6 technology jobs with a cloud twist

Many organizations are staking their future on the cloud, and the most crucial piece of this movement is hiring or training to have the right skills. There's one problem, though: most hiring managers have no clue how to write the job descriptions.

To help things along, industry expert Dave Linthicum offers some advice on the types of job descriptions now emerging for roles that deploy and manage cloud platforms and architectures:

• Cloud architects: "Focus on turning the configuration of the cloud-based systems and solutions into something that meets the business requirements"

• Cloud developers: "Focus on the configuration and development of the cloud-based systems, including coding within the specific target PaaS or IaaS cloud platforms, with deep knowledge as to how those platforms function"

• Cloud database specialists: "Focus on the use of cloud-based database systems, and how they interact with cloud-based or legacy systems"

• Cloud systems quality specialists: "Focus on testing migrated or developed cloud-based systems to insure that they live up to business and quality expectations"

• Cloud security specialists: "Focus on the proper way to secure information existing within cloud-based systems"

• Cloud operations specialists: "Focus on the operations of the cloud-based systems, including monitoring and active governance of those systems."

Dave cautions that the cloud scene is fluid, and other types of positions may be required. Plus, I would venture to add that many of these positions will not carry the "cloud" name, as cloud simply becomes the main mode of IT for many enterprises. Note that all these positions, sans "cloud," already exist within today's datacenters.

Can organizations pull this talent from their existing workforces? Sure, but training may be required--and organizations are notoriously stingy with laying out money for training programs. Then there's the trade-off between immediately getting the skills you need versus potentially waiting several months. "You need to be careful where you place your bets," Dave said. "Consider the cost of cloud computing training, and the lag before you're able to determine if they can fill your cloud skills requirements."

(Thumbnail image credit: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook)