How to Become a NetApp Certified AI Data Infrastructure Expert?

With the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) across various industries, there's a growing demand for skilled professionals who can design, implement, and maintain AI-ready infrastructure. The NetApp Certified AI Data Infrastructure Expert certification stands out as a prestigious credential that confirms advanced proficiency in managing AI workloads specifically with NetApp and NVIDIA technologies.

Why Pursue the NetApp Certified AI Data Infrastructure Expert Credential?

This certification is ideal for data engineers, AI infrastructure specialists, system administrators, and IT architects who work with AI workloads in hybrid or cloud-native environments. It demonstrates a professional's ability to architect scalable, high-performance AI solutions using NetApp’s data management platforms alongside NVIDIA's powerful GPU-accelerated computing.

Certification Requirements

To earn the NetApp Certified AI Data Infrastructure Expert credential, candidates must pass the following three exams:

NS0-901 NetApp Certified AI Expert Exam

This exam assesses your ability to plan, deploy, and manage AI data pipelines using NetApp storage solutions in conjunction with NVIDIA GPUs. Topics include:

●AI data flow and lifecycle management

●ONTAP AI and NetApp DataOps Toolkit

●Integration with NVIDIA DGX systems

●AI workload optimization and performance tuning

NS0-163 NetApp Certified Data Administrator Exam

This foundational certification is required to demonstrate your core competencies with NetApp ONTAP, including:

●Data protection and high availability

●Storage provisioning

●NAS and SAN protocols

●NetApp best practices for performance and management

One of the Following NVIDIA Exams

To align with the AI infrastructure focus, candidates must complete one of the following:

NCP-AII NVIDIA Certified Professional – AI Infrastructure Exam 

Focuses on setting up, managing, and troubleshooting AI infrastructure using NVIDIA platforms.

NCP-AIO NVIDIA Certified Professional – AI Operations Exam 

Targets day-to-day operational tasks, monitoring, and performance management for AI systems.

Recommended Candidate Profile

The certification is designed for IT professionals with experience in:

●NetApp ONTAP administration

●NVIDIA DGX or GPU-enabled platforms

●AI/ML data pipelines

●Storage provisioning for high-performance workloads

Benefits of Certification

Industry Recognition: Validates advanced hybrid cloud and AI infrastructure expertise. 

Career Advancement: Opens opportunities in AI-driven IT roles and high-performance computing. 

Vendor Collaboration: Demonstrates proficiency in both NetApp and NVIDIA ecosystems - two leaders in AI infrastructure.

The NetApp Certified AI Data Infrastructure Expert credential is not just another certification - it's a strategic investment in your AI career path. By mastering both NetApp and NVIDIA technologies, certified professionals are uniquely positioned to support enterprise AI initiatives from data ingestion to model deployment.