云计算：IT人才就业的及时雨
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近来的宕机和安全漏洞显示，将公司的所有或部分运营转向云端——大规模远距离存储数据集及应用之简称——并非没有风险。然而，由于性价比极高，云计算正在快步发展。 IT研究与咨询公司IDC的最新调查显示，2010年，美国公司支付了215亿美元的云计算服务迁移费用。预计到2015年，这一数字会暴涨至729亿美元。 此外，IDC还预计，4年之后，在应用程序、应用开发、系统基础软件、基础存储和服务器等五大关键领域的IT费用开销中，云计算服务将占据近一半（46%）的新增净增长份额。 乍看之下，这一趋势对公司现有的内部技术人员并非什么好兆头，他们中一些人的工作已经被外包给亚马逊（Amazon）、Dropbox、Rackspace和Terremark【今年早些时候被威瑞森（Verizon）收购】等云计算供应商。 但事实上，云技术不会导致工作岗位流失，而只不过会改变雇主对技能的需求。 云计算供应商Hostway公司副总裁艾伦•贺罗巴夫表示：“云计算并不会取代内部技术人员现有的全部工作。而且，公司需要懂得管理云计算迁移的员工。目前拥有这些必备技术的候选人才并不充裕。”贺罗巴夫还补充道，现在最热门的专长是“混合技术，即能够将公司的内部基础设施和外部基础设施相连接的技术。” 技术人员编制和咨询公司Eliassen Group的首席信息官鲍比•库内奥对此表示赞同。他说从去年12月开始，Eliassen Group发现“对系统管理员和网络架构师的需求以两位数的增长率上涨。” 库内奥表示：“IT专业人员的失业率目前仅为3%，远远低于美国的平均失业率。一定程度上正是由于云计算技术的发展，我们需要增加人手。” 他预计目前的趋势将会持续下去，“（云计算导致的）工作岗位流失被新增就业岗位所抵消。原因之一是基于安全或执行力等因素的考虑，许多公司都希望建造和管理自己的云服务，他们因此需要掌握虚拟化技术的员工。” “第二，与纯IT业务相比，雇主如今需要雇佣通晓项目管理、风险控制等多项技术的员工。” 库内奥认为，就目前来看，很难确定最合适的技术组合。理想情况下，候选人才需要在不同领域拥有多项认证。最受欢迎的六大认证如下： • VMWare虚拟化专家认证 • 思科（Cisco）设计专家认证 • ZapThink架构师认证 • 开放群组（Open group）IT架构师认证 • 信息系统安全专家认证 • 至少获得一项CloudSchool.com网站上的云计算服务认证 这还不是全部。库内奥表示，要想在云技术创造的新环境下取得成功，“技术人员需要多才多艺，而且精通公司战略和法律责任等广泛的商业事务。他们还需要擅长与信息技术部门之外的同事合作。” 这个要求不低。但艾伦•贺罗巴夫表示，身兼数职能使工作更有意思。他说：“比如说，转向云端后，技术人员就能专注于为客户创造更好得用户体验，而不是整天忙着维护网站。如此，技术人员的工作更多的在于为公司的宏观目标服务，而不是为技术而技术。” 译者：项航 |
Putting all or part of a company's operations on the cloud -- shorthand for large, remotely hosted data sets and applications -- isn't without risk, as recent outages and security lapses have shown. Still, cloud computing is so cost-effective that its popularity is growing by leaps and bounds. In 2010, U.S. firms paid $21.5 billion to make the move to cloud services, a figure expected to balloon to $72.9 billion by 2015, according to a new study by IT research and advisory firm IDC. Moreover, IDC predicts, four years from now cloud services will account for almost half (46%) of net new growth in overall IT spending in five key areas: applications, application development, systems infrastructure software, basic storage, and servers. At first glance, the trend may look ominous for in-house tech staffers, some of whose duties are already being outsourced to cloud providers like Amazon (AMZN), Dropbox, Rackspace (RAX), and Terremark (acquired by Verizon (VZ) earlier this year). In reality, though, the cloud won't do away with jobs so much as it will change what skills employers need. "The cloud doesn't replace everything in-house tech people do now," notes Aaron Hollobaugh, a vice president at cloud provider Hostway. "Besides, companies need people who understand how to manage migration to the cloud. There aren't enough job candidates with the necessary skills right now." The hottest specialty, he adds, is "hybrids, or connecting a company's internal infrastructure with an external one." Bob Cuneo, CIO at tech staffing and consulting firm Eliassen Group, agrees. Starting last December, he says his company has seen "a double-digit increase in requests for systems administrators and network architects. "Unemployment among IT professionals now is only about 3%, way lower than the national average," he adds. "That's partly because of the growth of the cloud. It's allowing us to place many more people in jobs." A current trend he expects will continue: "Job losses [because of the cloud] are offset by job gains, first because many companies want to build and manage their own clouds, for security or compliance reasons, and they'll need people with virtualization skills to do that. "And second, they'll need new hires with a broad range of skills, including project management and risk management, as opposed to pure IT." At the moment, Cuneo says, the right combinations of skills are hard to find. Ideally, candidates should have several different certifications. The six most in demand: • VMWare Virtualization Certified Professional • Cisco Certified Design Expert • Licensed ZapThink Architect • Open group IT Architect Certification • Certified Information System Security Professional • At least one of the cloud certifications available through CloudSchool.com And that's not all. To thrive in the new environment the cloud is creating, says Cuneo, "tech people need to be versatile and well-versed in broader business issues like corporate strategy and legal liability. They also need to be adept at collaborating with colleagues outside of IT." It's a tall order. But, notes Aaron Hollobaugh, wearing several hats may also make for more interesting work. "For instance, moving to the cloud lets you concentrate on creating a better user experience for customers, instead of on the day-to-day nuts and bolts of maintaining the website," he says. "It's more about serving the company's larger goals than about tech for tech's sake." |
