Requirements of a Public Cloud or Private Cloud Professional

From public cloud to private cloud deployments; from AWS solution architect to MS Azure cloud programmer; there is cloud computing everywhere. IT professionals who understand the depth and girth of this technology can make a successful career in this stream. Professionals are in demand at newbie ventures to century-old companies. All types of professionals are required – from architects, programmers, deployment personnel to consultants and strategists.

High level requirements of cloud computing professional

Cloud computing professionals are required to have a broad range of skills. It is not restricted to technical acumen alone. They have to have strategic vision, the ability to marshal resources, marketing ability, business communication and so on. Many companies want consultants to be experienced in vendor negotiation and contract management. There are cloud computing sales professionals as well, who sell services on the cloud to clients.

For the technical folks, an understanding of the structure of the cloud architecture is crucial. It helps develop better and faster solutions in the future. The way services are delivered can be improved. It is not just about sound programming skills. It is also about understanding the holistic cloud computing ecosystem in general.

Breakup of technical skills

The following is not an exhaustive breakup of the technical skills required. It is indicative of the kind of expectations employers have.

• System administration – Includes knowledge of virtualization technologies.
• Storage networking – Is a highly specialized area that includes knowledge and technical acumen in implementing storage techniques.
• Virtual switching – Although virtual switching is a subset of virtualization, it involves several technologies. It is essentially allowing inter-communication of virtual machines.

Apart from the aforementioned, a professional is required to have skills in aligning IT to business, data analytics knowledge, information security, services management etc. The ability to streamline customized public cloud and private cloud infrastructure as a service is an added advantage.