. Her QA experience has enabled Majlinda to have a keen eye for detail which she applies to every project she puts her hands on.

I believe one’s first job might be the very most important one. You’re excited to start a new chapter in your life; you’re filled with passion, ambition, and desire to learn new things. You ask about many things and you observe everything, trying to grasp every little bit of information you can gather.

This experience can either be terrific or terrible; I was lucky enough that it was terrific for me, or shall I say ✨stellar✨.

Right after I finished my studies in Electrical and Computer Engineering, I couldn’t wait to finally start applying in real life everything that I had learned from my education. And just like this, my job-hunting journey began.

As I was checking different IT companies in Kosovo, I came across this small (at that time, because now we have grown to ±30 employees) cloud and DevOps company called Appstellar. 
I don’t know why, but I had a great feeling about this one. I knew that I had to send my CV and hoped for an interview invitation email.

3 months passed, and finally, a notification popped up on my phone. My pupils dilated and my heart started racing faster. 

**I just got an email from them!**

I always imagined I would start my career as a Frontend or a Backend Developer, but Appstellar had something else in mind for me. They had an urgent opening for Quality Assurance Engineer, so they asked me if I was interested in being interviewed for a QA internship position.

I just couldn’t say ‘no’ to that, so, I accepted and a few days later got an email with the great news that I got the job! 

## Being a QA Engineer at Appstellar

The day came. It was October 20th when I started working at Appstellar, a day I will never forget. I was feeling a tad bit nervous, but by the end of the day, that feeling was gone. I was blown away by how professional, friendly, and helpful everyone was.

And just like every other beginning, this one was challenging as well, but I was okay with that because, to me, challenges mean opportunities to learn and grow. 
I was so motivated by the environment that there were even days that I would work after hours (without being asked to) because I wanted to use all that curiosity as fuel to push me to expand my knowledge.

My managers at Appstellar never put on my plate more than I could handle. They gave me the chance to take my time and get independent at my own pace – and for that, I am forever grateful. Not long after, I was able to perform complicated tasks on my own.

I feel like this job really changed me. It made me detail-oriented and taught me how to think and see things from different perspectives. In a way, it prepared me for the next challenge that Appstellar had in store for me.

## My Career Shift to Backend Development

After 5 months of hard work and dedication as a QA Engineer, knowing my wish to shift to development, the management offered me a Backend position. Finally, it happened and I cannot begin to tell you how excited I was to start!

I was surprised to see how much my experience as a QA Engineer would help me on my journey as a Backend Developer, especially for user experience. Now, as I’m coding, I try to think of every detail and put myself in users’ shoes, so I can find the best solutions to make things easier for them.

If you get a QA opportunity even though it’s not what you initially thought like me, I highly recommend taking it, because, speaking from experience, it really helps you learn coding better, think as a user, and write test cases.

I am happy to look back and see my journey and feel proud of how far I’ve come. First, I was a QA intern, and now I am the one who’s mentoring the new QA intern.

But I don’t plan to stop here. My plans for the future are to finish as many trainings as I can and learn about the latest trends and the best solutions. To start this off I plan on finishing the DevOps training mentored by our CTO, Tali, and then getting certified as an AWS Certified Developer.

My goal was to become a Full Stack Developer which I have recently achieved (this is a story for another time) and now I'm focusing on giving back to the company what they have given me.

#stellarspeak

The story of how Majlinda started her career as a Quality Assurance Engineer at Appstellar and got the opportunity to shift to her dream job as a Software Developer.

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Kick-Starting My Development Career at Appstellar

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DevOps Services

Ready for DevOps  Implementation

Meridian is passionate about what he does and always strives for self-improvement. He is an AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner and a HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate.

Knowing its importance as a market leader, I've always had a great desire to learn how AWS works, what services they provide, and what they include. On my first job, I was lucky to get to work on a project where I implemented solutions using AWS resources. This made me eager to look into certification opportunities, which I only found when I joined Appstellar.

Therefore, my AWS **certification** journey began when I started working as a Backend Developer here at Appstellar.

With [Appstellar being an AWS partner](https://appstellar.io/insights/updates/aws-partner-announcement) and offering [AWS solutions](https://appstellar.io/aws-cloud-consulting) to clients, I knew I had to start working on strengthening my skills and deepening my knowledge of AWS. Lucky for me, as it happens, Appstellar has a Growth Program that offers many career advancement opportunities, one of them being getting certified by AWS. Hearing this was music to my ears!

After months of practicing on my own and with some help from my fellow stellars, I was finally ready to take my AWS exam and get certified.


My AWS Certification Journey

In a fast-paced industry such as [cloud software development](https://appstellar.io/cloud-solutions), you as a developer need to stay up to date with the latest trends in the market. You need to find the best ways to design, deploy, and manage applications in the cloud; and trust me, having a few certifications under your belt makes this process a whole lot easier! And I don’t mean having those gold badges; I mean the knowledge you get from the trainings. 

Aside from the knowledge, there are also some other benefits that come with the AWS certification.

### 1. Cloud computing is the future
Businesses that move to the cloud can scale and adapt quickly to market changes, resulting in reduced costs, greater business agility, accelerated innovation, and streamlined operations. This is why there is such great demand for cloud developers.

### 2. Greater hireable position:
Considering that AWS controls [ 33% of the cloud market](https://finbold.com/amazon-aws-statistics/), obtaining an AWS certification gives you a significant edge in putting yourself in a highly hireable position.

According to ACG's [State of Cloud Report](https://go.acloudguru.com/2020-state-of-cloud-learning-report?ajs_aid=b0df4fc3-e4fe-42a4-aef5-7dc1ffc0047f&_ga=2.25718717.1881790073.1665946995-1675361834.1665946995)

- 82% of hiring managers say **cloud certifications make a candidate more attractive**.
- 87% of **hiring managers value hands-on experience and certifications** over a university degree when evaluating candidates.

### 3. Potential higher income

Certifications are a way for you to advance your career. The more advanced you are, the higher your salary will be.
AWS Certifications can open many doors to top-paying jobs. In the [2021 IT Skills Salary Report, Global Knowledge](https://www.globalknowledge.com/us-en/resources/resource-library/white-papers/2021-it-skills-and-salary-report) found that AWS Certification is among the top 5 highest-paying certifications.

### 4. Access to AWS community

After getting certified by AWS you get access to the [AWS Certified community.](https://aws-certification.influitive.com/users/sign_in) This is an amazing networking opportunity.

### 5. Exam discount

After getting your 1st AWS certification, you’ll get a 50% discount voucher on your next AWS certification.

### 6. An advantage for freelancers

If you’re a freelancer, having an AWS certification serves as an advantage and gives you the opportunity to acquire more online projects.

AWS Certification Benefits

As a market leader and provider, AWS offers [12 credentials](https://aws.amazon.com/certification/) that cover the basics and the advanced topics of its services.

In my opinion, the [AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Certification](https://aws.amazon.com/certification/certified-cloud-practitioner/) is a great place to start if you're new to AWS. This certification proves that you have a basic understanding of AWS services to support cloud operations across various industries.

Where to Start?

Preparation is the key to passing the AWS exam. So before taking it, here are 7 tips I want you to know based on my experience of passing the test to become an AWS-certified Cloud Practitioner.

AWS Exam Tips

## 1. Get familiar with AWS fundamentals

If you have a general knowledge of how the web works and you’re thinking about getting an AWS certification, the first thing you need to do is to familiarize yourself with AWS as a platform, and get familiar with its services, features, and terms.

## 2. YouTube videos are your friend

What helped me a lot to prepare for the exam was watching YouTube videos. One of my favorite YouTube channels to learn from is [Be A Better Dev.](https://www.youtube.com/c/BeABetterDev) Their videos provide incredible insights into AWS. 

The video [_ Intro to AWS - The Most Important Services To Learn_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDEpdNdFglI), in particular, provides an incredible explanation of how AWS operates on the web and its core services, as well as why and what solutions they offer when used.

## 3. Take courses and practice exams

One of the best ways to prepare for the AWS exam is by taking courses and then taking practice exams to test your knowledge and understand how much you’ve learned.

**Courses**

The exciting part begins once you have a firm understanding of AWS! The course [_Ultimate AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner_ ](https://www.udemy.com/course/aws-certified-cloud-practitioner-new/) provides an outstanding AWS breakdown and is completely focused on preparing you for the AWS Cloud Practitioner Exam.

The best way to get the most out of this course is to practice everything you see on screen. Moreover, try to acquire the most information by testing different services and modifying them yourself outside of what is taught in the course. This allows you to understand what each service has to offer and how they operate.

*One thing to keep in mind is that it’s always better if you conduct additional research outside of what is provided in the course to fully understand each service.
**
Practice exams**

After completing the study materials, I highly recommend taking practice exams and timing them to get a genuine sense of what the exam process will feel like under time pressure. I found practice exams super helpful because they gave me an insight into the exam structure.

To really ace your AWS certification exam, I urge you to take these [6 practice exams](https://www.udemy.com/course/aws-certified-cloud-practitioner-practice-test/) on [Udemy](https://www.udemy.com/?utm=70e305a682e38afd437e651aaa453a41&track=1&pt=2). They’ll provide you with all the information you need before taking the test.

## 4. Read the AWS guidelines

The security process can take up to 30 minutes. Make sure you’ve carefully read the AWS exam guidelines provided in your email beforehand to avoid any issues while going through the checking process.

## 5. Have good lighting

I don’t want you to make the same mistake that I made, so I cannot stress this enough when I say that **you need to have *good* lighting!**

During the exam, everything will be checked through your laptop camera, that’s why lighting is so important.
When I took the exam, the weather outside was dark and gloomy, so it was quite difficult for the camera to capture all the needed details for the check to be approved, so I had to repeat the process multiple times.

## 6. Have a strong Wi-Fi connection

Make sure you have a fast and stable connection, but also make sure to have a backup plan in case you’ll have a connection downtime or an electricity cut. Better safe than sorry!

## 7. Focus on what you know

Skip the questions you’re unsure about and fill out the ones you know. This allows you to finish all the questions you’re 100% sure of and gives you time to think about the ones you’re not confident in.Once you’re done answering the questions you know, you can go back and give the others that you’re unsure of and give them another try.



Once you submit the exam, you will be logged out of the platform and your results will be emailed to you within 5 business days. In my case, I got the results the next day.

The AWS Cloud Practitioner Certification was a good starting point for me, but it definitely won’t be my ending point. As a part of the Growth Program that Appstellar offers, there are so many other AWS certifications I plan on getting. You can benefit from this program too, if you[ join our team.
](https://stellar-dev.appstellar.io/careers)
There is no easy way to pass the exam. The only way to do so is by practicing, practicing, and then practicing some more. Follow all the tips that I gave you in this article, and you’ll ace your AWS exam! 

But remember that at the end of the day, knowledge is what matters most. Don’t get discouraged if you don’t pass the exam on your 1st try. Take some time to review and practice everything, and once you feel that you’re ready give it another try.

Good luck acing it!


What Happens Next?

Being a new kid in an industry filled with many possibilities and technologies, I was always eager to learn new things. One particular thing I was always interested in was this platform called [Amazon Web Services (AWS)](https://aws.amazon.com/?nc2=h_lg).

If you’re unfamiliar with it, AWS is a cloud computing platform provided by Amazon that includes a mixture of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and packaged Software as a Service (SaaS) offerings. This platform offers tools such as compute power, database storage, and content delivery services that allow you to quickly and easily create multiple standardized solutions.

Wondering how and why to get AWS certified? Here are the benefits along with 7 tips to help you ace the AWS exam from an AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner.

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7 AWS Certification Exam Tips From a Certified AWS Cloud Practitioner

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Setting an agenda for the meeting is critical. Looking back over the past 3 months and planning ahead for the next 3 months requires a schedule to keep things on track.

We have devised a scheme to cover all the essential topics. Here’s what we always cover and why:

### Highlights
Taking a step back and looking at what we’ve collectively achieved over the past three months serves as fuel to keep us motivated to work toward new milestones. That’s why we highlight our team's work over the past three months to show appreciation and recognition for their stellar work.

### Updates
We want to be transparent with our team and let them in on the progress we made on things we shared with them earlier. By doing so, we’re establishing trust and making the team feel involved.

Meeting Agenda

### Announcements
Good or bad, we let our team know what’s up. Just like with the progress updates, our team should know what is going on in the company and its direction. And we believe that All-Hands Meetings are an excellent opportunity to share company news.

### Superstellar work
Each quarterly meeting, we get to learn about one specific successful project a team worked on. This time we got to learn about the sophisticated learner-centric solution our team, led by our VP of Engineering, Rozi, and Project Manager, Adea, did for our client, Brainstorm. Our stellars find this section to be very inspiring!

### Goals
A quarterly meeting isn’t a “quarterly meeting” without establishing your goals for the next three months. That’s why we like to plan ahead and set goals we want to accomplish in the next quarter.

This is the favorite section of many of us. It’s where we get to know what life at Appstellar is like through our stellars' eyes! 

During this meeting section, we focus on three points:

1. We take a look at the statistics from our What is life like at Appstellar? survey
2. Quick Q&A
3. Our famous Thanksgiving section

Covering these six sections has resulted in all our stars staying aligned.✨ No pun intended.

Life at Appstellar

It's been a hectic quarter. Here's what happened:

- We delivered good work and left clients happy with our **#Cloud ** and **#DevOps ** services so much so that we got comments like:


>_Aside from their professionalism and commitment to the project, [Appstellar] is a fun team to work with delivering a wholesome experience…_
 
- We all chose summer to do something very productive — to rest. But taking time off work didn’t mean we took time off being a stellar; we took tokens of Appstellar wherever we went.🏔🌊

Q3 Highlights

- We curated our new website up to the finest details to represent us fully. (Stay tuned for the launch!)

- We celebrated 6 birthdays, 2 promotions, and many raises. We’re going to miss those summer BBQ parties!

- We gave back to a cause we care about. We partnered with **SOS Fshatrat e Fëmijëve Kosovë** for the  **#IT4SOS** campaign.

- We had a fun company photoshoot. Stellars were snapped! ✅ 📸

- We grew our team and outgrew our office. Fun fact: 100% of newcomers in the past 6 months are happy they joined Appstellar and feel welcome here. (Yes, we asked them.)

- We accepted invitations to local forums and summits where we got to represent Appstellar and create partnerships.

A lot more happened but let's keep it at this for now.

Knowing our goals, we’re ecstatic for the last quarter of the year! ✨

Another quarter finished, another all-hands meeting. Every 3 months at the Appstellar headquarters, our team gathers for a now-favorite meeting for all, the quarterly All-Hands Meeting.

Suppose you’re wondering why the hassle of having these meetings every 3 months and not every year as everybody else; the short answer is that it’s worth it. The long answer is that we believe it indirectly contributes to our growth, our team’s happiness, and ultimately our client satisfaction. Because only by retrospection can we know how to move forward.

We believe quarterly meetings indirectly contribute to our growth, our team’s happiness, and ultimately our client satisfaction. Here’s a rundown of our last all hands meeting.

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Why We Have Quarterly Meetings | Q3 All Hands Meeting Summary

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These partnerships/certifications are a big milestone for us. They demonstrate Appstellar’s expertise as a Cloud and DevOps solutions provider helping customers maximize their cloud-native journey. A lot of work has been done to get here, so we were super excited to share the news with everyone. So excited that we went all in with branded cupcakes and a stellarized drinks menu.

On top of these two accomplishments, in the last six months, we've expanded our staff by 122%! Moreover, we've signed multiple new client deals, expanded in new operation industries (like fintech and health tech), and moved to new office spaces. Hence all the smiley faces.

What makes this celebration even more remarkable is the community that supports our journey. So, this party wouldn't be a success without a full house of partners, contributors, friends, and family.


Finally, neither the success nor the event would be possible without the engines that power our work – our stellar team. We loved seeing them have fun, forget about the bugs, and enjoy the night.

While this is not something you will find on the rest of our website, something we’re also ✨stellar✨ at is throwing parties. We’ve recently celebrated two important accomplishments – becoming an [AWS Partner](https://appstellar.io/insights/updates/aws-partner-announcement) (the first company from Kosovo to do so) and being certified as a [Kubernetes Certified Service Provider ](https://appstellar.io/insights/updates/cncf-member-kcsp-announcement)by Cloud Native Computing Foundation (the first in Western Balkans). So, our HQ doors were open for an evening of laughter and fun.


Appstellar celebrates two important accomplishments – becoming an AWS Partner and being certified as a Kubernetes Certified Service Provider by Cloud Native Computing Foundation.

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This is the space where we talk to you - the CTO, CEO, or Software Engineer. Here is where you can get to know more about us, engineering, the world of cloud software development and DevOps, and our expert thoughts on the ever-evolving tech industry.

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DevOps Engineer Learning Path | Insights From Our Lead DevOps Engineer

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