The Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), which is sustaining and integrating open source technologies to orchestrate containers as part of a microservices architecture, launched a program today to train, certify and promote Kubernetes Managed Service Providers (KMSP), which will provide enterprises with Service Level Agreement (SLA)-backed support options, consulting and professional services by highly trained and certified service partners.

"Many enterprises have successfully deployed Kubernetes based on the publicly available documentation and free support available from our large and growing community," said Dan Kohn, Executive Director of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation. "CNCF's new offerings will enable enterprises that want additional support to be confident that they are working with Kubernetes experts, which is increasingly in demand."

The KMSP program will ensure enterprises get the support they're looking for to roll out new applications more quickly and more efficiently than before, while feeling secure that there's a trusted and vetted partner that's available to support their production and operational needs. It launches today with nine partners on board including: Apprenda, Canonical, Cisco, Container Solutions, CoreOS, Deis, Huawei, LiveWyer and Samsung SDS. Google has also committed to assist in the curriculum and certification development.

The program includes the following components:

• A CNCF working group of Kubernetes experts who will collaboratively develop an open source curriculum and make it available under the Creative Commons By Attribution license for anyone to use.
• CNCF is developing an online, proctored certification program to test that curriculum. The program will be run by The Linux Foundation for CNCF.
• A free edX massively open online course (MOOC) covering the introductory sections of the curriculum will be released by leveraging The Linux Foundation's existing edX partnership; 650,000 people have registered for The Linux Foundation's Intro to Linux course on edX.
• Kubernetes training will be offered by The Linux Foundation and will also be available from other service providers who can leverage the open source curriculum.
• Requirements to become a Kubernetes Managed Service Provider will include: three or more certified engineers, demonstrable activity in the Kubernetes community including active contribution and a business model to support enterprise end users.
• Prometheus, OpenTracing and other CNCF project support will be added in as additional content modules over time with the possibility of a Prometheus (etc.) Managed Service Provider program in the future.

The self-paced, online course will teach the skills needed to create and configure a real-world working Kubernetes cluster. The training course will be available soon, and the certification program is expected to be available in the second quarter of 2017. The course is open now at the discounted price of $99 (regularly $199) for a limited time. Sign up here to pre-register for the course.

The KMSP program is a pre-qualified tier of highly vetted service providers who have deep experience helping enterprises successfully adopt Kubernetes. The KMSP partners offer SLA-backed Kubernetes support, consulting, professional services and training for organizations embarking on their Kubernetes journey.

The Linux Foundation offers a neutral home for running such programs, thanks to its close involvement in the open source community. It is already helping develop technology for DevOps professionals through its open source projects and offers several related free massive open online courses (MOOCs), including: Intro to Linux, Intro to Cloud Infrastructure Technologies, Introduction to OpenStack and Introduction to DevOps: Transforming and Improving Operations.

In the coming weeks, any CNCF or Kubernetes community member who wants to provide input on the criteria and baseline requirements for certification is encouraged to join the Certification Working Group. Google has committed to assist, and many others, including Apprenda, Container Solutions, CoreOS, Deis and Samsung, have expressed interest in participating in the Working Group. To join the working group, go to this link.