Cloud Careers: New Titles and Tasks Emerge

In recent months the technology press has been filled with predictions of how cloud computing may disrupt existing models for IT operations and web hosting. Could it have a similar effect on IT careers? Or just on job titles? Here are some links on new titles and roles that are emerging.

Cloud CTO?
Fortune.com has an article on the merit of a c-level position for cloud computing, or CTO of the cloud. Lew Tucker, CTO of Cloud Computing at Cisco says his job is to make sure that the disruption of clouds happens in a very positive way and that they can use it as an opportunity.  "I would think that this is a transformation job. Part of my task actually is to work this into the fabric of our day-to-day business. Once that happens, managing the cloud probably won't require such a separate skill set from those needed in other positions," said   Kristof Kloeckner, CTO of Enterprise Initiatives and Vice President of Cloud Computing Platforms for IBM.

New Cloud Professional Titles
Last week Chuck Hollis of EMC wrote about the new generation of cloud professionals - building on the press release that EMC announced two new virtualization and cloud computing training and certification programs.  Getting back to that hybrid mix of public and private clouds there are multitude of new and emerging roles within an organization for the cloud professional:  Cloud Architect, Cloud Capacity Planner, Cloud Service Manager, Cloud Infrastructure Admins, Cloud Process Engineers, Cloud Security Architects and Cloud GRC Managers.  The EMC certification areas include EMC Cloud Architect (EMCCA) Virtualized Infrastructure, EMC Cloud Architect IT-as-a-Service, and EMC Data Center Architect.

Cloud Service Brokers
BusinessWeek reports on cloud service brokers, referencing the Gartner report saying that through 2014 cloud service brokerage will generate more than $5 billion in sales.  Cloud service brokers have emerged as intermediaries, helping companies make the migration to the outside providers in the cloud.  One of those companies is Appirio, who helps enterprises impelement, build and manage mission critical cloud solutions using salesforce.com, Google and Amazon.  Another example is Enomaly, who has SpotCloud - a public cloud capacity clearinghouse and marketplace where service providers can sell their unused computing capacity to an array of buyers and sellers.  BusinessWeek also has a recent special feature on the CEO Guide to Cloud Computing.