With cloud computing expected to be used by thousands of businesses in the coming years, experts are now predicting that the market growth will produce millions of new jobs in the near future.
By 2015, as many as 14 million new cloud computing jobs will be created by the growth of cloud computing, which packages computing as a service rather than a product and shared resources, which are stored in the “cloud,” are available to users over a network.
Currently, many companies who utilize cloud computing do so through a third-party provider. But the growing reliance on cloud computing will soon make it feasible for these companies to employ their own cloud computing professionals instead of outsourcing as they currently do.
The majority of the job growth is expected in India and China, with about 1.2 million jobs coming to the United States and Canada.
A major reason many companies are expected to gravitate toward cloud computing systems in the next few years is the economic incentive presented by computing through a network. Experts contend that a small financial investment made up-front by companies, regardless of size, can yield significant returns over the long run as companies experience lower computing costs and increased efficiency.
This reduction in IT spending is expected to benefit businesses in certain industries more than others. The financial, media and communications industries should see the largest investment in cloud computing jobs and services, but industries of all kinds, and businesses of any size, will ultimately find cloud computing to be more practical and beneficial to their operations, if only because a transition to cloud computing can free up a businesses resources to be devoted to other services or projects.
Although in-house cloud computing jobs are expected to see significant growth in the next few years, third-party cloud computing servicers are expected to remain high in demand. San Antonio-based Rackspace has been providing cloud computing services since 2001 and is one of the worldwide leaders in cloud hosting and computing. To service a client list of more than 6,000, Rackspace employs thousands of workers offering diverse skill sets to perform various functions for the cloud computing servicer.
Currently, the company has a number of positions available relevant to its cloud computing service, and many other businesses operating in the cloud are actively seeking out professionals to fulfill similar roles. Among these open positions are storage engineers to help maintain the hosting storage solutions for the company, as well as web developers to assist in a range of web-related functions.
Rackspace is also on the lookout for marketing professionals to publicize their products and services, business development consultants, graphic designers, and communications operations managers.
Although a background in IT can be a boost in entering the market as a cloud computing professional, the anticipated explosion of jobs is expected to create a stream of opportunities for professionals to get their feet wet in the cloud computing industry. Job growth in the years to come can also add stability and security to these careers, and entering the market on the cusp of its rapid growth could allow professionals to position themselves as experts in applying their skill set to the cloud computing industry.