Cloud computing has revolutionized how organizations approach their IT infrastructure, providing benefits such as scalability, flexibility, and cost savings.
However, the growing demand for cloud technologies has created a major talent gap, leaving many software companies searching for skilled professionals to support their cloud ambitions.
According to the Cloud Security Alliance, over 75% of IT professionals have reported a skills gap within their organizations, with cloud skills being the most crucial area of need.
The global demand for cloud talent is expected to increase by 50% by 2026, with job roles like ‘Cloud Security Engineer’ seeing a growth of 3.5% in January 2023 alone.
Additionally, the cloud’s technology stack has significantly evolved in recent years, with new-age skillsets becoming a top priority for global companies seeking Cloud Talent.
A shortage of cloud professionals can impede progress and hinder economic growth, which is why deploying cost-effective talent strategies to build a new-age cloud workforce is essential.
Analyzing the Current Cloud Landscape
In 2023, the dominant players in the cloud computing landscape are expected to remain Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP). The cloud market will see an uptick in hybrid cloud adoption to achieve maximum flexibility, driven by the continued growth of IoT, AI, and ML.
The cloud market in 2023 is likely to be characterized by continued growth, increased competition, and a focus on innovation and security. However, this growth may hit a hurdle if software organizations run out of cloud talent.
The current cloud talent demand-supply gap stands at 4.15 Million, which has grown by ~56% (1.82 Million) since 2021. This is a cause of concern going forward because enterprises aren’t prepared to put brakes on their cloud ambitions.
About 69% of CEOs and CFOs want to increase cloud spending for data management, application development, customer engagement, and other use cases. By investing in the cloud, businesses are aiming to gain a competitive edge in the digital economy and drive peak innovation and growth.
Reasons for Cloud Talent Demand Surge
The demand for cloud professionals is expected to continue to grow as more companies shift their operations to the cloud. Here are a few reasons for the cloud talent demand surge.
Optimizing Budgets
It is essential for companies to optimize the budgets allocated to cloud services like SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS to prevent overspending on cloud resources.
Proper allocation of budgets can assist organizations in efficiently utilizing cloud resources, reducing costs, and maintaining performance, security, and compliance standards.
This necessitates strategic planning and continuous monitoring of cloud usage and costs, including the selection of appropriate pricing models and optimizing resource utilization.
Focus on Judicious Utilization
Organizations can optimize their workflows, eliminate manual tasks, and streamline resource allocation by utilizing cloud resources wisely. This results in improved productivity, faster time-to-market, and a better customer experience while keeping operational costs low.
Enterprises can also leverage automation and cloud-native technologies to decrease the risk of human error and boost operational efficiency
Increased Management Activities
The growing complexity of hybrid and multi-cloud environments has led to increased management activities for enterprises. Managing multiple cloud environments requires advanced management skills to monitor, manage, and optimize resources effectively.
Organizations need to leverage advanced tools and technologies that enable centralized management, automation, and orchestration of cloud resources.
Fixing Security Issues
The increased use of IoT and edge computing has highlighted the need for organizations to address security vulnerabilities and issues. These technologies facilitate data collection and processing, which makes them vulnerable to cyber-attacks.
Organizations must implement robust security measures and keep their systems up-to-date to prevent data breaches and safeguard their networks against cyber-attacks.
Cost-Effective Strategies to Build a New-Age Cloud Workforce
Building a new-age cloud workforce involves identifying the required cloud skills, upskilling existing employees, hiring new talent, and fostering a culture of learning and innovation.
A competent cloud workforce is essential for software companies to drive digital transformation and stay competitive in the rapidly evolving cloud landscape. Here are a few cost-effective strategies to build a next-gen cloud workforce in 2023.
Leveraging Global Hotspots
The increasing cloud adoption in organizations worldwide has resulted in a growing demand for cloud talent. However, finding and hiring the right cloud talent remains a significant challenge for many software enterprises.
One effective way to tackle this challenge is by leveraging global hotspots for cloud talent. These hotspots are locations with a high concentration of cloud professionals who possess the skills and expertise needed to work on cloud-based systems effectively.
Some of the popular global hotspots for cloud talent include San Francisco, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, and New York, which collectively have over 1.06 million cloud professionals.
Globalization
Organizations can consider setting up global capability centers (GCCs) to build a high-performing cloud team. By setting up a GCC, organizations can build a team of cloud professionals that work collaboratively across different geographies, leveraging each other’s strengths and expertise.
Setting up a GCC for the cloud can help software companies save up to USD 6 Million for a scalable cloud team. This is because GCCs allow organizations to optimize their resources by centralizing their cloud operations and leveraging a global talent pool.
Hiring from IT Services Companies
IT services companies have established themselves as experts in cloud technologies, with a large pool of skilled professionals experienced in various cloud platforms.
This pool of cloud talent is highly trained and certified in cloud technologies, providing organizations with access to a readily available and skilled workforce. Companies can accelerate their cloud adoption journey by leveraging the resources and expertise of IT services companies.
Leverage Gig Economy
Organizations looking to build a cloud talent team can consider leveraging the gig economy or part-time workers with cloud expertise.
By leveraging the gig economy, software companies can build a cloud team on demand, allowing them to scale up or down their talent needs based on their business requirements. This approach provides greater flexibility, agility, and cost savings as organizations can avoid the fixed costs associated with full-time employees.
Reskilling Internal IT talent
Building a cloud talent team from scratch can be a challenging and expensive task. One way for organizations to meet their cloud talent needs is by investing in reskilling programs for their existing IT workforce.
Many of the skills that IT professionals possess, such as programming, networking, and cybersecurity, are transferable to cloud computing. By reskilling these IT professionals in cloud technologies, software companies can develop a strong and skilled cloud workforce that is well-equipped to support their cloud initiatives.
Upskilling Existing Cloud Talent
In today’s rapidly evolving technology landscape, it is crucial for organizations to keep their cloud talent up to date with the latest skills and knowledge.
Upskilling programs can help companies achieve this objective by providing their cloud talent with the training and certifications necessary to optimize cloud infrastructure, improve security, and innovate.
Upskilling can also be customized to fit the unique needs of an organization. This can include training on specific cloud platforms, tools, or services that are relevant to the organization’s operations.
The Bottomline
Building a cloud workforce is essential for software companies to remain competitive in the rapidly evolving technology landscape. However, finding and hiring the right cloud talent can be challenging and expensive.
These strategies can help enterprises access a global pool of highly skilled cloud professionals, reduce recruitment costs, improve employee retention, and scale the cloud talent team as needed, ensuring success in cloud transformation initiatives.
Draup is an AI-powered talent intelligence platform that delivers HR leaders with data-backed insights into the global talent pool, cost modelling, and reskilling pathways. These features make it easier for HR to manage talent, drive company-wide reskilling initiatives, or hire quality talent.
