TechCrunch

The way we work has changed in an instant. In the past few months, we’ve all experienced it. Technological advancement and social transformations arrive swiftly and sometimes unexpectedly—making cloud savviness all the more crucial to business success. “I’ve been working in technology for 35 years,” said Myke Miller, Dean of Deloitte’s Cloud Institute, a curriculum devoted to sharpening participants’ cloud skills and business acumen. “This shift with the cloud is unlike anything else we’ve seen.”

The future is rapidly arriving, and businesses must be agile and innovative enough to keep up. In just a matter of weeks, the way we work has made an unprecedented transition to remote processes—and companies with cloud capabilities are rising above the pack. It has become all the more apparent that one of the key paths forward for businesses to excel is to have a cloud-adept workforce who can apply those skills to enable their business to change to meet the latest demands.

Innovating in the cloud is crucial for all industries

Cloud computing, and its relationship with advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), isn’t just for cutting edge tech companies. Innovating in the cloud allows for flexibility, growth, and the ability to harness AI/ML for enterprise solutions. Businesses can utilize the cloud for the precise amount of computing power they need at any given moment, scaling up efficiently when resources are in higher demand. Paired with effective AI/ML algorithms, which can be processed in the cloud, this flexibility becomes even more powerful. It creates possibility: Using cloud means doing more, creating more, and re-shaping customer experience.

This is relevant across all sectors of the economy. In the education sector, schools with remote learning processes have been able to adapt to new circumstances without major hurdles, while schools without the adequate technological resources are struggling to keep up. In retail, businesses with robust online operations have kept up, while those without an online presence have faltered. In healthcare, the technology is especially pertinent: AI systems, powered by the cloud, are able to route patients to their nearest COVID-19 testing centers with much greater efficiency than manpower alone.

For one state government, setting up a contact tracing protocol quickly was critical to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. By leveraging cloud products, Deloitte was able to establish a 600-person program in the span of just one week, saving lives in the process. From banking to public health, all industries stand to benefit from the power of the cloud.

But cloud alone isn’t enough: Upskilling workers means unlocking potential

A robust cloud framework and technical tools are not enough on their own. Transformational change comes from having a workforce that is trained, talented, and able to think on their feet. Schools with cutting edge remote learning systems need teachers who are skilled in using those systems to successfully educate their students. The same concept applies across all industries. Underlying every successful business are the technological systems that are critical for employees to master, whether it is a hotel reservation system, a claims underwriting process, or a media distribution network. “Companies that don’t have cloud ability are losing out,” said Kate Kustermann Rivera, Cloud Capability Development Leader at Deloitte Consulting LLP. “It’s going to be imperative going forward that companies, clients, and customers are shifting to cloud-skilled workforces.”

A capable, skilled workforce is the backbone of a successful business. As companies grow and implement cloud computing alongside AI/ML and other advanced technologies, it is important to ensure that employees’ skills progress in step. Providing employees with the adequate training not only gives both workers and the business an edge in the marketplace, but it also helps keep staff members challenged, satisfied, and more likely to stay and contribute to company growth. Agile, skilled teams help businesses master what the cloud makes possible.

“We’re making technology skills relevant. It’s not just about how to use specific platforms,” Miller said. “It’s how you use them to solve very specific business problems.”

Deloitte is training the workforce of the future

Deloitte Cloud Institute is a first-of-its-kind program for training workers in the cloud skills they need to keep up and thrive in a rapidly shifting marketplace. Through dynamic programming, the institute strives to help people reach their highest potential, and in turn, to use that potential to achieve new possibilities in technologies, business operations, and markets.

To that end, Cloud Institute has a variety of pathways for technologists of various backgrounds—each with a curated curriculum geared towards long-term career advancement within any given industry or sector. Whether they come from an engineering or strategy role, or anything else in between, each learner is met with a customized applied learning approach that is exclusive to their needs and goals.

But it isn’t simply a curated learning experience that distinguishes the Cloud Institute from other firms who are investing in upskilling opportunities for workers: It’s how the program is organized. “We’re really thinking about this around personas and roles—and what we know is critical,” said Kustermann Rivera, citing the program’s unique, intentional pathways. “What are the essential skills underlying each of those roles?” By focusing on the details that help drive success, the Cloud Institute enhances learners’ existing skill sets while challenging them to imagine and realize the capability of cloud tech, improving the overall talent experience.

One way that success can be ensured is through cohort-based training. Learners collaborate on hands-on, team-based projects. “The idea that you’re going through it as a cohort creates an esprit de corps,” Miller said. Enrollees emerge from the program with the camaraderie of a graduating class and the confidence of being part of an elite association. On top of that, they gain a skilled network to tap.

Learning coaches add to the experience. The Cloud Institute helps learners navigate their chosen pathways with mentors and sponsors—guides they can continue to lean on for lasting career support. The dynamic, collaborative approach to learning not only provides the skills to boost workers’ cloud prowess, but also primes them for real-world business success for the years ahead.

Through the Cloud Institute, Deloitte’s people elevate their skills to a new level of capability that delivers what the Cloud makes possible. It is a critical investment in the training journey for the workforce of the future. Whether you’re a business aiming to keep ahead of the curve, or a technologist with a craving to innovate, Deloitte is poised to help you transform.

This content originally appeared in TechCrunch.

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