With a technology as far-reaching as cloud computing comes a wide range of jobs that require up-to-date cloud skills. While some of the roles are new positions that focus primarily on cloud usage, most are existing roles that need to add cloud expertise to ongoing responsibilities.
These roles include:
- Server Administrator: One of the most common IT roles, the responsibilities of a server administrator include overall management of physical servers, virtual servers and business systems. This role might also be labeled systems administrator in some companies, and while the exact scope may differ between roles, the general concept is similar. Obviously in today’s environment, individuals in this role need a solid working knowledge of cloud computing systems as they determine which platform is best for each application and manage the entire architecture.
- Cloud Architect: Mostly seen in large companies with extensive needs, cloud architect is a newer role that focuses specifically on cloud resources and less on a traditional server room. Typical tasks might include cloud vendor analysis, private cloud construction and cloud orchestration. As more IT architectures become combinations of cloud resources and on-premises resources, this role may fade in favor of the more general systems administrator or systems architect.
- Software Developer: Some of the greatest disruption caused by cloud computing has been in the software development space, with barriers to entry being removed and workflow changing drastically thanks to new capabilities. The increased demand for software is driving granularity in software positions. Some of the more popular job titles are front-end developer, full stack developer and DevOps engineer.
- Data Scientist: Along with an understanding of new data tools and corporate data structures, data scientists must have expertise with cloud systems since cloud resources are practically a requirement for modern data processing and analysis. The first step is leveraging various storage options to create a comprehensive data repository. From there, data scientists typically employ cloud software, especially tools from the catalog of major public cloud providers.