Cloud has, and IS, changing how IT staff relate to their environment that they look after. Where on-premises allowed management of the environment from the base hypervisor all the way to the application layer, this has changed upon migrating to a cloud platform.
Where IT responsibilities were once silo'd into data center/network/security etc, this has converged on a Cloud platform. It is no longer good-enough to focus on one area of responsibility only...you need to know more in order to understand how your environment works.
I am finding this out now, coming from a data center background. Where I never focussed on networks and security for instance, I now find myself setting up training schedules for the coming financial year in order to learn, and implement new skills.
And that's where it all lies...reskilling yourself as a Cloud Engineer, or a generalist. It's no longer acceptable to be focussed on one area, and companies, both IT services companies and their clients, are looking to these generalists to look after their cloud environment. It takes time to learn these new skills, but if you have the willingness to do so, then you're going to place yourself ahead of others that don't have that requirement or push to do so.
I know of people who simply couldn't care less about skilling themselves up for cloud, believing that many clients are still not interested in the technology. The issue here, lies in the fact that while Client A isn't interested in cloud computing yet, Clients' B, A and D are wanting to move there and NEED a cloud engineer.
You're setting yourself up for what currently isn't a very big club, and will establish yourself as someone who has a far greater understanding of the abilities of cloud and how to implement them. You're going to understand how cloud firewalls, gateways and VMs interact with the available security suites that are implemented (either as an appliance or As-A-Service).
Put yourself ahead of the rest and, if your company is looking to move to, or has moved to cloud, get yourself some generalist skills. They will benefit you...this is the way!
