IT certification study guides
CompTIA, ISC2, ISACA, IAPP, AWS and Microsoft. Every guide is written in plain English, mapped to the current exam outline, with the practice questions printed in the same book. And every paperback includes the PDF, delivered instantly, so you start studying today while the book ships.
Print and PDF
Every guide ships as a printed book, and the PDF comes with it, delivered instantly. Prefer digital only? That works too.
The PDF lands in your inbox the moment you order, so you study today while the book prints and ships. The printed copy arrives within one to two weeks.
The same complete guide as an instant download, for candidates whose exam date will not wait for shipping. Available on every title.
⚡ Whichever you choose, the PDF is in your inbox the moment your payment clears. No waiting for the mail to start studying.
Choose your path
Pick your certifying body and we will show you the right guide. Every family page walks the titles in the order most people take them.
A+ Core 1 and Core 2, Network+ and Security+. The classic path into IT, from first job to security fundamentals.
CC, SSCP, CCSP and CISSP. The security ladder, from no-experience entry to the senior credential.
CISA, CISM, CRISC, CGEIT, CDPSE and the new AI audit and security credentials, AAIA and AAISM.
The privacy profession's certifications: CIPP/US, CIPP/E, CIPM, CIPT and the AI governance credential, AIGP.
Cloud Practitioner, AI Practitioner and Solutions Architect Associate. The cloud certifications employers list first.
SC-900 for security, compliance and identity, and AI-901 for Azure AI Fundamentals. The Microsoft fundamentals pair.
The method
The same approach across all 25 titles, because the exams reward the same thing: knowing what the outline actually tests.
An instructor's voice teaches what each objective actually means, in sentences a tired professional can read after work. No padding, no textbook fog.
Every chapterChapters follow the certifying body's published domains and weightings, so the time you spend matches the marks on offer.
Domains and weightings stated in each bookQuestions are printed with the chapters they test, and every rationale explains the right answer and dismantles the wrong ones, so a miss teaches something.
6,900+ questions across the seriesEvery book states the exam outline it was written to and is printed on demand, so the copy in your hands is the 2026 to 2027 edition, not warehouse stock.
Edition and outline named in every bookFree practice questions
Pick your exam and answer three real questions from the book, free, with the answers explained. Like what you see? Unlock the full 12-question sampler PDF, delivered by email.
✓Real questions from the printed book✓Every answer explained✓Free — no purchase needed
Look inside
This is page 101 of the CISSP guide. Every section in every title is built from the same five parts. Select a marker to see what each one does.
Marker 1 · The objective heading
The heading is not ours. 8.3 Assess the effectiveness of software security is objective 8.3 from the ISC2 exam outline, exactly as ISC2 numbers it. Every guide in the series works this way: each numbered objective from the certifying body's outline becomes a section, so the table of contents is the exam blueprint.
Marker 2 · The explanation
Each concept leads with the term set in bold, then says what it is and what it is for. The paragraph on this page opens with Auditing and logging of changes and explains what the version control system, the CI/CD pipeline and the issue tracker each record, then why the three together answer a question the exam asks.
Together these provide a longitudinal view: are security findings increasing or decreasing? How long do security defects remain open? What classes of vulnerabilities recur?Verbatim from page 101
Marker 3 · Exam Tip
Exam Tips sit beside the concept they belong to, not in an appendix. Each one names the distinction the exam tests, which on a scenario question is usually the difference between an answer that is correct and the answer that is best.
Exam Tip. Recurring vulnerability classes in audit data are a training-and-tooling signal, not just a defect signal. The right answer addresses the cause (developer training, framework choice, tooling), not just each instance.Verbatim from page 101
Marker 4 · Common Pitfall
Common Pitfalls do the opposite job: they name the plausible answer that costs you the mark. They are placed where you first meet the idea, not at the end of the chapter, so the trap is defused before the exam sets it.
Common Pitfall. Measuring training completion rather than training outcomes. Completion is necessary but not sufficient; recurrence rates and pre-release defect rates measure outcomes.Verbatim from page 101
Marker 5 · Key Takeaways
Every section closes with Key Takeaways: the shortest version of what you have just read. In a final-week pass you can read only these and still know whether the section needs a second look.
Why Simply Certified
Simply Certified is a study guide series for working professionals who need to certify efficiently, without a two-thousand-page reference. Chapters and practice questions are both mapped to the certifying body's published exam objectives, so your practice results point directly to the domains that need more work.
Questions, answered
From the inbox
★★★★★
The PDF arrived before my confirmation email finished loading. I had two chapters done before the paperback turned up.
★★★★★
Finally a CISA book that reads like a person explaining things. The Key Takeaways carried my final week of review.
★★★★★
I bought the PDF on a Tuesday, sat CC the next Monday. The practice questions were the closest thing to the real wording I found anywhere.
★★★★★
The domain weighting bars told me where my hours should go. I stopped over-studying the small domains and passed with room to spare.
★★★★★
Book plus PDF for one price is how every publisher should do it. Paper at my desk, PDF on the train.
★★★★★
The Exam Tip boxes are the book's best feature. Half the questions I saw turned on exactly those distinctions.