CIOs need to support multi-cloud training for network engineers

By 2024, around 80% of businesses will have multi-cloud environments. These organizations will rely heavily on their network infrastructure and operations teams for everything from deploying and managing connectivity across multiple clouds to managing IP address space and DNS across those clouds.

However, it is difficult for companies to find network engineers with knowledge in cloud networks. According to a new study by Enterprise Management Associates (EMA), only 37% of IT organizations report they have no trouble hiring and retaining cloud networking professionals.

The study surveyed 351 IT stakeholders about their multi-cloud networking strategies. It was also found that 28% of organizations cite skills gaps as one of their top challenges when building and managing a multi-cloud network.

The heavy load of network engineering education

Many organizations have a core team of traditional network engineers who have spent their careers getting certified in network hardware. Some CIOs might assume that these engineers are certainly able to develop cloud skills in their spare time. Unfortunately, a multi-cloud world adds new layers of complexity that weren’t present with on-premises networks.

“There is a learning curve for a network engineer to move to the cloud. There are different concepts and everything is virtual,” said a senior network engineer at a large university hospital and medical school. “Each cloud provider uses different names for the same service or device, and some colleagues don’t want to take the time to learn these concepts. That is a big problem.”

“The way the cloud has accelerated and everything is software-defined, it’s a nightmare to just keep track of,” said a network architecture manager at a $1 billion bank. “Even if you deal with one of the cloud providers, new things come out or change. It’s a full-time job just getting acquainted with the different services. I studied Azure for four hours a day for a year, and that was just for a cloud provider. Most people can’t do that, so you have fewer people who understand multi-cloud enough.”

In other words, network engineers want to improve their skills. However, cloud providers have proprietary approaches to connectivity, and that presents a steep hill to climb. Engineers need support, resources, and—perhaps most importantly—time.

The EMA recommended IT organizations to allocate resources to train their existing network professionals in cloud network technology. In fact, research from EMA has found that 90% of multi-cloud companies today are at least partially doing so. Organizations reporting greater success with their multi-cloud strategy were more likely to have a training program in place.

A to-do list for executives

CIOs can help network infrastructure and operations teams develop cloud expertise by implementing the following strategies:

• Develop a training program that defines what courses and certifications engineers should take.
• Offer financial support to engineers to cover training costs.
• Encourage engineers to step away from their day-to-day network responsibilities to receive proper training.

Many cloud training options are available. For example, leading cloud providers offer certifications for their proprietary environments, and network engineers often tell EMA that this training is valuable. Some third party organizations such as Companies such as CompTIA have introduced basic cloud networking training programs. Network vendors such as Aviatrix and Juniper Networks also offer training and certification specific to multi-cloud networks.

The payout for multi-cloud network training

Businesses that take the time and resources to train staff are more successful with multi-cloud networks. EMA’s research also identified several specific, quantified benefits for adopting a multi-cloud network training program.

Organizations that have established training programs for multi-cloud networks have reported success in the following areas:

• Multi-cloud network design is simpler.
• Consistent management of ingress and egress controls and load balancing across multiple cloud controllers is easier.
• Chargebacks for cloud networks are possible.
• Centralized multi-cloud networking management becomes possible.
• End-to-end visibility over a multi-cloud network is more achievable.

Source: www.techtarget.com