The Social Media, Mobile, Analytics, and Cloud Certification is a relatively new certification which will validate knowledge and skills in all of the four technologies and in their integration.
As this certification is fairly new, the technologies the certification is about are rapidly changing and advancing. There are not many books on the market yet that could aid preparation for the Social Media, Mobile, Analytics, and Cloud Certification. Your training provider may provide you with an updated list when you take the course or will provide their own material.
Nevertheless, as the SMAC technologies have become more important to business organisations worldwide, there are a few books out about the SMAC technologies or certain aspects of them. The value-add from these books depends on your area of focus and on knowledge, skills, and certifications you already have, but the following short selection of books is well worth reading in preparation for your Social Media, Mobile, Analytics, and Cloud Certification, as well as for future reference:
1) Digital Disciplines: Attaining Market Leadership via the Cloud, Big Data, Social, Mobile, and the Internet of Things (Wiley CIO)
by Joe Weinman (ISBN-10: 1118995392), will be published on August 24, 2015
The importance of digital technologies in today’s world cannot be overstated. It is vital that businesses keep up to date with developments in that areas and prepare themselves to implement what they feel will bring the most benefits.
The book provides the framework for a business strategy incorporating SMAC technologies, empirical data, case studies, and offers advice on the practical steps a business organisation can follow in order to keep up with the international trend.
The book also provides a current snapshot of the developments in the SMAC technologies and will explain how businesses must react to keep up with and not be unhinged as a result of these technologies.
Click here to purchase this book.
2) Social Media Analytics: Effective Tools for Building, Interpreting, and Using Metrics
by Marshall Sponder (ISBN-10: 0071824499)
The author here clearly highlights the reasons why Social Media is important, and how to collect data and draw actionable insights from the collected SM data. Different analytical software packages are described and their advantages and disadvantages listed.
The author gives useful advice on choosing the right social media platform, setting the right processes to achieve your targets and getting the right information out of the collected data. The author also forecasts future trends, and development foci for the field.
Although purely Social Media-focused, this book presents an interesting view on certain aspects of the SMAC technologies and its practical use for business.
Click here to purchase this book.
3) Business Models for the Social Mobile Cloud: Transform Your Business Using Social Media, Mobile Internet, and Cloud Computing
by Ted Shelton (ISBN-10: 1118369947)
Technological changes and the development of Social Media, Mobile Internet, and Cloud Computing form the core topics of this book. The impact these changes will have and how to deal with these technologies in business to stay successful are discussed and new business models integrating these technologies are outlined.
The book deals with this topic in a more general and high level manner but the fact that the author treats these technologies as one and describes their possibilities and risks make the book well worth reading to get a deeper understanding of the SMAC technologies as part of your preparation for Social Media, Mobile, Analytics and Cloud Certification.
Click here to purchase this book.
4) Data Science for Business: What you need to know about data mining and data-analytic thinking
by Foster Provost (ISBN-10: 1449361323)
The book Data Science for Business explains the core principles of data science, and teaches you "data-analytic thinking", which is necessary for obtaining meaningful knowledge and business value out of the data you collect by data-mining. The important lesson in this book is that data-collecting and data analysis are two different things with a very different degrees of difficulty.
The book guides you how to get useful information out of your collected Big-Data reservoir and which analysing technique to use to translate them into business relevant information. Offering an in-depth treatment of Analytics, this tome will serve as a reference for the Analytics portion of the SMAC certification.
Click here to purchase this book.
5) Code Halos: How the Digital Lives of People, Things, and Organizations are Changing the Rules of Business
by Malcolm Frank
This book presents the idea that outliers and black-swan events in the business world –such as Apple overcoming Kodak, the rise of Google, LinkedIn, etc- are not random, isolated occurrence but are, in fact, due to these business models leveraging the power of information, making them well-suited for the Information Age.
Managing the explosion of Digital Information that surrounds us is key to business success, and Social Media, Analytics, Cloud, and Mobile are the technologies that lie at the very forefront of this wave. Full of case-studies, data, and real-world examples, this book shows leaders how Code Halos –information clouds- can be utilized by companies to drive growth, and is a must-read for SMAC aspirants looking to understand how SMAC technologies are transforming the world.
Click here to purchase this book.
