From talent to agility: Can cloud technology win on multiple fronts?

 A blog post by David Linthicum, chief cloud strategy officer, Deloitte Consulting LLP and Mike Kavis, chief cloud architect, Deloitte Consulting LLP.

As more organizations foster a digital-first approach, cloud-native ecosystems expand and mature. It’s certain that the way forward is to build cost-effective, optimized, and automated architectures that are monitored by people with the right cloud-native skill sets.

What’s new in the cloud ecosystem?

1. Strategizing relocatable cloud containers: New use cases of cryptocurrencies and NFTs tilt toward leveraging intercloud containers, which give the ability to create a distributed system that runs across heterogeneous cloud providers. Once one container is written, it can be made accessible across multiple cloud providers. Strategists are weighing in on its technical complexity and costs against the potential for increased inclusion and agility to decide if this can be a mainstream cloud strategy.
   
2. Leveraging the edge: The need to build a remote workforce has intensified the focus on edge and cloud technology exponentially. This technology allows cloud providers to place a smaller version of a cloud data center closer to the end users and reduces latency, network costs, and security. Additionally, microclouds—a subset of cloud services installed with an existing data center to allow customers to run on-premise cloud applications—are gaining traction for economic viability and data residency.
   
3. Tracking the bills: Once a cloud application is set, do companies have an optimized cost governance process to track it? A major section of cloud consumers does not know how to institute a governing process, track usage, or analyze everything that factors into propelling cost. It’s a business imperative that leaders have tools to monitor and insights to forecast. In 2022, we should start moving toward mitigating this issue.
   

With that in mind, companies must also realize that like every technology, human intelligence and capabilities are central to the success of cloud computing. And when business requirements are so unique, talent strategy cannot be business as usual.

Can organizations weather the talent headwinds?

With thousands of jobs opening for cloud-native talent, firms find themselves in the middle of a battleground, trying to win the best skill sets. But when technologies are disrupted at a never-seen-before speed, how can organizations keep pace with the seismic shifts in skill requirements after recruiting people?

When organizations migrated to cloud and built new applications, they targeted the low-hanging fruit first—the easiest applications and data sets. But to migrate complicated areas, such as mainframe-based and legacy systems or to build a relocatable container or edge computing system, companies need people who can do it.

Cloud practitioners must become active learners. It means getting involved in projects where there are new demands and learning by doing. And then to help keep pace with the disruptions, it’s a pressing need to set up an automated learning system within companies, which has updated cloud-based skill development tools, letting people choose what they want to learn by assembling their own curriculum. Autonomous and empowered people who can control the path of their careers are more open to adapting to the plethora of emerging technologies.

Survival of the smartest

It is a strange time. Unprecedented. There is no shortage of challenges for businesses, and those that are quick to evolve will survive. From finding and retaining the right talent to pushing the limits of cloud computing, sophisticated processes demand smart moves that do not jam your strategic pipeline with reactive elements. It’s tough to anticipate the disruptions and decide quickly.

Check out our podcast, Cloud 2022: distributed, edgy, more cost-effective, and in need of talent, where Deloitte’s Chief Cloud Strategy Officer David Linthicum and Chief Cloud Architect Mike Kavis share predictive insights on the cloud and how you can accelerate your journey.