Navigating the Evolution of IT in a Cloud-First World
When I hear people talk about the changes wrought by the cloud they almost always focus on the purely technical aspects. CI/CD pipelines, microservices, network micro-segmentation, and a wide array of other technical buzzwords always dominate the conversation. In this mindset, the cloud is a technological destination, a collection of services and tools that organizations aspire to use and adopt. The reality is that the cloud isn’t a destination, but rather an operating model for modern technology.
That’s not to say that technology isn’t important, it certainly is. But cloud isn’t just any old operating model, it’s an operating model for contemporary technologies. The current generation of technologies from platforms to languages, open source or proprietary, are almost all cloud oriented. Describing cloud as a operating model means there are organizational and procedural aspects to it that are critical. With the technological aspects dominating mindshare, leaders tend to forget that the technology is irrelevant if their people lack the necessary skills to implement it, and an operating model can’t work without first establishing the appropriate roles and responsibilities.
If you’re an IT professional, this organizational evolution towards cloud not only impacts your day-to-day responsibilities, but also the trajectory of your career. Cloud brings new team structures and processes for IT as well as the demand, if not the requirement, for new skills. It is important to understand the new IT landscape, and the necessary skills and trends that are fueling this evolution. What’s the role of NetOps in the cloud context? What are the different cloud operating patterns and how are they different? With everything-as-code, should you learn to code? Professional success in modern IT means having answers to these types of questions.
To help IT practitioners navigate these changes, OpsCompass is hosting a two-part online event focused solely on this evolution of IT in a cloud-first world. I’ll be joined by Josh Stephens, formerly of Solar Winds and now an investor and CTO advisor, and we’ll bridge the gap between traditional IT and the modern cloud and all that comes along with it. Part one will concentrate on the organizational aspect of this cloud evolution, while the second part will focus more on the technologies involved. We invite you to join us for a holistic and authentic discussion about IT in the cloud context. The series is perfect for IT pros looking to level up their skill sets and mindsets to be more successful in the cloud era.
