The COVID-19 pandemic proved to be the tipping point for companies to enable and support more remote, distributed workforces, which is the deployment of cloud-enabled video conferencing tools. Also, there came a spike in demand for employee productivity and collaboration products, including Google Docs. Cloudzero.com reports reveal that the percentage of cloud-based application software expenditures will rise from 57.7% in 2022 to 65.9% in 2025.
Key Cloud Computing In Demand
1. Cloud Service Platform Expertise
A thorough understanding of the CSP marketplace proves to be mandatory. And in this regard, it can be said that there is a need to familiarize yourself with the big public cloud computing platforms AWS, Microsoft Azure, and GCP.
Akamai, IBM, DigitalOcean, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), and Alibaba Cloud serve as other companies with cloud platforms. Organizations and CSPs alike use widely deployed open-source technology platforms to build public and private cloud services, including OpenStack and Apache CloudStack.
2. Programming Languages
Building applications in the cloud demands knowledge of mainstream programming languages. Besides, one must have the ability to write code to build, deploy, and manage applications. Common programming languages include Java, JavaScript, and Python, which are well-suited for cloud-based software. There’s a need for familiarity with SQL and data structure concepts, including data schemas required for developing database-powered applications.
3. Application Programming Interfaces
APIs find widespread use in modern software development, on-premises, and in the cloud. APIs are valuable as they fulfill the purpose of enabling different services and applications to interact with one another, serving the purpose of data exchange. The use of APIs ensures Building, linking, and integrating different workloads in the cloud. One needs to be adept at coding APIs and the links used to integrate workloads into the cloud.
4. Database Management
The database serves as one of the most widely used application services in the cloud. Cloud databases are valuable for organizations with a high degree of scalability. Major cloud providers have multiple types of database services, and they take into consideration relational databases, NoSQL, graph databases, and data warehouse offerings. So, one needs to understand the different database types and the manner of work.
5. Network Management
One must be thorough with the networking basics, including the method of establishing connections across resources and locations. Cloud resources connected to on-premises locations allow an organization to establish services, including virtual private cloud and secure connectivity.
6. Development And Operations
Developers and operations working in the modern cloud environments work with DevOps. It serves as the practice of harmonizing and integrating development and operations activities throughout the entire software development process, from design to development to production support.
It is essential to reduce time to market for applications and eliminate unnecessary bottlenecks. The practice takes into consideration the use of continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) services in the cloud, in addition to the observability and monitoring of operations.
7. Machine Learning And Artificial Intelligence
Aspiring cloud computing professionals should attain a firm grasp of the fundamentals of ML and AI, among today’s most sought-after technology skills. There has been a dramatic rise in generative AI, and in this regard, it can be said that major public cloud platforms offer generative AI services platforms favorable for organizations to build, manage, and deploy large language models.
8. Cloud Security
Security serves as an essential function in cloud computing environments. There’s a requirement for advanced Identity and access management, and that’s the reason tools to manage and configure it find a wide purpose. So, one needs to be well-trained in understanding, configuring, deploying, and managing cloud-native application platform technologies.
9. Hybrid Cloud
Public cloud has many benefits but doesn’t prove to be that suitable for every part of a business’s IT infrastructure, applications, and workloads. This is the reason there is a rise in the hybrid cloud approach. In that case, certain elements are retained on-premises or in a dedicated private cloud. One needs to be skilled enough to correctly decide what belongs where. Cloud professionals should be able to learn how each cloud model works and the manner to unify them.
10. Storage
The professionals working with the cloud environment should understand how and where to store it. Depending on a business’s needs and the type and volume of data. They should understand how to pick Personal cloud storage, Public cloud storage, Private cloud storage, or hybrid cloud storage.
11. Containers
Containers with a packaging mechanism isolate applications from the environments in which they are running. And it takes into consideration the decoupling process, enabling businesses to deploy container-based applications swiftly and consistently. There is a need to have advanced knowledge regarding today’s most popular container technologies, including Docker and Kubernetes.
12. Data And Application Migration Alongside Deployment
It’s a more complex task to move software applications from a data center into a cloud environment than to copy files from one server to another. Applications running on-premises often include software and hardware dependencies that don’t directly translate into the cloud, as in a lift-and-shift approach.
There is a need for a thorough assessment before any cloud migration occurs. Cloud professionals should have an understanding of how to treat each application on its own merits.
The world has been looking forward to accelerating the adoption of cloud technologies, and that is also bringing with it the demand for cloud engineers. Stay ahead of the curve by embracing continuous learning to remain relevant. Expertise in cloud computing has become imperative. One needs to develop the above-stated necessary skills to navigate the complexities of cloud technology.
