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Clarke Moyer VMware VCP-AM Application Modernization Passing Guide

⚠️ VMware Training Prerequisite

VMware certs require attending an official VMware training course to be eligible for the exam. This is a hard requirement — no workaround exists.

BLUF: To pass the VCP-AM, do 4 things

  1. Create a contest publicly with another person to complete your certification before they complete a similar or identical educational objective.
  2. Go audio-first — find audiobooks or lecture recordings and consume them on your phone while walking, driving, or commuting.
  3. Practice tests are the core of passing. Buy the book primarily to get the digital test prep access that comes with it.
  4. Test methodology: run all questions once, then rerun only the ones you got wrong until you hit zero wrong, then restart with a real-test mix until you’re scoring 90%+. Don’t over-study — test when you hit 80% and use the re-take as your safety net.

🔀 The Bridge Cert

VCP-AM sits at the intersection of the VMware era and the cloud-native era. VMware Tanzu is essentially Kubernetes with VMware’s enterprise wrapper — containers, application modernization, and the Kubernetes primitives that the CNCF defines. This cert acknowledged that the future was cloud-native even while the VMware ecosystem was the delivery vehicle.

About VCP-AM

The VMware Certified Professional – Application Modernization (VCP-AM) is a more modern credential than the VCP6-CMA, focused on containerization, Kubernetes, and modern application delivery on the VMware platform. It validates skills in VMware Tanzu — VMware’s portfolio for Kubernetes and cloud-native application workloads.

Clarke holds this certification under license VMW-02637767W (VCP-AM 2021/2022). As the DoD and enterprise environments shift toward cloud-native architectures, container orchestration knowledge has become increasingly important for IT professionals operating in those environments.

Key Topics Covered

  • VMware Tanzu portfolio — Tanzu Kubernetes Grid (TKG), Tanzu Application Platform (TAP)
  • Kubernetes fundamentals — pods, deployments, services, ingress
  • Container orchestration and lifecycle management
  • Application modernization patterns — lift-and-shift vs. re-platform vs. re-architect
  • vSphere with Tanzu (Supervisor clusters)
  • Harbor container registry
  • NSX-T networking for containerized workloads

How VCP-AM Differs from VCP6-CMA

Where VCP6-CMA focused on VMware’s traditional cloud management stack (vRealize Automation, vRealize Operations), VCP-AM focuses on the modern Kubernetes and container-native layer. If you’re operating in an environment moving toward DevSecOps pipelines, containerized microservices, or Kubernetes-based platforms, VCP-AM is the more current and relevant credential.

Study Materials

VMware Tanzu & Kubernetes Study Guides

Search for current Tanzu and Kubernetes study materials — the platform evolves quickly, so match your materials to the current exam blueprint version.

Search: VMware Tanzu Kubernetes Study Guides ↗

VCP Application Modernization Exam Prep

Practice test books and exam prep for the VCP-AM track.

Search: VMware VCP Application Modernization Exam Prep ↗

Training Options

As with all VMware certifications, an authorized training course is required before sitting for the exam:

  • VMware Education Services — courses like “Kubernetes Fundamentals” and “VMware Tanzu Kubernetes Grid: Deploy, Configure, Manage”
  • VMware Authorized Training Centers (VATCs)
  • Pluralsight VMware learning paths (for supplemental study, not exam eligibility)

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📅 See also: Industry Conferences

🚀 What Comes Next

The VMware cloud management era is over. The industry has moved decisively to cloud-native architecture under the CNCF. Clarke’s recommendation for anyone entering cloud today:

  • Focus on application and network service delivery, not underlying infrastructure components
  • The underlying cloud is now commoditized — AWS, Azure, GCP, and private clouds built on OpenStack/Kubernetes are fungible
  • Certify on what runs ON the cloud, not what the cloud runs on
  • KubeCon + CloudNativeCon (commonly called KubeCon) is co-located with CNCFCon — both run simultaneously at the same venue. Clarke recommends attending both. KubeCon is the Kubernetes-focused track; CNCFCon covers the broader CNCF project ecosystem. Clarke attended last year in Atlanta.

Cloud Native Computing Foundation → | KubeCon + CloudNativeCon → | CNCFCon →

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