Re: Planning for future of IT career

[Joe St Sauver <joe () OREGON UOREGON EDU>]

Hi,

Bob asked:

#I have been noticing an ongoing trend of schools much larger than 
#ours going "cloud only".  Being a smaller school with only a 
#couple IT workers, I am hoping to get some insight on the future 
#of IT careers from those in larger environments.
#
#Question:  As things go more to the "cloud", what type of skills 
#for IT professionals do you envision will be in most demand?  

I think it depends in part on the sort of cloud deployment model
you've got in mind. If you're think about cloud-based applications,
I'd suggest:

-- market awareness (how do my various options look? what should
   go on my short list for in-depth investigation? do I just want 
   to do a new/local  RFP/RFI, or can I buy off of some other 
   already completed procurement?)

-- an understanding of how to conduct an indepth review of 
   the most promising options (or how to score and assess
   competitive submissions offered in response to an open RFP 
   or RFI)

-- cloud contract review and negotiation skills (what sort of
   T&C's do I want? do I need SLAs? If so, how much (if anything)
   should I pay for them? Is the flexibity of a year-to-year
   agreement better than a prepaid multiyear agreement with 
   price protection? etc.)

On the other hand, if you're thinking, "How do I build apps to
run in an AWS or other cloud-as-infrastructure evironment," 
that's a totally different set of skills, obviously...

Regards,

Joe

Disclaimer: opinions above are solely my own