What is the Data Architecture and Management credential?

The Salesforce Certified Data Architect credential is one of several introduced by Salesforce to initially address three main challenges:

• As Salesforce implementations increase in size and complexity, there is an increasing need for good data management, including best practices in data architecture and management in Salesforce. Data is the life-blood for many businesses, and the architecture of Salesforce as the platform to hold that data is important.
• There was a huge gap in the knowledge required between the Certified Technical Architect credential and the other credentials available. The only prerequisite for CTA in the past was that you had to hold the Salesforce Certified Administrator certification and answer a multiple-choice pre-exam!
• Not everyone wants to necessarily be a full-blown Salesforce Certified Technical Architect. Instead, they may want to focus on one or more specific technical domains or aspects of the Salesforce platform.

Simply put, this credential puts the focus on the data architecture aspects of the Salesforce platform. Candidates who pass this credential will have had to learn about the wide range of theory, techniques, and considerations that constitute the credential syllabus, which is based on the real-world knowledge that's required of a Data Architect on the Salesforce Customer 360 platform. By learning everything that's required to pass the Salesforce Certified Data Architect credential, candidates will have a toolkit of knowledge and understanding to draw from, improving their ability to deliver solutions while considering the data aspects of the Salesforce platform.