According to EPAM Systems’ 2023 Cloud Mastery Report, “From Reducing Cloud Complexity to Achieving Cloud Mastery,” engineers master the cloud when they work with managers who set cloud-related goals for themselves and their organizations. start. A survey of more than 400 of his IT senior leaders in the US and UK conducted by EPAM found that proficient use of the cloud requires guidance, practice, and determining the best combination of cloud and tools. shown to be necessary.
Familiarity with the cloud enables engineers to build and deploy applications faster, more efficiently, and more securely. It also facilitates the processing and storage of data used in AI and machine learning (ML) algorithms, simulations and other engineering workflows. But it’s easy to implement.
“Completing a certification program and updating the course catalog won’t help,” says Sandra Loughlin, EPAM’s Principal Learning Scientist and Global Head of Client Learning & Enablement. “Engineers and managers need to know what the actual usage of the cloud looks like.”
Engineer using cloud for data storage. (Image: Bigstock)
Switching to cloud-friendly or cloud-native coding languages, compilers, source control, and other technologies speeds up the process. Engineers will then be able to build or utilize apps that take full advantage of the cloud’s scaling flexibility. And you can better take advantage of the elasticity and resilience that the cloud offers.
“Software engineers should be able to produce high-quality code with fewer errors and exceptions,” said Miha Kralj, vice president of Cloud Advisory and Transformation at EPAM.
EPAM’s report found little difference in workers’ use of cloud between the US and the UK, and even greater differences between industries. Tech and telecom workers tended to embrace the cloud, which offers speed, agility and access to new innovations. In contrast, public sector workers, such as governments, tended to be highly risk averse. They used the cloud primarily where it offered cost and risk mitigation.
EPAM is a Newton, Pennsylvania-based company that specializes in digital platform engineering. This report is designed to give you a better understanding of what it takes for your employees and organizations to successfully work with the cloud. Survey respondents included executives, vice presidents, and director-level employees in industries ranging from healthcare to financial services.
Cloud adoption is widespread, but more training is needed
This report shows that cloud adoption is strong. Nearly all companies, 97% of the organizations surveyed, had a cloud center of excellence. However, only 34% of organizations had the necessary cloud skills in-house. Nearly a quarter, or 26%, of organizations had to furlough employees to ensure they had the right skills. Nearly a third, 29%, struggled to hire skilled workers and had to pay a premium for it.
Most respondents (62%) said their initial reaction to the term “cloud mastery” was that the term was about technology. Only 15% of respondents said their initial reaction was that they needed a business to master the cloud.
An exact comparison of data center and cloud costs is impossible. Data centers, servers, storage, networking, and software licenses are depreciable capital charges with perpetual title. Organizations often use them long after the costs have been amortized. Costs are based on usage, so cloud costs are usually calculated on a pay-as-you-go model.
However, switching to cloud computing usually helps organizations reduce their IT costs. Cloud computing is especially useful for organizations that want to reduce their IT budget or are unsure of their future IT needs.
Kralj said the cloud is the only place where you can add or remove data storage and computing resources with simple application programming interface (API) calls.
“[This removes] Typical bottleneck in traditional environments. Provisioning additional compute and storage used to take him over six months,” says Kralj.
Over the past decade, organizations have come to see the cloud as more than just a cost-saving “IT thing.” Now they see it as the driving force behind developing new business models, markets and revenue streams. Nearly 77% of respondents see business transformation as a key benefit of the cloud.
Respondents expressed interest in using cloud technologies to drive IT and business innovation. In particular, the organization wanted the project to be adaptable to Web3, new versions of the World Wide Web, and the Metaverse.
One of the most important ways the cloud helps engineers is by resolving concerns that affect network service quality and operations. The cloud, with features that come with significant automation, makes it easy for engineers to complete their projects. This is because there is less disruption and manual intervention for engineers to deal with.
Organizations using cloud instead of on-premises infrastructure can see IT work
It transforms from blue-collar to white-collar. This is because many routine tasks are automated in the cloud. Moving to the cloud typically involves IT teams reprioritizing problem management to proactive testing of the cloud.
Kralj describes the work of service reliability engineering and chaos engineering as trying to create a “little earthquake.”
“The IT team will try to shut down the cloud services underneath the application,” says Kralj. “We test the reliability of our applications. As teams harden our applications, they can become even more self-healing. This makes the job easier for other professionals, including engineers.”
This improvement frees up time for engineers to complete their cloud education.
Engineers at all levels should start with the basics of a cloud training and certification program, Laughlin said. These should be reinforced by hands-on experience and guidance from more experienced colleagues. Continuous learning opportunities such as webinars and conferences are beneficial.
Organizations also need to provide engineers with a constantly updated library of reference materials and a space to experiment with Infrastructure as a Code (IaaC) and automation.
Working with an experienced and trusted partner on cloud training can accelerate your organization’s cloud adoption and learning. Not leveraging your partner’s expertise can lead to business trouble.
“We are talking about partners” [that] I migrated my application to the cloud. [that] Deepen your understanding of cloud security and compliance [and] We can guarantee the highest efficiency and cost-effectiveness,” says Clari. “Organizations leverage partners for all aspects of cloud strategy, development, and operations.”
Loughlin adds that truly mastering the cloud requires upskilling and comprehensive support for communication and change.
“[This is] We need to address the imperative of change across the organization,” says Rocklin. “employee [shouldn’t] Feeling sidelined, ignored, or under pressure. Learning cloud skills should be seen as a positive move to improve people’s jobs, careers, and futures. ”
Upcoming Reports: What’s Included?
EPAM’s next report on cloud mastery will include a long-term study. The goal is to see how organizations change their cloud usage over time. EPAM plans to explore organizations beyond the US and UK, particularly those in several ‘geopolitical basins’ that share characteristics such as a common language. EPAM would like to hear from respondents across industries to learn how cloud goals and uses differ.
EPAM will also add questions to assess how the adoption of Large Language Models (LLM) is impacting the enterprise cloud ecosystem. Currently, LLM and generative AI do not know what is true and what is false. Those decisions are still up to the people.
“To ensure that AI is used, we need to oversee how such tools are brought into the cloud. Ethically,” Clary says. “Then the organization will be able to do its job properly.”
For example, an AI-powered performance assessment tool might focus on the number of lines of code an employee writes in a day. Good developers generate negative lines of code. This is because the codebase is optimized and waste is reduced.
“The goal is shorter, cleaner, smarter code. Even today, people are the best judge of the quality of an employee’s work,” says Clari.
