Pure Storage Exams

The Shift to All-Flash Storage

Founded in 2009 under the codename Os76 Inc., Pure Storage built its business on a single technical premise: solid-state flash memory would replace spinning hard disk drives in the enterprise data center. The company launched its first commercial all-flash array in 2011, went public in 2015, and reported $3.17 billion in revenue for fiscal year 2025.

Pure Storage targets the high-performance tier of the storage market. Their hardware runs mission-critical databases, virtual machine clusters, and heavy analytics workloads. The company differentiates its hardware through its DirectFlash technology, which manages flash media directly rather than relying on standard solid-state drive controllers. They also use an Evergreen subscription model, which guarantees customers can upgrade array controllers over time without migrating data or taking systems offline.

Validating Pure Storage Deployment Skills

Because enterprise storage underpins the entire IT infrastructure, hardware implementations carry high risk. A misconfigured storage array can cause data corruption or severe application latency.

To qualify professionals who install and maintain these systems, the company offers the FlashArray Implementation Specialist (Pure Certified FlashArray Implementation Specialist) certification. This credential targets storage engineers, systems administrators, and partner technicians responsible for physical deployment and initial configuration.

The exam tests practical, hands-on procedures. Candidates must prove they can perform pre-installation environmental checks, route physical cabling, configure network settings, and execute system bring-up procedures using the Purity//FA operating environment. The certification also covers the exact steps required to perform firmware updates and hardware replacements without causing application downtime.

Exam Expectations

Pure Storage writes this assessment for active practitioners. The vendor recommends candidates have three to five years of general storage industry experience, plus six to twelve months of direct hands-on work with Pure Storage arrays.

You will face scenario-based questions that ask you to make configuration decisions based on specific workload requirements. You must know how to validate system readiness before migrating production data. The exam tests your ability to evaluate existing infrastructure, determine correct upgrade paths, and document pre-flight checks. You also need to understand post-installation procedures, including how to verify data integrity, integrate the array with existing storage networks, and establish baseline performance metrics.

Market Value of the Credential

Storage administrators occupy a distinct niche in enterprise IT. While cloud engineers manage abstracted resources, storage specialists deal with physical constraints: rack space, power draw, thermal limits, and fiber channel connectivity.

Companies investing in Pure Storage hardware spend heavily on their data center footprint. Hiring managers look for the Pure Certified FlashArray Implementation Specialist credential as proof that an engineer can handle this equipment safely. They need technicians who can navigate the Purity interface, interpret system logs, and coordinate maintenance windows with application owners.

As organizations increase their dependence on low-latency storage for artificial intelligence and machine learning pipelines, the physical hardware layer requires precise management. An engineer who knows how to verify capacity thresholds, assess workload compatibility, and execute a live controller upgrade ensures the data center continues operating while the physical storage environment expands.