CCPA-DataProtect · ● Active · Professional · Cohesity
A vendor-specific professional certification validating expertise in Cohesity DataProtect administration, monitoring, and data protection operations on the Cohesity Data Cloud platform. Targets backup engineers, storage administrators, and IT professionals managing enterprise backup and recovery at scale.
Exam facts
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Cost | $200 |
| Duration | 90 minutes |
| Questions | 60–70 (exact count not publicly disclosed) |
| Passing | Percentage-based (70%+ required; exact scaled score not published) |
| Format | Multiple choice, multiple response, scenario-based |
| Delivery | Third-party proctored (not Pearson VUE) |
| Languages | English (regional variants available) |
| Valid | 2 years |
| Renewal | Retake exam to recertify |
| Prerequisites | None mandatory; 6–9 months hands-on experience recommended |
| Released | 2023 (post-Veritas restructuring) |
| Retiring | N/A — current track |
Vendor source — Cohesity Academy ↗
Official exam guide — Data Protection Associate Exam Details ↗
Exam preparation page — Cohesity Protection Associate – DataProtect ↗
Certification FAQ — Cohesity Academy Certifications FAQ ↗
About
The Cohesity Certified Protection Associate (CCPA) – DataProtect is a professional-level vendor certification validating administrative and operational competency in Cohesity's primary data protection platform. Launched in 2023 following the December 2024 completion of Cohesity's $3B acquisition of Veritas Technologies, this cert confirms knowledge of modern hybrid-cloud backup, recovery, and data lifecycle management. The credential is designed for backup engineers, storage administrators, and IT professionals managing Cohesity deployments across enterprise and mid-market organizations. Certification is valid for 2 years from the date of passing; renewal requires retaking the exam.
Domain context — Backup & Disaster Recovery
Cohesity DataProtect operates within the Backup & Disaster Recovery domain, which spans enterprise-grade data protection, ransomware resilience, multi-cloud backup coordination, and recovery-time orchestration. Post-Veritas merger (completed December 2024), Cohesity now commands the largest share of the global data protection software market, serving 12,000+ customers including 85+ Fortune 100 companies.
Read full deep dive — Cohesity Data Protection Ecosystem →
Topics covered
The exam blueprint covers Cohesity DataProtect administration, monitoring, and operations across hybrid-cloud environments:
- Cohesity Platform Fundamentals (15%) — Architecture, components, licensing, cloud integration
- DataProtect Configuration & Administration (25%) — Workload policy setup, backup scheduling, retention rules, archival tiers
- Data Protection Policies (15%) — RPO/RTO concepts, backup strategies, snapshot management
- Workload Support (20%) — VMware, Hyper-V, physical servers, NAS, Microsoft 365, cloud-native workloads
- Monitoring, Reporting & Troubleshooting (15%) — Dashboard navigation, audit logs, common failure modes
- Disaster Recovery & Continuity (10%) — Recovery workflows, replication, failover procedures, business continuity planning
Source: Cohesity Data Protection Associate Exam Preparation Guide ↗
Common skills at Backup & Disaster Recovery · Professional
Shared competencies for backup and disaster recovery professionals at the professional level — not unique to this cert.
- Enterprise backup infrastructure design and administration
- Recovery point objective (RPO) and recovery time objective (RTO) planning
- Ransomware resilience and immutable backup strategies
- Multi-cloud backup orchestration and cloud-native workload protection
- Data lifecycle management and archival policies
- Monitoring, alerting, and incident response for backup systems
- Compliance reporting (GDPR, HIPAA, SOC 2) for data protection
- Storage optimization and deduplication technologies
Recommended courses at Backup & Disaster Recovery · Professional
| Provider | Title | Cost | URL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cohesity Academy | DataProtect Administration & Operations (self-paced) | Included with registration | ↗ |
| Cohesity Academy | DataProtect eLearning with Lab Access (6 months) | Included / Partner pricing | ↗ |
| Cohesity Academy | Live instructor-led DataProtect bootcamp | Partner-dependent | ↗ |
| A Cloud Guru (Pluralsight) | Backup & Disaster Recovery Fundamentals | $49–$299/yr | ↗ |
| Linux Academy (Pluralsight) | Backup Administration essentials | $49–$299/yr | ↗ |
Practice exams
| Provider | Title | Cost | URL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cohesity Academy | Official sample questions + study guide | Free (with registration) | ↗ |
| Whizlabs | Cohesity Protection Associate practice pack (when available) | $19–$49 | [Contact vendor] |
Note: As of May 2026, dedicated third-party practice exam platforms for Cohesity certifications are limited; Cohesity provides official sample questions integrated into the exam preparation guide.
Books
| Title | Author | Publisher | Year | ISBN | URL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data Protection: Backup, Archive, and Replication Fundamentals | Robert Sarnoff | Packt | 2023 | 978-1803249339 | ↗ |
| Cohesity DataProtect Administration Guide (PDF) | Cohesity Engineering | Cohesity | 2024 | N/A | ↗ |
| Enterprise Data Protection and Disaster Recovery | Brad Bartholow | Sybex | 2021 | 978-1119714576 | ↗ |
Book note: Direct vendor documentation (admin guides, architecture PDFs) is more current than third-party books; Cohesity regularly updates DataProtect release notes and operational docs. No dedicated cert study guide book exists yet (as of 2026); use official Cohesity exam prep materials + general backup/DR foundational texts.
Typical job titles at Backup & Disaster Recovery · Professional
Backup Engineer · Senior Storage Administrator · Data Protection Engineer · Disaster Recovery Specialist · Infrastructure Engineer (Backup & Recovery focus) · Systems Engineer (Backup operations) · Cloud Backup Engineer · Cohesity Architect (consultant-level)
(Job titles drawn from current job-board postings listing Cohesity or backup/disaster recovery expertise as required or preferred.)
Salary
| Region | Range | Source |
|---|---|---|
| USD | $85,000 – $160,000 | Glassdoor (Backup Engineer roles) ↗ · ZipRecruiter (Cohesity Engineer) ↗ · Levels.fyi (Storage/Backup roles) ↗ |
| ZAR | R900,000 – R2,400,000 (annual) | Pnet ↗ · CareerJunction ↗ |
| GBP | £65,000 – £120,000 | IT Jobs Watch ↗ · Hays Tech Salary Guide ↗ |
| EUR | €75,000 – €140,000 (DE/FR/NL) | Robert Half Salary Guide (2026 regional reports) |
Salary note: Cohesity-specific backup engineer roles command premium rates due to niche expertise. Roles combining Cohesity + cloud backup (AWS, Azure) or ransomware resilience experience trend 10–20% higher. ZAR ranges reflect Johannesburg metro (high cost-of-living tech hubs); regional variation exists.
Skills validated
Specific technologies and practices this exam tests, beyond the shared "Common skills" section.
- Cohesity DataProtect — Policy creation, workload onboarding, backup scheduling, archival workflows
- Cohesity SmartFiles — NAS unstructured data management
- Cohesity FortKnox — Air-gapped ransomware-resilient vault
- Cohesity Gaia AI agent — Intelligent anomaly detection in backup operations
- Multi-workload protection — VMware vSphere, Hyper-V, physical servers, NAS (SMB/NFS), Microsoft 365, Kubernetes
- Cloud integration — AWS, Azure, Google Cloud archival and recovery
- Data recovery workflows — Granular restore (VMs, databases, files), recovery orchestration
- Monitoring & reporting — Cohesity dashboard, audit logs, compliance dashboards (GDPR, HIPAA, SOC 2)
- Cyber resilience fundamentals — Ransomware detection, immutable snapshots, recovery SLAs
Related certifications
- Stacks with: Cohesity Certified Data Security Professional ↗ (cyber resilience specialization)
- Equivalent at this level: Veeam Certified Architect (VMCE) ↗ · Rubrik Certified Administrator (RCA) ↗
- Complements: AWS Certified Solutions Architect (backup/recovery track) ↗ · Microsoft Azure Administrator (AZ-104) ↗
- Vendor overview: Cohesity ↗
- Ecosystem overview: Cohesity Data Protection ↗
Sources
- Cohesity Academy Certification portal: https://www.cohesity.com/academy/certification/
- Cohesity Protection Associate – DataProtect exam page: https://www.cohesity.com/academy/certification/cohesity-data-protection-associate/
- Data Protection Associate Exam Preparation Guide (PDF): https://www.cohesity.com/resource-assets/academy/data-protection-associate-exam-details-en.pdf
- Cohesity Academy FAQ: https://www.cohesity.com/academy/faq-cohesity-academy/
- Cohesity Academy Certifications FAQ: https://www.cohesity.com/academy/certification/certification-faq/
- Cohesity Newsroom — Veritas merger completion: https://www.cohesity.com/newsroom/press/cohesity-becomes-worlds-largest-data-protection-provider-after-completing-combination-with-veritas-enterprise-data-protection-business/
- Cohesity DataProtect product page: https://www.cohesity.com/products/dataprotect/
- Glassdoor Backup Engineer salaries: https://www.glassdoor.com/
- ZipRecruiter job market data: https://www.ziprecruiter.com/
- IT Jobs Watch (UK): https://www.itjobswatch.co.uk/
- Hays Tech Salary Guide: https://www.hays.co.uk/
Last verified: 2026-05-01
Parent ecosystem: Cohesity Data Protection
Parent domain: Backup & Disaster Recovery
Vendor overview: Cohesity
Citation notes
- Exam cost ($200) — confirmed via Cohesity Academy; vendor-administered third-party proctoring (not Pearson VUE).
- Veritas merger (December 2024, $3B) — completed acquisition announcement, press verified.
- Market position (12,000+ customers, 85+ Fortune 100) — Cohesity newsroom data.
- Exam duration, questions, passing score — derived from exam preparation guide; exact percentile cutoff not publicly disclosed.
- Experience recommendation (6–9 months) — Cohesity Academy FAQ standard guidance.
- Validity (2 years) — Cohesity Academy Certifications FAQ.
- Salary ranges — aggregated from Glassdoor, ZipRecruiter, Robert Half regional surveys (USD/ZAR/GBP); cert-specific data sparse; ranges represent backup/storage engineer roles with Cohesity or equivalent backup platform expertise.
- Topics & skills — mapped from official exam details PDF and product documentation.