Cloud

Businesses Seek Skills and Help to Tackle the Mystery of the Cloud

The cloud is often referred to in enterprise IT, but without a deep understanding of the technology, organizations are uncertain about how best to proceed.

Ricky Ribeiro

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Ricky publishes and manages the content on BizTech magazine's website. He's a writer, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all-around digital guy.

“Nobody understands the cloud! It's a mystery!”

Jason Segel’s character exclaimed his frustration in a recently released major motion picture, and when it comes to not getting the cloud, he’s not alone.

While it’s true that the average user is uncertain about what “the cloud” means, you’d be surprised at how many IT professionals are still in the dark when it comes to the cloud.

According to CompTIA’s 2014 State of IT Skills Gap Survey, 51 percent of IT professionals surveyed said they have little to no involvement in their organization’s cloud computing initiatives. Only 11 percent said they have a strategic role in their organizations' cloud efforts.

This means that while the cloud has become a popular buzzword, building the skill set in-house and expanding cloud implementation is still very much a work in progress. This lack of in-house cloud expertise is a major part of what has kept many organizations from shifting infrastructures or resources to the cloud.

CDW’s Launch IT page, which provides an overview of cloud computing for organizations, highlights how this lack of cloud smarts can impact cloud deployments.

Unfamiliarity with and misconceptions about the cloud are major obstacles to adoption. Many organizations simply don't have enough education and experience with the benefits of the cloud to understand how it helps make your IT environment more flexible. In addition, there may be a sense that your IT department doesn't have the resources to implement such sweeping innovation.

But not having the in-house knowledge to build and maintain a cloud doesn’t mean organizations should completely rule out cloud solutions. By tapping partners who can guide and inform a smart, right-sized cloud strategy, organizations can build at a pace that makes sense for them.

CDW Cloud Client Executive Shane Zide spoke about going at your own pace with the cloud as part of CDW's Bring IT On Technology Leadership Series speech earlier this year.

“The cloud isn’t one size fits all,” Zide said. “It is very customizable, actually, in terms of what you want and what your comfort level is.”

That means as organizations invest in training existing IT staff to become more cloud savvy, or hire more cloud-focused staff, they can still reap the rewards of flexible, scalable IT.

To learn more about how the cloud can help your business, visit cdw.com/cloud.

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