A career in Computer science is one of the most sought-after paths people take. Computers play a massive role in the age of rapid technological advancements. One of the most trendy paths in computer science nowadays is cloud computing because of job, salary prospects, and growth opportunities.
📌 In this article, you will learn:
- What is cloud computing
- Are cloud skills in demand?
- Top cloud computing skills
- Is cloud computing difficult to learn?
What Is Cloud Computing?
Cloud computing refers to providing computer services over the internet. These services may include server, storage, networking, software, etc. Because of the lesser use of hardware resources, it provides more efficiency at work, lowers operating costs, and provides flexible resources. Cloud computing also increases the speed, productivity, and performance of the machines and the organization.
Types of cloud computing services:
1. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
It is one of the different types of cloud services. IaaS helps in offering various cloud computing infrastructures such as storage and networking on a pay-to-use model.
2. Platform as a Service (PaaS)
It is also a cloud computing service that helps provide a development and deployment ecosystem in the cloud. It also includes infrastructure but has additional middleware, Business Intelligent Services, Database management systems, etc.
3. Software as a Service (SaaS)
It is a type of cloud service that helps people in using cloud-based apps using the Internet. It provides software services on a pay-to-use model.
📌 Relevant read
Are Cloud Skills In Demand?
Cloud computing skills are not only in great demand in 2022 but also will be an in-demand skill in the years to come.
Here are some of the statistics about the cloud computing jobs demand:
- Reportlinker says by 2025, cloud computing will reach a mammoth $798.84 billion.
- Spending on AI will jump to $309.6 billion by 2026, which was around $58.3 billion in 2021, according to a report by marketsandmarkets.
- According to PR Newswire, experts reveal that roughly 100 Zettabytes of data will be in cloud servers by 2025.
All these data show the massive potential in the cloud computing sector.
Cloud computing skills To Begin with
Now, let’s discuss the key cloud skills you need to master:
1. Expertise in cloud service platforms
Thorough knowledge of cloud platforms is one of the fundamental skills required to make a career in this domain. These enterprises host the infrastructure and the software over the internet. They provide the services to the users using the same. One must know the various types of cloud services like IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, FaaS, etc., and the correct use of the cloud software. Knowledge about the cloud infrastructure, API, containerization, routing, web security, and user experience also needs polishing.
2. Programming languages
Knowledge of different programming languages is fundamental when making a career in computer science. There are many programming languages available in the market. One has to learn a few of those. In cloud computing, there is a high demand for the ability to code, deploy, and manage applications, and The in-demand programming languages include Java, Python, and Javascript. In addition, familiarity with data structures, algorithms, and SQL is a skill one must polish.
📌 Relevant read: Is computer science oversaturated? [a data-driven answer]
3. Database Management
If one can access a database through a cloud platform, it is called a cloud database. Any computer science professional trying to learn cloud computing must be affluent in database management. One should know about relational databases and NoSQL databases though NoSQL databases aren’t that common in this domain.
The person should know about the control options, different database technologies, database security, and database management to work as a cloud computing engineer or a professional. One should learn the database management options available in the market like SQL database of Microsoft Azure, DynamoDB of Amazon Web Service, Google CloudSQL, etc.
4. Machine learning and Artificial Intelligence
Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence are the pioneers of new-age computing. The fact that machines can learn, memorize and act like humans don’t seem mind-boggling. All the credit goes to advanced machine learning and artificial intelligence.
These skills are necessary for cloud computing and any field of computer science, and both these skills are an integral part of the learning journey of a cloud computing aspirant. Most cloud platforms provide some degree of AI and ML services that help build and innovate new capabilities.
5. Cloud security
Web or cyber security is a domain on its own. All content and material over the internet need protection from cybercriminals, particularly hackers. Loss, theft, or breach of sensitive and personal information of users can prove devastating for the business. Online data security is at an all-time high with increasing cloud computing activities. We know this trend is sure to follow.
One should be well versed with IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS and understand the ethics and best practices to protect the servers. The person should also learn the different types of cloud security – IAM, DLP, and SIEM.
📌 Learn about what cyber security is.
6. Serverless computing
Serverless computing is an application or a deployment type where one gets cloud services from the computer resources. Serverless computing helps zero management of the server; as the traffic increases, auto-scaling happens, etc. They are cost-effective and easy to deploy.
A vast amount of knowledge of event handling routines, NoOps, FaaS, RaaS, and API is a must-have for anyone trying to ace the field of cloud computing. One should know that serverless computing vendors are Google Cloud Functions, AWS Lambda, Microsoft Azure Functions, and IBM Cloud.
7. Analysis of metrics and key analytics
One essential thing that a computer science professional would possess is great logic and common sense. Analyzing metrics and analytics from a vast amount of data is not only a skill for cloud computing but also for any corporate department.
Preparing charts, appealingly presenting data, and playing around with information are vital to a cloud computing professional. Analysis skill also helps one conclude the ROI of the business cloud technology.
Quality Analysis and Testing are also two parts of this process. Therefore, one should verse oneself well with the above pointers.
8. Learn Linux
It is an open-source and community-developed operating system for computers. Some skills required to develop the kill of Linux are SQL, capturing network traffic packets, vi editors, hardware setup, troubleshooting, network routing, network switches, etc.
One should also possess the minimum logic-building mindset required to learn this program. Linux as an operating system should never die, and its demand would soar.
9. Automation
As the world develops technologically, automation will keep changing the world. Automation is the process of setting up things that can run automatically. Automation is a domain on its own and a vast domain to study about. Machine learning and AI are the core learning components in automation.
The process of autoscaling, where the scaling happens automatically with the rise and fall of traffic onto a website, is an essential skill for a cloud computing professional to know. Properly implementing autoscaling on cloud applications gives one an edge over the competition.
📌 Learn about software quality assurance
10. Cloud Storage
Data in today’s world is immense. So much, so that regular hardware resources fail to keep up with the need. When learning cloud computing, one has to learn cloud storage. Cloud storages help in faster accessibility, reliability, deployment, lower cost, etc. One must update oneself on the different types of cloud storage – personal, public, private, and hybrid cloud storage.
📌 Further reading:
- Learn about the security risks of cloud computing
- How would you explain cloud computing to a 6-year-old?
“Before starting to learn Cloud Computing,
– Learn a programming language. I would suggest Python. Basic concepts of Networking and Security.
– Good knowledge about operating system (e.g., Windows and Linux) and DBMS.
– Figure out and learn about framework which will be useful for modeling and simulating cloud scenarios.
This is enough for start learning about cloud computing and later with the upcoming needs, you can learn many different things.”
– Kavita Joshi (Manager at Fx Data Labs, M.Tech in Cloud Computing & Project Management)
Is Cloud Computing Difficult To Learn?
Cloud computing or cloud development is a bit tough to grasp. Not everyone from a computer science background can learn the domain. It requires extensive knowledge of programming languages and API design.
It also requires a good amount of experience in Machine Learning and AI. Although learning about the domain and implementing it is challenging, it shouldn’t discourage an aspirate from learning it. Many free and paid resources (including cloud computing books) are available online, using which one may learn cloud computing.
Learning cloud computing shouldn’t be too difficult if you have basic understanding of programming languages (preferred Python), operating systems (linux, windows, etc.), networking and security.
10Pie Editorial Team is a team of certified technical content writers and editors with experience in the technology field combined with expert insights. Learn more about our editorial process to ensure the quality and accuracy of the content published on our website.