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Get ready to Certify! "Study with Me" for Financial Services!

  • 1.  Get ready to Certify! "Study with Me" for Financial Services!

    Posted Mon April 08, 2024 08:50 AM
    Edited by Traci Deacon Tue April 09, 2024 02:45 PM

    We are excited that you have decided to earn your IBM Cloud for Financial Services Specialty certification. Join the 'Study with Me' program to accelerate your progress and earn your certification in 30 days!

    It's easy to participate, just enroll in version 2 of the IBM Cloud Financial Services Specialty learning path and follow along with the daily posts in this discussion thread. Below is a visual representation of the learning path we will walk through together.

    For 30 days, we will post training checkpoints, study aids, and study questions to help you earn your certification. Here is how it works:

    • Each day, you will take a portion of the IBM Cloud for Financial Services Specialty curriculum and review a few practice questions.
    • We will share "facts you should know" about the various curriculum topics, along with study tips.
    • We will post guidance on how to schedule your exam and request an exam voucher.
    • At the end, we will celebrate your achievements!

    You are also invited to attend the Certify in a Flash – IBM Cloud for Financial Services Specialty Webinar on May 9, 2024 for an extra dose of study prep to pass the Financial Services Specialty certification exam.

    Here are a couple more resources to bookmark before we start our journey:

    • Visit the IBM Cloud Prep app to access study guides, flashcards, practice questions, and other resources to get exam ready.
    • After you attend the Certify in a Flash webinar, visit Pearson VUE to schedule your exam.

    We are thrilled to go on this certification journey with you, see you tomorrow!



    ------------------------------
    Traci Deacon
    IBM Center for Cloud Training (ICCT)
    ------------------------------



  • 2.  RE: Get ready to Certify! "Study with Me" for Financial Services!

    Posted Tue April 09, 2024 01:21 PM
    Edited by Traci Deacon Wed April 10, 2024 08:41 AM

    Welcome to Day 1 of your IBM Cloud for Financial Services Specialty certification journey!

    You've chosen a great certification to pursue, and this is the first day of our journey as we study together.

    In our first couple of days together, you'll get an overview of IBM Cloud for Financial Services® and the unique segments of the financial services industry. You'll also learn how IBM is working to increase adoption of public cloud services by financial services organizations.

    Let's start with a look at the IBM Cloud Financial Services Specialty learning path. Our first stop on the path is Section 1: An Introduction to IBM Cloud for Financial Services. In this section, you will learn about the following:

    • The purpose, program elements, and benefits of IBM Cloud® for Financial Services
    • The importance of the Hybrid Cloud Platform as it relates to regulated workloads
    • The target clients for cloud service providers
    • The key market segments of the banking and insurance industry
    • The various challenges within the banking and insurance industry
    When you are finished reviewing section 1, see if you can answer the question below.
    • Which key financial services focus areas are addressed with the IBM Cloud Framework for Financial Services strategy?
      1. Enhanced data protection, proactive security measures, continuous monitoring, and response for compliance
      2. Operational excellence and application modernization
      3. Defining standard APIs for application integration and application modernization
      4. Active monitoring, response, and defining business continuity requirements

    Think about it and come back tomorrow for the answer.

    See you then!


    ------------------------------
    Traci Deacon
    IBM Center for Cloud Training (ICCT)
    ------------------------------



  • 3.  RE: Get ready to Certify! "Study with Me" for Financial Services!

    Posted Wed April 10, 2024 09:25 AM

    Good job! Let's keep the momentum going with Day 2!

    We're in this together! Welcome to day 2 of 'Study with Me'. Did you start the introduction course? How far did you get?  Remember, to participate in 'Study with Me', you should first enroll in version 2 of the IBM Cloud for Financial Services Specialty learning path.

    If you have started section 1, you've been introduced to IBM Cloud for Financial Services, its features and benefits, and IBM's collaboration with the Financial Services industry.

    Did you know that IBM Cloud for Financial Services aims to help reduce risk throughout the supply chain by addressing resiliency, performance, security, and regulatory compliance requirements for financial institutions? It is designed to accelerate cloud adoption for even the most sensitive workloads within the Financial Services industry.

    Keep moving ahead with Section 1: An Introduction to IBM Cloud for Financial Services. Also, visit the IBM Cloud Prep App to access study guides, flashcards, practice questions, and other resources to get exam ready.

    How did you do with yesterday's question? Here is the answer.

    • Which key financial services focus areas are addressed with the IBM Cloud Framework for Financial Services strategy? The correct answer is A. Enhanced data protection, proactive security measures, continuous monitoring, and response for compliance.

    Here is today's question:

    IBM Cloud for Financial Services facilitates cloud cost efficiency by ___________.

    1. Maximizing capital expenditure for banks and insurance companies
    2. Optimizing resource utilization through automation and scaling
    3. Managing financial risk in the financial services market
    4. Enhancing customer experience for banking and insurance customers

    Come back tomorrow to see the answer! We are excited to support you on your certification journey and to walk with you on your travels.

    See you tomorrow!



    ------------------------------
    M. Starliper
    Project Manager, IBM Center for Cloud Training
    IBM
    ------------------------------



  • 4.  RE: Get ready to Certify! "Study with Me" for Financial Services!

    Posted Thu April 11, 2024 09:30 AM

    Welcome to Day 3. It's easy to certify when we study together!

    It's day 3, and I hope you feeling the energy!

    For the past couple days, we have focused on Section 1: An Introduction to IBM Cloud for Financial Services. Hopefully, you are close to completing section 1 where you have learned about the fundamentals of IBM Cloud for Financial Services, Financial Services target clients, and Financial Services client issues and challenges.

    Today, we wrap up section 1. Go ahead and finish section 1 if you have not already done so.

    Did you know banking and insurance are the two key market segments for financial services clients?

    How did you do with yesterday's question? Here is the answer.

    • IBM Cloud for Financial Services facilitates cloud cost efficiency by ___________. The correct answer is B. Optimizing resource utilization through automation and scaling

    Here is today's question:

    Which benefit of IBM Cloud for Financial Services facilitates innovation and agility for clients?

    1. Ensuring regulatory compliance for Financial Services companies
    2. Improving customer engagement for banks and insurance companies
    3. Ecosystem of partner applications/services, ISVs, Fintechs, and SaaS providers
    4. Minimizing data redundancy in the financial services market

    Come back tomorrow to see the correct answer!



    ------------------------------
    M. Starliper
    Project Manager, IBM Center for Cloud Training
    IBM
    ------------------------------



  • 5.  RE: Get ready to Certify! "Study with Me" for Financial Services!

    Posted Fri April 12, 2024 09:14 AM

    Welcome to Day 4. You're doing great!

    Do you know someone else who is studying for the IBM Cloud for Financial Services Specialty certification?   Studying with a partner is a great way to become certified. Use this IBM Cloud Training community to connect!

    For the past several days, we've focused on Section 1: An Introduction to IBM Cloud for Financial Services

    It's Friday! Today, and this weekend, we move on to Section 2: Components, Risk, and Compliance, where you will learn about the following:

    • How IBM Cloud for Financial Services uses the Define-Implement-Assess model to meet regulatory requirements
    • The purpose and benefits of the IBM Cloud Framework for Financial Services, FS Validation, and the Security and Compliance Center
    • The various regulatory guidelines and industry standards that ensure financial compliance
    • The forms of risk and risk mitigation strategies within IBM Cloud for Financial Services ecosystem

    Did you know? The IBM Cloud Framework for Financial Services is a solution platform and ecosystem program for financial institutions and their technology providers to enable them to transact and operate with confidence on the IBM public cloud. It is a standard framework of risk-based controls that establishes a consistent approach across the industry when addressing cybersecurity, risk management, and

    compliance concerns.

    Today, and this weekend, try to get through the first lesson or two of section 2 where you will view a video describing more details about the IBM Cloud for Financial Services platform and IBM's approach to enabling security, risk, and compliance for the financial sector through the IBM Cloud® Framework for Financial Services and its components.

    As we move into the weekend, we will cover two study questions that we will answer on Monday. Before we dive in, here is the correct answer to yesterday's question:

    • Which benefit of IBM Cloud for Financial Services facilitates innovation and agility for clients? The correct answer is C. Ecosystem of partner applications/services, ISVs, Fintechs, and SaaS providers.

    Here are your weekend study questions:

    1. Two benefits of IBM Cloud Framework for Financial Services are ongoing governance of the framework documentation that considers new and changing regulations and ________________________. 

      1. Addressing security requirements and regulatory compliance obligations of financial institutions in the cloud
      2. An integrated monthly security checkpoint that allows for vulnerabilities
      3. Automatic security integration and implementation
      4. Compliance is no longer required to be monitored

    2. Two controls of the IBM Cloud Framework for Financial Services include data privacy and ________________________.

      1. User privacy
      2. User compliance
      3. Configuration management
      4. Configuration installer

    Study tip: Did you know that the IBM Cloud for Financial Services Specialty (V2) study guide in the IBM Cloud Prep app includes a list of cloud acronyms? These acronyms will be useful as we prep for the exam. Be sure to use this great prep app to supplement your studies.

    Come back Monday for the correct answers and to continue our journey. See you then!



    ------------------------------
    M. Starliper
    Project Manager, IBM Center for Cloud Training
    IBM
    ------------------------------



  • 6.  RE: Get ready to Certify! "Study with Me" for Financial Services!

    Posted Mon April 15, 2024 09:00 AM

    Welcome to Day 7! It's catch-up day!

    We've made it to day 7 of 'Study with Me'!

    Use today to catch up on any learning that you didn't get to last week. Of course, we can't leave you without answering the questions we asked on Friday and giving you another one to think about.

    Here are the answers to Friday's questions. How did you do?

    • Two benefits of IBM Cloud Framework for Financial Services are ongoing governance of the framework documentation that considers new and changing regulations and _________________. The correct answer is A. Addressing security requirements and regulatory compliance obligations of financial institutions in the cloud.
    • Two controls of the IBM Cloud Framework for Financial Services include data privacy and ________________________. The correct answer is C. Configuration Management.

    Today's question is:

    One of the seven core focus areas that is part of IBM Cloud Framework for Financial Services is automated application and workload protection. What is another core focus area?

    1. Advanced data protection
    2. Advanced security protection
    3. Automated provisioning
    4. Operational compliance

    See you tomorrow as we continue section 2!



    ------------------------------
    PAMELA REED
    ------------------------------



  • 7.  RE: Get ready to Certify! "Study with Me" for Financial Services!

    Posted Tue April 16, 2024 08:49 AM

    Welcome to Day 8! It's a new week! Let's keep going.

    Welcome to day 8! Today, we are continuing Section 2: Components, Risk, and Compliance. How are you feeling? Are you caught up with the learning plan and using the study app? 

    Facts you should know: Risk is inevitable. Risk comes in many forms, and while there are many types of risk that can lead to problems for financial institutions, there are two fundamental categories of regulatory vendor risk: Business impact risk and regulatory risk.

    Today, try to complete at least the third lesson in section 2 on Financial Services Industry Regulation and Compliance Framework where you will learn about the regulatory and compliance landscape for financial services as well as the Financial Services Security Policy Framework.

    Let's look at the answer to yesterday's question:

    One of the seven core focus areas that is part of IBM Cloud Framework for Financial Services is automated application and workload protection. What is another core focus area? The correct answer is A. Advanced data protection.

    Tomorrow, we'll finish up Section 2. Here is today's question. 

    The Enterprise Platform Experience has several key benefits including:

    1. Significantly reduced time to consumption
    2. Slower provisioning time
    3. More secure environments from the beginning
    4. Higher level of visibility of their infrastructure

    See you tomorrow!



    ------------------------------
    PAMELA REED
    ------------------------------



  • 8.  RE: Get ready to Certify! "Study with Me" for Financial Services!

    Posted Wed April 17, 2024 08:05 AM

    Welcome to Day 9! You've got this!

    It's day 9, and today we are finishing Section 2: Components, Risk, and Compliance. Isn't it a great feeling to finish up a section? Tomorrow, we start Section 3: Customer Workload Environment.

    Did you know? The overall risk management process ensures organizations stay informed on key risks and changes to risk profiles through an embedded framework and process for identifying, assessing, and controlling risk. To reduce risk, an organization needs to apply resources to minimize, monitor, and control the impact of negative events while maximizing positive events.

    To complete section 2, there is a lesson on risk assessment where you learn about the forms of risk and risk mitigation in the IBM Cloud for Financial Services ecosystem. Be sure to also complete the section summary and knowledge check.

    Let's look at the answer to yesterday's question:

    • The Enterprise Platform Experience has several key benefits including: The correct answer is A. Significantly reduced time to consumption.

    Here is today's question. 

    The Security and Compliance Center suite enables clients to achieve security and compliance across hybrid multiclouds through which three phases?

    1. Define, run, and assess
    2. Assess, run, and secure
    3. Define, implement, and assess
    4. Run, implement, and secure

    See you tomorrow!



    ------------------------------
    M. Starliper
    Project Manager, IBM Center for Cloud Training
    IBM
    ------------------------------



  • 9.  RE: Get ready to Certify! "Study with Me" for Financial Services!

    Posted Thu April 18, 2024 09:17 AM

    Welcome to Day 10! Stay positive, work hard, make it happen!

    Can you believe it's already day 10? You're a third of the way through! 

    Don't forget to keep using the IBM Cloud Prep App to access study guides, flashcards, practice questions, and other resources to get you ready for the exam.

    Today we are starting Section 3: Customer Workload Environment. This section focuses on the technology considerations and dependencies as they relate to application migration of client workload environments using IBM Cloud for Financial Services, along with design and implementation principles for architecting a solution with IBM Cloud.

    Customer Workload Environment Module

    In section three, you will learn how to:

    • Identify approaches, considerations, and dependencies of application migration and modernization
    • Assess design and implementation principles for architecting an application related to financial services
    • Articulate the value of IBM tools that support customer workload environments

    Did you know? To help clients modernize and transform business faster and more efficiently, IBM Cloud for Financial Services:

    • Addresses regulatory compliance across internal and digital supply chain data and workloads.
    • Protects sensitive data in the cloud with a data-centric, zero trust approach.
    • Secures migration of virtualized workloads to the cloud.
    • Secures development and management of containerized, cloud-native applications.

    Today, try to complete at least the first lesson in section 3 where you will learn about what application migration is and how to evaluate the dependencies and considerations for migrating workloads to IBM Cloud.

    Here is the answer to yesterday's question:

    • The Security and Compliance Center suite enables clients to achieve security and compliance across hybrid multiclouds through which three phases? The correct answer is C. Define, implement, and assess

    Today's question is:

    Which challenge does IBM Cloud for Financial Services address for the Financial Services industry regarding migrating and modernizing applications?

    1. Ensuring efficient operation of diverse workloads in the cloud
    2. Implementing a data-centric, zero trust approach for securing sensitive data
    3. Managing regulatory compliance only for digital supply chain data
    4. Focusing solely on the migration of virtualized workloads without considering security measures

    As always, we will reveal the correct answer tomorrow. 

    Let's keep the momentum going! You're doing great!

    See you tomorrow!



    ------------------------------
    M. Starliper
    Project Manager, IBM Center for Cloud Training
    IBM
    ------------------------------



  • 10.  RE: Get ready to Certify! "Study with Me" for Financial Services!

    Posted Fri April 19, 2024 09:15 AM

    Welcome to Day 11. Small steps lead to big achievements.

    Today, and this weekend, you'll finish section 3.

    Fact you should know: The IBM Well-Architected Framework provides recommendations and best practices to help hybrid cloud architects design and create hybrid cloud solutions that are resilient, performant, and secure.

    Go ahead and complete the rest of section 3 which includes:

    • Design and Implementation Principles
    • IBM Cloud Tools to Support the Architecture
    • Summary and Knowledge Check

    It's time to answer yesterday's question:

    • Which challenge does IBM Cloud for Financial Services address for the Financial Services industry regarding migrating and modernizing applications? The correct answer is B. Implementing a data-centric, zero trust approach for securing sensitive data.

    Like we did last Friday, we're giving you two study questions that we'll answer on Monday.

    1. For financial institutions aiming to modernize legacy systems and overcome obstacles in migrating to the cloud, what key benefit does IBM Cloud for Financial Services provide?

    1. Enhanced data silos, increased processing time, and simplified updates
    2. Multicloud environment management, data center migration, and improved latency concerns
    3. Reduced compliance costs, hybrid architecture complexity, and secure data storage
    4. Continuous compliance, accelerated innovation, operational agility, and data safeguarding

    2. What is the key objective of the "Lift and Shift" modernization model when implementing a Hybrid Multicloud approach and is a typical outcome after implementing this strategy?

    1. Bare Metal Server
    2. VMware Solutions Shared
    3. VSI for VPC
    4. Code Engine

    We will see you Monday for the answers and more study tips!



    ------------------------------
    M. Starliper
    Project Manager, IBM Center for Cloud Training
    IBM
    ------------------------------



  • 11.  RE: Get ready to Certify! "Study with Me" for Financial Services!

    Posted Sat April 20, 2024 08:56 AM

    1.D

    2. C ?



    ------------------------------
    Thomas Mertens
    ------------------------------



  • 12.  RE: Get ready to Certify! "Study with Me" for Financial Services!

    Posted Mon April 22, 2024 07:16 AM

    Welcome to Day 14. It's a catch-up day. 

    Use this day to catch up with any learning you need to complete. Tomorrow, you'll begin section 4. 

    Here's another fact you should know: A secure landing zone is a well-architected environment that is scalable and secure. It provides a starting point from which an organization can quickly launch and deploy workloads and applications, while ensuring a secure infrastructure, crucial for financial services solutions.

    Let's answer Friday's questions:

    • For financial institutions aiming to modernize legacy systems and overcome obstacles in migrating to the cloud, what key benefit does IBM Cloud for Financial Services provide? The correct answer is D. Continuous compliance, accelerated innovation, operational agility, and data safeguarding.
    • What is the key objective of the "Lift and Shift" modernization model when implementing a Hybrid Multicloud approach and is a typical outcome after implementing this strategy? The correct answer is C. Modernize the infrastructure without changing the application code, allowing it to run 'as-is' on the new infrastructure.

    Here is today's question:

    The need to build solutions that are secure and can recover from different types of failures is emphasized in which principle of the IBM Well-Architected Framework?

    1. Design for cyber resiliency
    2. Anchor resiliency design to hard business requirements
    3. Embed continuous testing
    4. Enable automation

    Be sure to attend the Certify in a Flash – IBM Cloud for Financial Services Specialty webinar on May 9, 2024 for an extra dose of study prep to pass the IBM Cloud for Financial Services Specialty certification exam. The webinar will cover questions not covered in Study with Me. – REGISTER TODAY!

    See you tomorrow!



    ------------------------------
    PAMELA REED
    ------------------------------



  • 13.  RE: Get ready to Certify! "Study with Me" for Financial Services!

    Posted Tue April 23, 2024 07:37 AM

    Welcome to Day 15. You're halfway through!

    Isn't it a great feeling to be halfway through? It's day 15 on our study journey together! 

    Today, we start Section 4: Technical Solution Design. This section focuses on the reference architectures used in IBM Cloud for Financial Solutions technical solution design, the building blocks for deployable architectures, and Hyper Protect Crypto Services (HPCS).

    In section 4, you will learn how to:

    • Differentiate between the three main reference architectures available to FS Cloud enterprises
    • Identify architecture building blocks used in FS Cloud deployable architectures
    • Identify the benefits of Cloud Hyper Protect Crypto Services (HPCS) to FS Cloud clients

    Did you know? A reference architecture provides recommended structures and integrations of IT products and services to form a solution. IBM Cloud for Financial Services has defined reference architectures that can be used as a basis for meeting the security and regulatory requirements for a client.

    Today, try to complete at least the first lesson in section 4 where you will learn about three key reference architectures leveraged in IBM Cloud for Financial Services solutions and how they benefit enterprises.

    Here is the answer to yesterday's question:

    • The need to build solutions that are secure and can recover from different types of failures is emphasized in which principle of the IBM Well-Architected Framework? The correct answer is A. Design for cyber resiliency.

    Today's questions are:

    1. Which IBM Cloud Framework reference architecture provides an enterprise with the ability to establish a secure, isolated virtual network on a shared public infrastructure when initiating the design of a technical solution and architecture for a Financial Services Cloud client?

    1. IBM Cloud Satellite
    2. IBM Cloud for VMware Regulated Workloads
    3. IBM Cloud Virtual Private Cloud (VPC)
    4. IBM Cloud Kubernetes Service

    2. A benefit of IBM Cloud VPC for Financial Services Cloud enterprises is:

    1. Efficient data transfer using public gateways
    2. Logical isolation for applications
    3. Limited network bandwidth with a maximum of 40 Gbps per instance
    4. Load balancing restricted to a single zone within a region

    As always, we will reveal the correct answers tomorrow.

    You're doing great! See you tomorrow!



    ------------------------------
    PAMELA REED
    ------------------------------



  • 14.  RE: Get ready to Certify! "Study with Me" for Financial Services!

    Posted Wed April 24, 2024 09:11 AM

    Welcome to Day 16. Teamwork makes the dream work!

    If you are studying with a partner, check in with them to see how they are doing. We'll finish up section 4 today.

    Did you know? IBM Cloud Hyper Protect Crypto Services (HPCS) is an as-a-service (aaS) key management and encryption solution, which gives full control over encryption keys for data protection.

    Complete the other lessons in section 4:

    • Architecture Building Blocks
    • Financial Services Cloud Hyper Protect Crypto Services
    • Summary and Knowledge Check

    Here are the answers to yesterday's questions:

    • Which IBM Cloud Framework reference architecture provides an enterprise with the ability to establish a secure, isolated virtual network on a shared public infrastructure when initiating the design of a technical solution and architecture for a Financial Services Cloud client? The correct answer is C. IBM Cloud Virtual Private Cloud (VPC).
    • A benefit of IBM Cloud VPC for Financial Services Cloud enterprises is: B. Logical isolation for applications

    Today's questions are:

    1. The _____________ that leverages IBM Cloud VPC with a management VPC distributed across three zones in one multizone region (MZR) with each zone containing two protected subnets.

    1. IBM Cloud Satellite for Financial Services
    2. IBM Cloud Virtual Servers for VPC
    3. IBM Cloud Bare metal
    4. IBM Cloud VPC Connectivity Options

    2. Which potential placement option can be considered for Edge and Transit VPC, in the context of the "Hub and Spoke" network architecture pattern?

    1. Exclusively within the workload VPC for enhanced security and isolation
    2. On-premises data center or Point of Presence (POP), depending on organizational preferences
    3. Within the management VPC to centralize network security and streamline access
    4. Hosted on a multi-tenant cloud data center.

    Tomorrow, you'll earn the Essentials Badge and start section 5.



    ------------------------------
    M. Starliper
    Project Manager, IBM Center for Cloud Training
    IBM
    ------------------------------



  • 15.  RE: Get ready to Certify! "Study with Me" for Financial Services!

    Posted Thu April 25, 2024 09:31 AM

    Welcome to Day 17. Victory is near!

    Today, you will earn the IBM Cloud Financial Services Essentials Badge before we dive into Section 5: Implementation Considerations

    The Essentials Badge is for those who have learned the business drivers, the customer issues, and the controls framework and data classification components to help manage risk in the financial services industry. Content for the badge focuses on the first four sections of the IBM Cloud for Financial Services Specialty certification learning path.

    Go ahead and complete the quiz for the Essentials Badge.

    Did you pass the quiz? Good job! 

    Now, start Section 5: Implementation Considerations where you will learn about implementation considerations such as enterprise account management, Financial Services Validation, and how DevSecOps and Code Risk Analyzer can be used as tools in developing and managing regulated workloads within Financial Services.

    In section 5, you will learn how to:

    • Identify the purpose and benefits of Enterprise Account Management
    • Recall the benefits and requirements for Financial Services Validation
    • Understand how DevSecOps principles, Continuous Integration, and Code Risk Analyzer help during implementation

    Here are the answers to yesterdays' questions.

    • The _____________ that leverages IBM Cloud VPC with a management VPC distributed across three zones in one multizone region (MZR) with each zone containing two protected subnets. B. IBM Cloud Virtual Servers for VPC
    • Which potential placement option can be considered for Edge and Transit VPC, in the context of the "Hub and Spoke" network architecture pattern? B. On-premises data center or Point

    Here is today's question.

    IBM Cloud Hyper Protect Crypto Services (HPCS) provides which key feature?

    1. Relies on FIPS 140-2 level 3 certified hardware for data protection
    2. Does not support multicloud key management and is limited to a single cloud environment
    3. Lacks automatic key backups and high availability, making it vulnerable to data loss
    4. Allows clients to maintain full control and authority over encryption keys

    See you tomorrow.



    ------------------------------
    M. Starliper
    Project Manager, IBM Center for Cloud Training
    IBM
    ------------------------------



  • 16.  RE: Get ready to Certify! "Study with Me" for Financial Services!

    Posted Fri April 26, 2024 09:16 AM

    Welcome to Day 18. We're in the home stretch!

    It's Friday, and we'll finish up Section 5: Implementation Considerations today and over the weekend. If you haven't already done so, complete the lessons in section 5. 

    Did you know? IBM Cloud enterprises enable clients to organize multiple IBM Cloud accounts into flexible, hierarchical groups to mirror a financial organization's structures. IBM Cloud enterprises provide a way to centrally manage billing, resource usage, and identity and access management (IAM) across multiple accounts.

    Here is the answer to yesterday's question.

    • IBM Cloud Hyper Protect Crypto Services (HPCS) provides which key feature? D. Allows clients to maintain full control and authority over encryption keys.

    Here are today's questions. 

    1. What helps prevent policy drift by using the practice of immutable infrastructure, which helps to ensure all associated resources remain in a consistent state, reducing the risk of configuration errors?

      1. Top-down usage reporting
      2. Enterprise-managed IAM
      3. Threat detection services
      4. Continuous integration

    2. A benefit of IBM Cloud Enterprise Account Management is ____________.

      1. Integrated subscription billing
      2. Security and compliance center
      3. Deployment toolchain
      4. Centralized account management

    Study tip: Weekends are a great time to use the IBM Cloud Prep App to view flash cards for the training you completed during the week. It is a quick and easy way to study while passing the time!

    See you Monday.



    ------------------------------
    M. Starliper
    Project Manager, IBM Center for Cloud Training
    IBM
    ------------------------------



  • 17.  RE: Get ready to Certify! "Study with Me" for Financial Services!

    Posted Mon April 29, 2024 08:49 AM
    Edited by Traci Deacon Mon April 29, 2024 08:49 AM

    Welcome to Day 21. It's a catch-up day.

    It's Monday, and you have another catch-up day. Use today to complete any training you might have missed last week, or to review what you've learned.

    Here are the answers to Friday's questions.

    • What helps prevent policy drift by using the practice of immutable infrastructure, which helps to ensure all associated resources remain in a consistent state, reducing the risk of configuration errors? B. Enterprise-managed IAM
    • A benefit of IBM Cloud Enterprise Account Management is ____________. D. Centralized account management

    Here are today's questions.

    1. Organizations can create additional tiers in Enterprise Account Management by
      1. Adding an account group using IBM Code Engine
      2. Integrating existing accounts with an enterprise using Secured Shell
      3. Adding a multi-tenant shared child account to an enterprise
      4. Nesting an account group within an account group

    2. When an Independent Software Vendor (ISV) requests to become IBM Cloud for Financial Services Validated, which Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) tool does IBM Cloud for Financial Services use to collect evidence against security controls?
      1. SAP GRC
      2. Decision Focus
      3. OpenPages
      4. Jira

    The end is in sight! See you tomorrow.



    ------------------------------
    Traci Deacon
    IBM Center for Cloud Training (ICCT)
    ------------------------------



  • 18.  RE: Get ready to Certify! "Study with Me" for Financial Services!

    Posted Tue April 30, 2024 10:07 AM
    Edited by Piper Wilson Tue April 30, 2024 11:35 AM

    Welcome to Day 22. You can achieve your goal!

    Today, we start the last section of learning content. In Section 6: Compliance, SLOs, and SLAs, you will learn why compliance monitoring is important within the financial services industry and how to determine contractual Service Level Agreements (SLAs) based on customer requirements. Additionally, you will review the various IBM Cloud Support plans.

    In section 6, you will learn how to:

    • Identify the challenges within the Financial Services sector and how IBM Security and Compliance Center helps to achieve compliance
    • Distinguish between the various tools that help with monitoring security and compliance
    • Review the importance of service level agreements and how they play a role into system availability
    • Identify the three support tiers within IBM Cloud

    Did you know? Within the Financial Services sector, security and compliance is the leading business challenge that is constantly evolving. Financial Services institutions are spending more time and money to achieve their security and compliance objectives.

    Here are the answers to yesterday's questions.

    • Organizations can create additional tiers in Enterprise Account Management by: D. Nesting an account group within an account group
    • When an Independent Software Vendor (ISV) requests to become IBM Cloud for Financial Services Validated, which Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) tool does IBM Cloud for Financial Services use to collect evidence against security controls? C. OpenPages

    Here is today's question.

    IBM is assisting the Financial Services industry by first building a cloud for mission-critical workloads. Two out of five dimensions they use to accomplish this are Security and ____________________.

    1. Compliance
    2. Scalability
    3. Sustainability
    4. Automation

    See you tomorrow.



    ------------------------------
    Traci Deacon
    IBM Center for Cloud Training (ICCT)
    ------------------------------



  • 19.  RE: Get ready to Certify! "Study with Me" for Financial Services!

    Posted Wed May 01, 2024 09:07 AM

    Welcome to Day 23. You're almost there!

    Today, we finish Section 6: Compliance, SLOs, and SLAs. Go ahead and finish the lessons in section 6. 

    Here is another fact you should know: IBM Cloud offers three IBM Cloud Support Tiers. There are three levels of support that are driven by market requirements and that come with different Service Level Objectives (SLOs), which refers to the response time.

    The answer to yesterday's study question is:

    • IBM is assisting the Financial Services industry by first building a cloud for mission-critical workloads. Two out of five dimensions they use to accomplish this are Security and ____________________.

    A. Compliance

    Question time!

    Two aspects through which IBM Cloud Security and Compliance Center (SCC) achieves security and compliance across hybrid multicloud are Workload protection and _________________.

    1. Access management
    2. Network security
    3. Fifth party integration
    4. Remediation and response

    You know the drill, come back tomorrow for the correct answer, see you then!



    ------------------------------
    M. Starliper
    Project Manager, IBM Center for Cloud Training
    IBM
    ------------------------------



  • 20.  RE: Get ready to Certify! "Study with Me" for Financial Services!

    Posted Thu May 02, 2024 09:12 AM

    Welcome to Day 24. You're finished with the learning path content! Now, let's dig into the study guides, quizzes, and flashcards found in the IBM Cloud Prep App. 

    Now that you've completed the learning path, there's still some work to do to get ready for the certification exam. For the next few days, we'll focus on the material in the IBM Cloud Prep App.

    There are several ways you can use the prep app to further your study:

    • Review the IBM Cloud for Financial Services Specialty (v2) study guide as a whole or in sections. 
    • Go through the flashcards.
    • Take the 50-question Certification Quiz.

    Remember: The study guides in the IBM Cloud Prep app include check your knowledge questions at the end of each lesson to help you prepare for the certification exam. Check them out!

    Before we check out today's questions, here is the answer to yesterday's question:

    • Two aspects through which IBM Cloud Security and Compliance Center (SCC) achieves security and compliance across hybrid multicloud are Workload protection and _________________.

    D. Remediation and response 

    For the rest of our study time together, we will ask several questions from the entire Financial Services learning plan. Today's questions come from Section 1: An Introduction to IBM Cloud for Financial Services

    Here are today's questions:

    1. Two capabilities of compliance and security in IBM Cloud for Financial Services are an automated, industry-informed, common control platform and ___________.

      1. IBM MQ integration         
      2. Continuous posture monitoring  
      3. Automated cyber resiliency        
      4. Manual compliance checks

    2. What benefit does on-demand hybrid cloud scaling provide to Financial Services organizations?

      1. Limiting scalability options for financial applications    
      2. Scalability is not applicable to financial services           
      3. Enabling dynamic resource scaling based on demand, ensuring optimal performance
      4. By using only on-premises resources for scalability
    Come back tomorrow for the correct answers. See you then!


    ------------------------------
    M. Starliper
    Project Manager, IBM Center for Cloud Training
    IBM
    ------------------------------



  • 21.  RE: Get ready to Certify! "Study with Me" for Financial Services!

    Posted Fri May 03, 2024 09:31 AM

    Welcome to Days 25, 26, and 27. Almost there!

    Did you have a chance to check out the IBM Cloud Prep app? Take some time over the weekend to review the Certification Flashcards. If you're unsure of the question or answer, select the 'Study again' button to add the card to the Study again pile to review again later. 

    Here are the answers to yesterday's questions:

    • Two capabilities of compliance and security in IBM Cloud for Financial Services are an automated, industry-informed, common control platform and ___________. B. Continuous posture monitoring
    • What benefit does on-demand hybrid cloud scaling provide to Financial Services organizations? C. Enabling dynamic resource scaling based on demand, ensuring optimal performance

    This weekend, we'll focus on two study questions from Section 2: Components, Risk, and Compliance

    1. Two key challenges for Financial Services organizations introducing new workloads to the cloud are lead time to deployment and ________________________.

      1. Optimizing for security and compliance
      2. Breach exposure
      3. Targeting security
      4. Driving adoption

    2. Two key capabilities of IBM Cloud Hyper Protect Services technology are Keep Your Own Key and ________________________.

      1. Confidential cloud
      2. Keep Your Own User
      3. Confidential security
      4. Confidential compute

    Enjoy your weekend and come back Monday to continue our journey together. Use the weekend and Monday to catch-up on any outstanding items.



    ------------------------------
    M. Starliper
    Project Manager, IBM Center for Cloud Training
    IBM
    ------------------------------



  • 22.  RE: Get ready to Certify! "Study with Me" for Financial Services!

    Posted Mon May 06, 2024 08:56 AM
    Edited by Piper Wilson Mon May 06, 2024 10:16 AM

    Welcome to Day 28. It's a catch-up day!

    Welcome back! If you have been following along with us on this IBM Cloud Financial Services Specialty certification journey, we've made it to day 28! Here are a few reminders:

    • At this point, you should be using the IBM Cloud Prep app to prepare to take the certification exam.
    • Don't forget to attend the Certify in a Flash – IBM Cloud for Financial Services Specialty webinar on May 9, 2024 for an extra dose of study prep to pass the certification exam – REGISTER TODAY!
    • Now is also a good time to visit Pearson VUE to schedule your exam.

    Here are the answers from Friday:

    • Two key challenges for Financial Services organizations introducing new workloads to the cloud are lead time to deployment and ________________________. A. Optimizing for security and compliance
    • Two key capabilities of IBM Cloud Hyper Protect Services technology are Keep Your Own Key and ________________________. D. Confidential compute

    Today's questions are taken from Section 3: Customer Workload Environment.

    1. The ability of a hybrid cloud solution to run workloads in and across multiple public clouds, private clouds, and on-premises, providing application portability without significant reconfiguration is emphasized in which principle of the IBM Well-Architected Framework?
      1. Design for failure      
      2. Adopt an operational model 
      3. Build once, deploy anywhere
      4. Ruthlessly automate
    2. The importance of reducing operational costs and enhancing overall reliability, availability, and security in a hybrid cloud environment is emphasized in which principle of the IBM Well-Architected Framework?
      1. Respect data gravity 
      2. Best platform for the workload
      3. Shift computing to the data
      4. Automate operations

    See you tomorrow!



    ------------------------------
    Traci Deacon
    IBM Center for Cloud Training (ICCT)
    ------------------------------



  • 23.  RE: Get ready to Certify! "Study with Me" for Financial Services!

    Posted Tue May 07, 2024 08:39 AM
    Edited by Traci Deacon Tue May 07, 2024 08:40 AM

    Welcome to Day 29. Can you see the finish line?

    How is your studying going? It's day 29, and we have come a long way! Today, we will take the 50-question Certification Quiz in the Cloud Prep app, which is designed to give you an idea of the type of questions you can expect to see on the exam.

    Before you take the quiz, let's answer the questions we asked yesterday:

    • The ability of a hybrid cloud solution to run workloads in and across multiple public clouds, private clouds, and on-premises, providing application portability without significant reconfiguration is emphasized in which principle of the IBM Well-Architected Framework? C. Build once, deploy anywhere
    • The importance of reducing operational costs and enhancing overall reliability, availability, and security in a hybrid cloud environment is emphasized in which principle of the IBM Well-Architected Framework? D. Automate operations

    Today's questions cover content taken from Section 4: Technical Solution Design.

    1. IBM Cloud Hyper Protect Crypto Services (HPCS) is ______________________ .
      1. Built on the highest level of security with FIPS 140-2 level 4 certified hardware 
      2. Unified Key Orchestrator in HPCS facilitates key recovery only within the same cloud environment
      3. Built on the highest level of security with FIPS 140-2 level 2 certified hardware 
      4. A worry-free approach to single-cloud key management
    2. Two valid IBM Cloud Framework for Financial Services reference architectures are IBM Cloud VMware Regulated Workloads and __________________________.
      1. IBM Cloud VMware Cloud Foundation
      2. IBM Cloud Code Engine
      3. IBM Cloud Virtual Private Cloud
      4. IBM Cloud Power Virtual Server for SAP HANA

    See you tomorrow!


    ------------------------------
    Traci Deacon
    IBM Center for Cloud Training (ICCT)
    ------------------------------



  • 24.  RE: Get ready to Certify! "Study with Me" for Financial Services!

    Posted Wed May 08, 2024 08:54 AM
    Edited by Traci Deacon Wed May 08, 2024 08:54 AM

    Welcome to Day 30. Just one more day until the webinar.

    Congratulations! We only have the webinar tomorrow left to complete your study. You should be very proud of yourself. We certainly are! You've accomplished a great deal over the past 30 days. Take a moment to celebrate your success.

    • Don't forget to attend the Certify in a Flash – IBM Cloud for Financial Services Specialty webinar tomorrow (May 9, 2024) for more help to pass the certification exam – REGISTER TODAY! Hint: we'll cover questions in the webinar not covered in this Study with Me program.
    • Also, be sure to visit Pearson VUE to schedule your exam.

    If you haven't already done so, please fill out the IBM Cloud Financial Services Survey to share any feedback you have about the training.

    Let's look at the answers to yesterday's questions:

    • IBM Cloud Hyper Protect Crypto Services (HPCS) is ______________________. A. Built on the highest level of security with FIPS 140-2 level 4 certified hardware     
    • Two valid IBM Cloud Framework for Financial Services reference architectures are IBM Cloud VMware Regulated Workloads and __________________________. C. IBM Cloud Virtual Private Cloud

    Here are our final study questions that we will answer tomorrow. These questions are taken from Section 5: Implementation Considerations and Section 6: Compliance, SLOs, and SLAs.

    1. Hyper Protect Crypto Services allow you to take ownership of a cloud hardware security module (HSM) to fully manage your encryption keys and to perform cryptographic operations using _______________.
      1. Hold Your Own Key (HYOK)
      2. Keep Your Own Key (KYOK)
      3. Bring Your Own Key (BYOK
      4. Control Your Own Key (CYOK)
    2. Continuous Compliance and Risk Posture Management is one capability of IBM Cloud Security and Compliance Center Workload Protection. Which of the following is another capability?
      1. Security information and event management (SIEM)
      2. Performance Monitoring
      3. Cloud security posture management (CSPM)
      4. Cloud Workload Detection

    We'll check in one last time tomorrow. See you then!


    ------------------------------
    Traci Deacon
    IBM Center for Cloud Training (ICCT)
    ------------------------------



  • 25.  RE: Get ready to Certify! "Study with Me" for Financial Services!

    Posted Thu May 09, 2024 08:48 AM
    Edited by Traci Deacon Thu May 09, 2024 08:48 AM

    Welcome to Day 31. It's time for Certify in a Flash!

    It's webinar day! There's still time to register to attend the Certify in a Flash – IBM Cloud for Financial Services webinar happening TODAY from 11 AM - 12 PM ET. If you are unable to attend the session, register anyway so that you can receive a link to the replay and the session slides. Remember, the webinar will cover questions not covered in Study with Me.

    Here are the answers to our last set of study questions from yesterday:

    • Hyper Protect Crypto Services allow you to take ownership of a cloud hardware security module (HSM) to fully manage your encryption keys and to perform cryptographic operations using _______________. B. Keep Your Own Key (KYOK)
    • Continuous Compliance and Risk Posture Management is one capability of IBM Cloud Security and Compliance Center Workload Protection. Which of the following is another capability? C. Cloud security posture management (CSPM)

    One final reminder to visit Pearson VUE to schedule your exam.

    If you don't pass the exam on your first try, don't give up! Take advantage of our Second Chance promotion to retake the same exam for free using the ICCTSecondChance promo code at checkout when you register to retake the exam.

    Once you pass your exam, you can tell us about it on LinkedIn using the hashtag #IBMCloudCertified.

    Stay in touch with the IBM Center for Cloud Training (ICCT) by subscribing to our newsletter or visiting our website at https://icct.yourlearning.ibm.com.

    Thank you for taking this journey with us, and best of luck!


    ------------------------------
    Traci Deacon
    IBM Center for Cloud Training (ICCT)
    ------------------------------



  • 26.  RE: Get ready to Certify! "Study with Me" for Financial Services!

    Posted Thu May 09, 2024 01:48 PM
    Edited by M. Dee Starliper Mon May 13, 2024 03:14 PM

    Hi everyone,

    You can watch the on-demand recording and  download the slides here.

    Please share your questions below.



    ------------------------------
    M. Starliper
    Project Manager, IBM Center for Cloud Training
    IBM
    ------------------------------



  • 27.  RE: Get ready to Certify! "Study with Me" for Financial Services!

    Posted Fri May 10, 2024 04:43 PM
    Edited by M. Dee Starliper Mon May 13, 2024 03:10 PM

    Q&A from the Webinar

    • How can watch the webinar if I missed it? Check out the webinar replay and slides for information about getting a voucher for the exam. The replay and slides can be accessed here.
    • Should we take Version 1 of the exam (available until May 30) or Version 2? We recommend that you take Version 2 because it reflects the gains in various parts of IBM Cloud for Financial Services. The Study with Me and webinar April-May 2024 were based on Version 2.
    • When Version 1 of the exam is sunset, do we need to recertify on Version 2? No. Your IBM Cloud for Financial Services v1 certification does not expire. If you want to refresh your knowledge, you may consider recertifying every three years or so.
    • What course would you recommend to take next?*

    *If you are an IBM employee, please search the training title on YourLearning or select it on our website here to get learning credit.



    ------------------------------
    M. Starliper
    Project Manager, IBM Center for Cloud Training
    IBM
    ------------------------------



  • 28.  RE: Get ready to Certify! "Study with Me" for Financial Services!

    Posted Mon May 13, 2024 01:38 AM
    The exam voucher code that was sent to me was for version 1. I found out this while scheduling the exam for version 2. The code was rejected for version 2 but accepted for version 1.

    Anyways, completed the version 1 exam today.
    Thanks.





  • 29.  RE: Get ready to Certify! "Study with Me" for Financial Services!

    Posted Tue May 14, 2024 11:32 AM

    Hi Hock Seng,

    Thank you for bringing this to our attention and congratulations on passing the IBM Cloud for Financial Services v1 exam!

    The voucher issue has been resolved. Do you still want to take the version 2 exam?



    ------------------------------
    Traci Deacon
    Project Manager
    IBM Center for Cloud Training (ICCT)
    ------------------------------



  • 30.  RE: Get ready to Certify! "Study with Me" for Financial Services!

    Posted Tue May 14, 2024 07:32 PM
    Hi Traci

    Sure thing..I was prepped up for the version 2 exam!






  • 31.  RE: Get ready to Certify! "Study with Me" for Financial Services!

    Posted Fri May 17, 2024 11:00 AM
    Hi Traci,
    The course and the exam were a very good experience. Thank you!
     
    In this sense, I wonder if it is possible to include version 2 of this certification as part of the Certification Plus program.
     
    Thanks in advance


    ------------------------------
    andres yanez
    ------------------------------



  • 32.  RE: Get ready to Certify! "Study with Me" for Financial Services!

    Posted Sun May 19, 2024 07:42 AM

    Hi Andres- That is in the works.






  • 33.  RE: Get ready to Certify! "Study with Me" for Financial Services!

    Posted Mon June 03, 2024 10:32 AM

    Hi @Traci Deacon,
    Does this initiative provide (exam voucher)?
    Thanks,



    ------------------------------
    MUSTAFA SALAH IT
    IT Support
    PwC
    Cairo
    ------------------------------



  • 34.  RE: Get ready to Certify! "Study with Me" for Financial Services!

    Posted Mon June 03, 2024 10:42 AM
    Edited by Traci Deacon Mon June 03, 2024 10:42 AM

    Hi Mustafa,

    The Study with Me program for Financial Services ended on May 9th, however you can use the questions and answers in this thread to study for the exam. You can also watch the Certify in a Flash – IBM Cloud for Financial Services webinar replay here for additional study materials. The voucher program for this offering has expired.

    Good luck on your certification journey!



    ------------------------------
    Traci Deacon
    Program Manager
    IBM Center for Cloud Training (ICCT)
    ------------------------------