Digital Transformation is About People

Cloud computing has become an integral part of the IT infrastructure of many organizations worldwide. There is a great demand for IT professionals that have the cloud computing skills necessary to assist organizations with establishing a workable cloud environment.

Like a cloud that can’t be defined by hard, straight lines and therefore stays somewhat ambiguous, cloud computing remains a somewhat ill-defined concept in the mind of the average consumer.

Let’s make the vague clear. Online certification training provider and member of the LLPA, DDLS, defines cloud computing as the process of outsourcing one’s data storage and software to an online platform. Such digital services have eliminated business expenses on physical infrastructure, additional IT support, and limited geographical access; allowing more efficient, innovative company operations.

Companies are embracing cloud computing

According to the Flexera 2020 State of the Cloud Report, many companies have adopted multi-cloud and hybrid cloud strategies and on average they are using more than two public and two private clouds.

Companies are also spending more on cloud computing. In the 2019 report, 13 percent of respondents reported that they spend more than $12 million on public cloud. In the most recent assessment, that number went up to 20 percent with 74 percent reporting that they spend more than $1.2 million per year.

The pandemic has also affected cloud plans. With more employees working remotely, more than half of the respondents expect their cloud usage to be higher than they initially envisaged.

In fact, COVID-19 is directly responsible for the speeding up of digital transformation. Gartner says that according to some estimates, the response to the pandemic has fast-forwarded digital adoption by five years. This acceleration of digital transformation translates into a large-scale shortage of workers with much-needed cloud computing skills.

While companies expect to increase their use of cloud services, many are not ready to do so.

According to The State of Cloud Learning Report, more than 90% of IT leaders surveyed expect to increase their use of cloud services over the next one to three years. However, only 56 percent of them have a plan in place to train their workforce so they have the required skills to facilitate this change in operations.

According to the report, most workers and hiring managers want their workplaces to provide training so they can gain cloud expertise. In fact, skills development training is a great way to retain talent. The study found that 94 percent of employees are more likely to stay with an employer who supports them to develop their skills.

As cloud adoption grows, demand is rising for cloud professionals that have expertise across all three major cloud providers: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP). Expertise on the AWS platform is in the highest demand in the industry.

While AWS is the most popular platform, the report finds that increasing numbers of IT professionals are training on Azure.

Closing the cloud computing skills gap is not all about technology

While a large part of digital transformation is the acquisition of new technologies, we must not lose sight of the fact that it’s people who make digital transformation possible. With digital transformation, we are not talking about automation where a machine does the work of humans. We are talking about a synergy between the two.

Collaboration between humans and technology can bring about better results. A Whitehouse report about preparing for the future of artificial intelligence refers to research that found that a human-machine team can be more effective than one or the other on its own.

Just bringing new technology into the workplace will not result in digital transformation because humans are needed to implement the technology. For this to happen the workforce will need extensive training opportunities.

For successful digital transformation, companies will have to train their employees to think and act differently. With specific reference to the need for cloud expertise, certifications and hands-on learning are the way to go, adding value for enterprises and career advancement with higher salaries for employees.

The need for cloud certification

As cloud adoption continues to grow, the demand for skilled cloud professionals across the three top cloud providers is also growing. Professionals who want to work in cloud computing must prove that they have the necessary expertise and skills and the way to prove that is to obtain a cloud certification.

This is the most opportune time to get a qualification in cloud computing. If you do a quick search on Indeed, thousands of vacant cloud positions show up. Skills in both AWS and Azure are in high demand.

Employees with cloud certification will help enterprises to make the best use of the many cloud opportunities and those employees will reap real benefits as well. Cloud computing training greatly improves earning potential. SimplyHired reports that the average cloud computing salary is $71,514 per year. The top salary ($155,536) is earned by a principal architect. A cloud engineer earns $118,134 per year.

The world is going digital and cloud computing is here to stay, so certification in cloud computing also offers job security.

The C3 Global Cloud Skills Tour

The C3 Global Cloud Skills Tour is a gathering of chief learning officers, business decision-makers, HR professionals and Azure technical and consulting leads around the current shortage of cloud skills and ways to address it effectively.

The series of virtual events is aimed at CLOs and IT professionals and takes place in more than 17 countries worldwide, each of them offering a unique agenda that focuses on the local cloud and skilling situation of the country. The global event is planned for June 2021. Attendees will gain valuable insights and learn from local and international leading industry experts. Topics include how to build high-performance teams and ways to better leverage existing and future cloud investments.

The latest role-based training and certifications, skilling initiatives, skills plans and learning pathways are also on the agenda. There will be opportunities to interact with cloud customers, partners and learning experts on ways to address skills and people gaps.

The Global Cloud Skills Tour is an initiative of the Leading Learning Partners Association (The LLPA). This is the second year it takes place. The LLPA introduced “C to the power of 3” in 2019. It is a cloud certification circle model that incorporates training, certification, reporting and nurturing services. The LLPA collaborates with its 33 leading learning members in this goal to accelerate and promote cloud knowledge worldwide.

Final thoughts

Cloud adoption has become an inescapable requirement for modern enterprises, making it imperative for IT teams to acquire top cloud-skilled talent. Events like the C3 Global Cloud Skills Tour helps enterprises with their digital transformation initiatives, helping them to prepare their employees for current and future roles, and ultimately improving the bottom line.