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A Cloud Guru (Linux Academy)

A Cloud Guru (Linux Academy)

Overview

What is A Cloud Guru (Linux Academy)?

A Cloud Guru (ACG) is a cloud learning provider that states they have helped 2,000,000+ people and more than 4,000 organizations level up their cloud skills. Founded in 2015, ACG was started by brothers Sam and Ryan Kroonenburg who…

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Recent Reviews

TrustRadius Insights

A Cloud Guru, also known as Linux Academy, is a versatile and user-friendly platform that caters to a wide range of use cases. Users with …
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Awards

Products that are considered exceptional by their customers based on a variety of criteria win TrustRadius awards. Learn more about the types of TrustRadius awards to make the best purchase decision. More about TrustRadius Awards

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Pricing

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Free

$0.00

Cloud
per month

Personal Basic

$31.59 ($379.00)

Cloud
per month (per year)

Personal Plus

$41.59 ($499.00)

Cloud
per month (per year)

Entry-level set up fee?

  • No setup fee
For the latest information on pricing, visithttps://acloudguru.com/pricing

Offerings

  • Free Trial
  • Free/Freemium Version
  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services
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Product Details

What is A Cloud Guru (Linux Academy)?

A Cloud Guru (ACG) is a cloud learning provider that states they have helped 2,000,000+ people and more than 4,000 organizations level up their cloud skills.

Founded in 2015, ACG was started by brothers Sam and Ryan Kroonenburg who recognized cloud learning through traditional training providers was expensive, outdated, and a pain to consume. With the acquisition of Linux Academy in 2019, ACG combined the strengths and benefits of both companies to create A Cloud Guru platform for modern tech skills.

ACG's approach to learning modern technologies includes access to updated courses, labs, and learning paths, instructors that aim to keep learners motivated, hands-on learning in real cloud environments, and bite-sized lessons to fit into a busy workday.

With its hands-on multi-cloud content library, ACG aims to give businesses the edge by scaling cloud expertise across their organizations and charting an accelerated course to cloud maturity.

in June 2021, Pluralsight announced they had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire A Cloud Guru. The acquisition is expected to close in late 2021.

A Cloud Guru (Linux Academy) Features

  • Supported: Unlimited Courses, Quizzes & Certification Practice Exams
  • Supported: Unlimited Hands-On Labs
  • Supported: Cloud Playground (Servers & Sandboxes)
  • Supported: Certification Accelerator Program
  • Supported: Weekly Cloud Roundups
  • Supported: Community Forums
  • Supported: ACG Mobile Apps
  • Supported: Records of Completion
  • Supported: Learning Paths
  • Supported: Skills Assessment
  • Supported: Study Groups
  • Supported: Management Portal

A Cloud Guru (Linux Academy) Videos

A Cloud Guru (Linux Academy) Competitors

A Cloud Guru (Linux Academy) Technical Details

Deployment TypesSoftware as a Service (SaaS), Cloud, or Web-Based
Operating SystemsUnspecified
Mobile ApplicationApple iOS, Android
Supported CountriesGlobal
Supported LanguagesEnglish

A Cloud Guru (Linux Academy) Downloadables

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Comparisons

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Reviews and Ratings

(51)

Community Insights

TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!

A Cloud Guru, also known as Linux Academy, is a versatile and user-friendly platform that caters to a wide range of use cases. Users with non-IT backgrounds find the training material easy to understand, making it accessible for individuals looking to expand their skills or develop new ones. The platform supports both individual self-guided studying and structured study groups, allowing for flexible learning options.

Organizations across various departments rely on A Cloud Guru to upskill their teams for future cloud transformation. It is used by support, professional services, and system engineers to stay updated on emerging technologies and practices. Additionally, A Cloud Guru helps organizations review their infrastructure on AWS for certification purposes, ensuring a higher level of knowledge and meeting cloud vendors' requirements.

One key application of A Cloud Guru is in training and certification preparation. It offers small-bit-size lessons, in-depth lectures, and practice quizzes that cater to individuals seeking industry-standard certifications. Furthermore, the platform provides hands-on training through sandbox labs, enabling users to gain practical experience with major cloud providers.

The benefits of A Cloud Guru extend beyond individual learning as well. Organizations can create study groups and track progress within the platform, making it an ideal tool for team-based training. Reporting features make it easy to generate statistics and monitor the development of employees' cloud knowledge.

In summary, A Cloud Guru is a valuable educational resource for individuals and organizations alike. It offers a comprehensive learning experience through its diverse course offerings, sandbox labs, and certification preparation materials. Whether it's for personal growth or organizational upskilling, A Cloud Guru provides the necessary tools to enhance cloud knowledge and skills efficiently.

Easy-to-use and effective reports: Users have found the reports in A Cloud Guru to be user-friendly and efficient in tracking individual progress. Several reviewers have appreciated this feature, allowing them to effectively monitor and evaluate learner performance.

Wide range of materials: The vast selection of resources available in A Cloud Guru has received high praise from users. They value the variety of materials that cater to different certifications, ensuring learners have access to comprehensive and diverse content.

Excellent hands-on practice: The sandbox instances provided by A Cloud Guru have been described as excellent by several users. This opportunity for real hands-on experience enhances learning and allows individuals to apply their knowledge in a practical setting.

Tricky Learning Curve: Some users have found the learning curve for using the labs to be challenging, requiring additional time and effort to navigate through the platform effectively.

Lack of Material on Other Cloud Providers: Users have expressed a desire for more material on cloud providers other than AWS, such as GCP, Azure, and Huawei. They feel that expanding the course offerings to cover these platforms would provide a more comprehensive learning experience.

Limited Customization Flexibility: Users have highlighted a need for further customization flexibility for the user dashboard. They believe that having more control over their dashboard layout and settings would enhance their overall learning experience.

Users of A Cloud Guru commonly recommend the following:

  • Try out the free content on A Cloud Guru before committing to a subscription. This allows individuals to get a feel for the platform and its teaching style, making sure it aligns with their learning preferences.

  • Choose one of A Cloud Guru's specialized learning paths. These paths provide a structured curriculum for specific cloud and DevOps technologies, offering a comprehensive and focused approach to learning.

  • Utilize the practice exam functionality on A Cloud Guru to gauge readiness for certification exams. This feature allows individuals to assess their readiness before attempting the real test.

Overall, users find A Cloud Guru to be an effective and well-structured training platform for all levels of learners. They suggest comparing alternative training options and mention that signing up for a one-year subscription offers better value. Additionally, users emphasize that A Cloud Guru's original weekly shows provide deeper insights into current cloud developments.

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(1-15 of 15)
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Garner Albright | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
I was interested in Cloud Computing options that were available, so I signed up for a one year subscription to A Cloud Guru. I completed several introductory courses and then decided to go for a certification. So I took the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner course which helped me pass the certification exam on the first try. I really like the way the courses are setup and the sandbox labs which are used for completing exercises.
  • Good pace of the instructors
  • Sandbox instances for hands-on practice was excellent
  • The knowledge checks and quizzes were very helpful
  • The learning curve for using the labs was pretty tricky
  • The practice tests could have more questions
  • I remember having issues with resuming the course after a break
I believe A Cloud Guru is well suited for studying for certification exams. I tried out several online courses and A Cloud Guru's was by far the best in my opinion. If I had more free time I would DEFINITELY be taking more courses and getting more certifications. Once I complete my degree coursework and finally have my bachelors degree I will be back on A Cloud Guru in my spare time to get more training and in turn more certifications.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Getting trained on cloud technologies.
  • Great content.
  • Available labs.
  • Reasonable cost.
  • Better mobile app.
  • Group discounts.
  • Real-life scenario.
Learning new cloud technologies is much easier and faster on A Cloud Guru. Cloud is changing so fast and A Cloud Guru helps to keep up with new cloud technologies.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
it is very good to establish cloud learning development plans and then track them and manage them for the team The platform supports learning tracks, exams and sandboxes with all major cloud providers it guarantees that you don't get an accidental charge as a result of [the] testing and exploring the cloud
  • Learning tracks
  • certification tracks
  • sanbox
  • The user dashboard can be further improved
  • Dashboard customization flexibility
it is very good to establish cloud learning development plans and then track them and manage them for the team. The platform supports learning tracks, exams, and sandboxes with all major cloud providers guarantees that you don't get an accidental charge as a result of [the] testing and exploring the cloud
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We needed a fast learning platform to educate [the] internal presales team. After 6 months of research, we've made a decision to purchase A Cloud Guru (Linux Academy). We did proof of concept for THREE months with competitors as well as A Cloud Guru (Linux Academy). Usability, mobile, and [collateral are] perfect for our team and company. Today A Cloud Guru (Linux Academy) is used widely in the company over many departments.
  • Perfect Material
  • Up to date
  • Mobile integration
  • Add more courses
A Cloud Guru (Linux Academy) is well suited for any organization and any company.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I think the biggest problem that ACG [A Cloud Guru] is solving is to match three elements equate the knowledge of all the members of the team, also even non-technical people the current pace of the development of AWS services, the demands of the clients for solutions in the cloud. Then, the company is able to close more business deals, the clients are happy with their solutions and all the team members feel satisfied with the level of understanding they have of the AWS Services and other Cloud Providers.
  • Sandboxes, because it gives you a real hands-on experience.
  • Hire really good and top developers with real experience in the field.
  • Organize their content in an easy way and keep updating it.
  • More material on other cloud providers GCP, Azure, Huawei.
  • Extend the sandboxes to other cloud providers not only AWS.
  • Include more material for non-technical people, sometimes the sales teams are completely lost in the platform but they would like to learn about it.
Well suited if you:
Are a developer
Want to learn AWS with really good professors
Have hands-on experience on AWS

Less Appropriate [if] you:
Are part of a non-technical area such as Management, Sales, Project Management
You are a developer and want to go deep with hands-on experience into other cloud providers such as GCP, Azure
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use A Cloud Guru to train new employees in customer-facing roles on the cloud basics to ensure that they are speaking the language of the customer and understand their specific, cloud-based, needs. Technical roles utilize the platform to achieve additional focused training in their assigned work roles. By using certification as a check on learning, we not only ensure a higher level of knowledge it also helps address the constant battle of certified employees required by cloud vendors for the higher tier partnerships.
  • The guided learning tracks helped keep teams on track.
  • Lab setup and execution makes it really easy for employees to try out new skills.
  • Linux content is an added bonus.
  • Some gaps in knowledge for certification.
  • UI is slow and unpredictable at times.
  • More reporting for users would make the platform more attractive as an LMS.
ACG is a fantastic resource if you need to get new users up to speed on the latest in cloud technologies in a short amount of time without having to create your own learning tracks. ACG is also a great fit for companies looking to maintain partner certification levels by giving the employees a solid platform to learn, test skills in a lab, determine preparedness via practice exams and solid dashboard to track progress.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Our business had strategic goals which needed us to upskill a lot of employees on emerging technologies and we wanted to do so in an engaging and efficient manner. I was particularly interested in providers with courses which aligned to certifications so that we could give the team qualifications valuable to their careers whilst having a way to give other departments and customers confidence of our capabilities.
  • Hands-on labs and cloud playgrounds to learn by trying.
  • Really engaging courses with knowledgeable presenters.
  • East to track progress of the team and see who may need more encouragement.
  • Some courses can reference acquired company resources that I'm not immediately able to find.
  • Learning paths were originally limited to very specific areas which didn't suit my business case.
  • Licenses are fairly expensive compared to some alternatives.
I think it's really well suited for training up a team from beginner level to competence with new technologies. It looks to align well to certifications which can provide confidence in the skill level of the team.

I'm not sure how it will play out long-term once we have people who come in with a high skill level in an area as it can be difficult to figure out how to plug gaps in general knowledge with the platform.

It doesn't work as well for those learners who prefer to just read the man pages and get hands on with a home lab (apart from the cloud playgrounds, but the platform is expensive if that's all a learner will use).
Jeff Oster | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We are currently using A Cloud Guru across our IT Department. Users in the Dev, Infra, and security teams have accounts currently and are really enjoying the courses. It is helping all of us get more familiar with new technologies such as containers and DevOps practices, as well has junior technicians learning many different technologies that are already in place.
  • Great selection of courses.
  • Ability to use labs to actually use what you are learning.
  • Easy to use and navigate website.
  • Easier SSO setup and management with Azure AD.
  • Apps for Roku or smart TV's.
A Cloud Guru would not be something I would recommend to a person that is not in IT. If someone wanted to get familiar with sales and/or base technologies I would recommend other options. A Cloud Guru is great for people in IT that want to brush up on their skills and learn more in-depth technology.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We have been using it for both individual self-guided studying as well as for structured study groups where a number of people are working towards a common certification. As far as I am aware, most people use it for working towards a certification rather than bite-sized learning. We have been using it in just our department however it is used in other pockets of the organisation. We find that it reduces the need for supervised or organisation led learning when individuals are new to the cloud.
  • Clear content
  • Wide variety of topics
  • Content is fun in places
  • Cloud playground reduces the need to manage training accounts
  • Hands on labs help to reinforce learning
  • The pace that instructors speak at can be quite variable
  • Quite often, bad practice is taught so that topics can be covered quickly
  • The exam questions are not as hard as the AWS exams or other online platforms
I wouldn’t say there are many scenarios where A Cloud Guru (Linux Academy) is inappropriate. It has a wide variety of content at different levels of complexity. One area that could be not perfect is if training is required on a service that isn’t supported in the cloud playground. A Cloud Guru (Linux Academy) is perfect for those individuals who want to work towards gaining a certification, however, I think that sometimes it is lacking deep dive courses in some areas.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use it for learning at our company and find it very easy to use and a fun way of helping our people learn as quickly as possible, as we are very time poor here. That is why we love A Cloud Guru and Linux Academy's merger decision, as it helps us consolidate.
  • Demo
  • Sandbox environments
  • Structure
  • The UI is very busy
Suited to companies that want a fast-paced environment for their employees to learn and find topics they are interested in and provides a great simple and direct pathway to certification exams with major cloud providers like AWS, Azure, GCP, and even more specific topics like Linux and databases.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
A Cloud Guru is used by our company in several ways. It is a great foundational learning platform for new users and also a great spot for more expeirenced professionals to learn about new services/releases. New users can explore intro topics at their own pace and use Sandboxes to get hands on experience. There is so much in-depth content in the lectures I didn't feel the need for studying directly from AWS training. I've used the coursework and the practice quizzes to prepare for and pass an AWS certificate exam.
  • Sandboxes
  • Thorough Lectures
  • Self-Paced
  • Frequent Updates
  • Site can feel a bit busy
I feel A Cloud Guru is well suited for anyone looking to learn about cloud related topics (on any of the main platforms). There is a lot of breadth and depth available. There are even study groups that can be used for getting individuals from your team together to study in a self-organized 'class'. Due to licensing limits, the only use case where A Cloud Guru would not be ideal is for company wide learning.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Used in my department primarily used for AWS training and support. This forms part of their CPD.
  • Content is relevant.
  • Up to date with cloud platform features and development.
  • Great to track staff engagement and activity.
  • Sales process was a bit of a faff at the start.
It's great where users can do as much or as little as they want. The learning paths work well and can be tailored to the needs of the user.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use A Cloud Guru in our IT department to help teammates improve their knowledge and skills in technology.
  • Practice labs.
  • Videos.
  • Search bar for courses.
A Cloud Guru is perfect to:
  • Help you pass a certification that is recognized by global tech community.
  • Help someone with no experience to learn about a tool and to start working with it in the real life.
It is less appropriate for working on employees' soft skills I think.
Abdulrazzaq Alkhateeb | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
It is being used across all technology departments. It is helping us upskilling the technology teams to be ready for our future cloud transformation.
  • Short lessons, less than 20 min each.
  • Learning paths & tracks.
  • Cloud playground & labs.
  • The landing dashboard can be improved.
  • Completed courses & certificates can move out of the dashboard to something like completed courses tab.
  • Learning paths visualization can be improved.
  • ACG is very good to assign, track and complete learning.
  • The learning & certifications paths are great.
  • The learning schedule with suggested daily topics is very useful.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We are using A Cloud Guru to skill up our staff because we are moving our applications to the AWS cloud. We are also looking at other cloud providers and would be using the A Cloud Guru platform for its learning paths and sandboxes. We are also making use of the platform for certification preparation as well.
  • The team at A Cloud Guru is excellent at responding to user feedback that is submitted through their website.
  • The content created is well organized and aligns to certification paths.
  • The content is accessible on mobile and web platforms, which is great for learning on the go.
  • Not all content has closed captioning.
  • There are technical issues at times that require me to log back into the platform to continue learning.
  • I would have like more labs for the Azure based content.
  • I feel that the Azure content could have gone deeper in learning. There are many areas that were glossed over such as the data warehousing section in AZ-304.
A Cloud Guru is well suited to get started on a cloud platform. It is not so well suited for experienced cloud engineers. The best way to obtain deeper experience is to have more hands-on labs. A Cloud Guru is also for certification prep. It allows you to figure out which areas you need more concentration on while going through the course.
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