How to Build a Career in Cloud Computing

Cloud Computing has provided businesses with numerous opportunities to operate more efficiently and effectively.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that for businesses to remain competitive, they need to be flexible. As a result, the need to introduce or update cloud computing technologies has been of increased significance.

 

Here is what you need to know about a career in cloud computing.

 

What is Cloud Computing?

In its simplest form, cloud computing is tasks completed via the internet (cloud). Cloud computing has allowed businesses to reduce operations expenses and scale them as needed with greater ease.

 

There are numerous types of cloud computing. Each type can be adapted to meet the needs of each business. Types of cloud computing include:

• Public Cloud – A Cloud that anyone can use (e.g., Google Drive, OneDrive, Amazon Web Services)
• Private Cloud – A Cloud that is used exclusively by one organisation. (e.g., data is stored at the organisations location on their own servers).
• Hybrid Cloud – A Cloud that is a combination of public and private clouds (e.g., Data stored at the organisations location and software stored at cloud providers location)
• Multi-Cloud – A system that uses multiple cloud computing and storage devices.
• Software as a Service (SaaS) – Cloud provider hosts client’s applications (e.g., Salesforce, Dropbox).
• Platform as a Service (PaaS) – A system that allows customers to use a cloud platform to create software for a business (e.g., Windows Azure, Google App Engine).
• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) – Cloud resources that companies purchase for on-demand usage and are highly scalable (e.g., Google Compute Engine (GCE), Rackspace).

It is important to remember that some public and private clouds may also be classified as PaaS or SaaS clouds.

 

Growth of Cloud Computing

The concept of cloud computing can be traced back to the mid-1940s, while the modern concept began in the 1990s. In 2006, Amazon Web Services (AWS) allowed customers to rent virtual machines for data (cloud storage) and applications (cloud software).

As cloud computing has continued to grow, new forms of cloud computing have been developed and introduced. Of these new forms of cloud computing, IaaS has seen the most significant growth, with the industry generating $AU16 billion in 2010 to predicted to reach $AU866 billion in revenue by 2025.

The growth of cloud computing has increased the value of the industry. In 2021, cloud computing had an estimated net worth of $AU105 billion, and the industry is estimated to be worth $AU542 billion by 2028.

 

 

Benefits of Cloud Computing

Cloud computing has shown numerous benefits for businesses.

• Increased ability to scale operations where needed
• Increased productivity
• Increased performance
• Increased reliability of software

As an organisation introduces cloud computing solutions, flexibility in operation performance increases. Adding traditional forms of data storage can be costly and time-consuming while increasing cloud storage can be cost-effective and take minutes instead of hours.

 

Industry Applications of Cloud Computing

Across almost every industry, cloud computing has changed how businesses operate. It has allowed companies to adapt to changes in the business environment quickly. As a result, organisations have been able to work with increased efficiency and scale with greater ease.

 

From industry to industry, cloud computing has multiple uses.

 

Education

In education, cloud computing has allowed institutions to provide a variety of software types to every student. Throughout the COVID pandemic, students have been able to continue studying while remaining connected with other students. Cloud solutions provide easy scalability to meet the demands of the number and location of students.

 

Manufacturing

Cloud computing solutions allow for increased system monitoring for many organisations that manufacture products. For the business, the greatest benefit is predicting issues and the need for maintenance, resulting in a reduction in time machinery is taken offline for servicing.

 

Health Care

The health care industry has been slow to incorporate cloud solutions. The most prominent advantage cloud computing offers the healthcare industry is accessing data remotely. It allows for consults via telephone and treatment plans to be developed in a location away from the patient. As a result, there are numerous opportunities for improvement in patient care with the introduction of new cloud computing services.

 

Retail

The introduction of cloud computing technology into the retail environment has improved customer experience. Combined with AI technologies, cloud technologies can help retail businesses track stock, automatically order new inventory and inform customers of stock location. Additionally, cloud computing allows customers to gain a personalised shopping experience, increasing customer satisfaction.

 

Career Prospects

The rapid growth of the cloud computing industry presents numerous opportunities for a career in cloud computing.

 

As more businesses move to incorporate cloud-based solutions into their operations, the increase in Cloud Builder or Cloud Engineer jobs will continue to increase. As a result, cloud engineer positions remain some of Australia’s most in-demand IT jobs.

 

The day-to-day responsibilities of those working in cloud computing change between organisations; however, the most common include:

• Cloud software development
• Issue identification and troubleshooting
• Customer/Tech support
• Project Management
• Developing Automation tools

 

From a career in the Cloud field of IT, it is possible to move to a career in other areas of IT, including:

• Cyber Security
• IT Project Management
• Business Analysts
• Software Development

 

The Future of Cloud Computing

With businesses adapting to increase flexibility due to the COVID pandemic, from data storage to cloud-based software packages, it is becoming clear that the future of IT is in the cloud. The growth of cloud usage will see revenue on public cloud usage exceed $AU667 billion in 2022.

 

In the coming years, the focus of cloud computing will be placed on several areas, including:

• Development and Integration of new AI services.
• Updating current cloud operations from public or private clouds to hybrid cloud
• Updating current cyber security activities.

 

As more cloud computing applications are developed, organisations will continue to reduce operational expenses, increase scalability and protect business data more effectively.

 

With the needs of businesses constantly changing, cloud computing technologies allow companies to increase flexibility while reducing disruptions in current operations. Cloud computing services help companies reduce expenses while delivering products or services.

 

To begin a career in Cloud Computing, SISTC offers a Bachelor of Information Technology with the option of majoring in two fields: Digital Enterprise (DEN) and Business Information Systems (BIS).

 

To find out more about the courses offered at SISTC, visit our course information page.