Due to the COVID-19 global pandemic which has caused major disruptions to businesses and communities alike, many companies have been forced to fast-track their business models to incorporate digitalization to enable remote working, communication and learning.
Microsoft alone has reported a record 775% spike in cloud services demands, and for the cloud, COVID-19 is just another busy day at the virtual office. It is for this reason that secure cloud architecture is now not only essential for large enterprises and governments, but also for municipalities, small businesses, schools and home users.
Not only has Cloud Computing Resources become essential during the COVID-19 crisis, but a certified Cloud Architect is now a key role which is in high demand, with endless possibilities for new job opportunities.
The Cloud Architect designs the technical architecture using cloud components and subcomponents together with certain architectural procedures and methods, they fulfil the requirements of the solution designed. They also bridge the gaps between complex business problems and solutions in the cloud.
To become a Cloud Architect you should have a strong background in cloud computing or a similar technical area and should ideally:
- Strong technical skills in enterprise IT infrastructure.
- Strong experience in modern programming languages.
- Have a high-level understanding of key security concepts.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Have a business and technical acumen
Should you have the technical background and target skill sets, you can choose to become certified as a Cloud Architect through various platforms, such as AWS (Amazon Web Services), Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud Platform.
Once certified, this qualification opens up many new job opportunities. Innovative companies use cloud solutions for big data hosted in AWS, Google Cloud Platforms and Azure Certified Solutions.
Cloud Architects are becoming pivotal resources in companies such as General Electric, IBM, Expedia travelling services. Medical companies mapping out genomes to predict diseases, and even by Netflix, for rapid scaling and server and storage deployment.
As more business resources will be working remotely, for ease of use and the ability access systems from anywhere in the world, more and more business applications will be hosted online, these systems need to be architected, built and efficiently managed and the cloud will become the heart of the business solution architecture.
To understand how the need for Cloud Architecture solutions have been emphasized during the COVID-19 pandemic, one can note the growing popularity of platforms such as Zoom Video, Microsoft Teams, Google Classroom, as examples on how technology has proven vital in the boardroom, office and classroom. Post-Covid will see dramatic increases in healthcare advancements, online education modernization and innovative retail, banking and e-commerce cloud architecture solutions.
