Closing the Cloud Skills GapHow we can prepare ourselves for a future where cloud computing is even more pervasive

Scott Lowe, VCDX 39vExpert, Author, Blogger, Geek

http://blog.scottlowe.org / Twitter: @scott_loweColossians 3:17 NIV

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Before going any further

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How many of you have employers currently involved in

a cloud computing project?

•50% of businesses believe cloud computing is a high priority•Cloud-related jobs expected to grow 26% annually•Virtually all IT job growth will be in cloud-related roles•An estimated 7 million cloud-related jobs in IT worldwide by 2015

(These statistics taken from an early 2013 IDC white paper available at http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/download/presskits/learning/docs/idc.pdf)

The problem

“Unlike IT skill shortages in the past, solving this skills gap is extremely

challenging, given that cloud brings a new set of skills, which haven’t

been needed in the past”— Cushing Anderson, IDC

How many of you are actively seeking to bolster cloud computing-related skills?

•On-demand self-service•Resource pooling•Rapid elasticity•Measured service•Broad network access

(Taken from http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistpubs/800-145/SP800-145.pdf)

NIST definition of cloud computing

According to the 2013 IDC white paper, these skills were ranked as most important:

1. Risk management2. IT service management3. Project/program management4. Business-IT alignment5. Technical skills in cloud implementation

Job skills needed in a cloud computing environment

A sidebar on business-IT alignment

•Talk to the business: Find out what their goals are, and think about how IT can help achieve those goals.

•Don’t use IT jargon: The business doesn’t care about IOPS, RAM, GHz, TB/PB, SAN, NAS, NFS, or VTEPs. They care about meeting their business goals.

•Try to say “Yes”: Don’t tell the business “No,” instead tell them how you can help solve their problems.

What about specifics?

•Software development basics•Linux•Automation and orchestration tools•Public cloud services

Key technical skills for cloud computing

Software development basics

•First and foremost: I’m not saying you all need to become programmers!

•You do need to understand the basics•Challenges in moving from development to production and the evolution of solutions to the problem (DevOps)

•Tools like Vagrant•Git (or other version control system)

Software development basics

Linux

• It’s becoming increasingly pervasive• It’s the foundation for many cloud-related technologies• It’s an inexpensive solution for a variety of issues•Key things:•Pick a distribution (Ubuntu and Red Hat/CentOS seem to capture most of the mindshare)

•Figure out how to do common tasks (DHCP, DNS, firewall, web server, proxy, etc.)

Linux

Automation & orchestration tools

•Automation and orchestration are “force multipliers”•Automation and orchestration can take many different forms•Scripting languages like PowerShell, Perl, Python, or Ruby•Configuration management tools like Puppet, Chef, Salt, or Ansible

•Orchestration tools like vCenter Orchestrator, vCAC, or OpenStack

•No more “hand crafted” efforts!

Automation & orchestration tools

Publiccloudservices

•Public cloud may be the best fit for some business needs, and you need to know how public cloud services work

•Some public cloud services include:•vCloud Air•AWS•GCE•Windows Azure

•Remember: IT-business alignment is critical!

Public cloud services

This isn’t new...from 2012:

Note what I haven’t mentioned...

Questions &answers

Thank you!Don’t forget to rate this session and provide feedback (via mobile app, inside the program guide, or via link sent to your e-mail)

Scott Lowe, VCDX 39vExpert, Author, Blogger, Geek

http://blog.scottlowe.org / Twitter: @scott_loweColossians 3:17 NIV