Cloud Computing: Are We Fully Prepared For It?

As per a recent survey done by Gartner, the focus area for IT professionals in India is turning towards cloud computing, analytics, mobility and security. These technologies will be the main area of focus in the next 18 months.

It also said that, cloud computing will be the pivotal driving force in 2016 when it comes to the career of IT professionals.

John Hagerty, the Vice President of Gartner, said in a statement that "Emerging technologies in fields such as cloud computing, mobility, and data & analytics, in addition to security and risk management, are permeating nearly every aspect of IT landscape".

The survey talks about the various percentages of IT professionals and IT companies that feel that they are ready for the emerging changes. For example as per the survey 41 per cent IT professionals who were surveyed feel that their organization is ready for the digital business.

It also says that 91 per cent of the IT professionals who were surveyed feel that they and their organization have a definite role to play in the digital transformation.

But the survey mentioned a very interesting point that around 59 per cent of the IT professionals who were surveyed feel that their organization is not prepared for the change in the next two years.

Yes, Cloud computing is the next big thing in the field of IT, but are we both mentally and physically ready for it, is debatable. Companies like TCS, Infosys, Accenture, CTS and other IT giants are capable of making that shift in next two years. They have the resources and it will not be surprising if the ground work for the change would have already begun.

But there other companies which might not be able to change so swiftly and will need more time to do the changeover. These are the SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) which cannot boast of huge cash flows and more often than not run on a shoe string budget.

For such companies two years is a very short span of time to make the change. It is virtually impossible for these companies to envisage themselves making such a swift change in such a short period of time. Will they perish in the effort of going for the change is a question that is hard to predict. Some might perish due to lack of funds and some might cling on to their bigger partner and feed on the benefits passed on by them to survive. But what will be the overall impact of cloud computing on these enterprises is hard to predict.

One more area of concern is the expectation of the employers from its employees or perspective employees. With the change to cloud computing, the companies will be expecting a certain amount of knowledge on the field of cloud computing, analytics, mobility and security from their employees or prospective employees. Their main area of focus will be on these fields.

Is the current generation aware of this sudden change in the requirement? Are colleges preparing the students adequately for this change? Do we have courses which cover these niche fields? What are the educational institutions doing from their side to prepare their student for this change?

These questions need to be answered even as we get ready to dive deep into the world of cloud computing. Or else we might not be able to sustain ourselves in the long run as we would not be having a strong base to carry ourselves forward.