Cloud computing is gaining popularity at an alarming rate. Forbes predicts that “83% of enterprise workloads will be in the cloud by 2020.” This means that IT professionals will see their job descriptions change. Let’s take a look at some of those skills and strategies as well as cloud cost considerations that will be relevant to these new responsibilities.
Cloud Management Skills
The IT infrastructure is constantly changing. In the early days, computers could fill a whole room. As time went on, more specialized devices began to fill the racks of data center data centers in long rows on raised floors. Cloud computing is more focused on the software functionality than the equipment itself. Cloud computing skills are highly in demand. It is important to understand what skills are required for a cloud engineer.
1. Linux
Although the cloud is a collection virtualized, software-defined IT functions, it still requires an operating system. For the most part, that operating systems is Linux.
ZDNet’s article “IT runs in the cloud, and Linux runs in the cloud” explains the situation. Any questions?” Any questions?
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Start training According to a 2017 Red Hat study, 54% of cloud applications are running on Linux virtual machines. For business-critical workloads, 78% prefer paid Linux implementations to free. Red Hat, Ubuntu and Oracle are all available. Anyone who wants to work in cloud computing must be familiar with the provisioning and maintenance Linux VMs.
2. Programming
Cloud computing professionals can take on many roles. They can work in systems support, development, security, design, or system support. Developers are required to have excellent programming skills. However, there are many opportunities for cloud engineers of any stripe to write scripts or deal with code.
The cloud hosts software applications that can interact with a wide range of network and system components. Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), are links that allow you to integrate workloads into a cloud environment. These APIs can be coded by administrators, as well as performing other programming tasks in today’s cloud environment. According to Chakray, cloud integrations company Chakray’s top five cloud programming languages include:
Java
Asp.net
PHP
Python
Ruby
They state that it is important to use data-oriented languages rather than general-purpose ones. It is part of the wide skill set that is required for anyone working in the cloud.
3. Database Management
Databases, like many other IT functional areas are moving to the cloud quickly. Traditional databases are stored in data centers and managed in specific locations. Cloud databases can be distributed across a cloud infrastructure. Database-as-a-Service (DBaaS) is a particular form of cloud database offered by cloud providers to house and manage customer data.
As a cloud engineer, you need to have more database skills than what is required in the data center. NetApp outlines the most common cloud database problems. These include storage performance limitations, size limitations, multicloud operations, and database cloning. SQL is the standard cloud database language. However, NoSQL is gaining popularity as an alternative to SQL’s rigid schema.
4. Multi-Cloud Deployment
It is difficult enough to manage a single cloud, but managing multiple clouds can be more challenging. It is important to find a way that can bring together all of the cloud resources into one unified management system. A cloud engineer is ideal.