The current shortfall in cloud skills is a real problem, however previous investments in IT management structures and best practices such as ITIL® can be capitalized on and provide a solid foundation for managing cloud-based services and hybrid IT environments.
ITIL and the Cloud
The fundamentals of ITIL best-practice provide a solid foundation for organizations adopting cloud computing and cloud-based services.
IT service providers, outsourcing organizations, cloud computing service providers and internal IT departments all should update their ITIL best-practices and processes to cater to the flexibility and scalability of cloud computing. They must consider the management and control of data, security, the cloud environment, budget and services to the business.
Essentially, cloud is another form of delivering IT, so a lot of the fundamentals of ITIL and IT service management don’t radically change.
In fact, the cloud of today came from yesteryear’s mainframe environment. The difference, today, is the internet which provides a platform to deliver pay-per-use utility-based computing services globally from cloud service providers’ data centers.
Competence in a Fast-Changing World
The world of cloud is changing rapidly and it needs more, not less, technical competence. Technology practitioners need to learn about cloud computing and how to work with this alongside traditional and legacy IT infrastructure.
Lower level technical roles may go to cloud providers while in-house IT professionals will be elevated to a more business-oriented role supported by a layer of technicians to handle the legacy and traditional client-server IT. Ultimately, their role and responsibility will be to understand what the business wants from technology and to know how best to deliver it via the cloud.
The video below is a short interview that took place at the 2014 itSMF UK where I discussed ITIL’s role and relevance when deploying and working with cloud service providers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7Z5aCVWYN8
Training in Cloud
The Professional Cloud Service Manager course enables Senior (ITIL) Service Managers to design and deliver cloud services. This training is delivered as a 3-day classroom or virtual classroom program and provides a hands-on, practical approach to understanding how cloud impacts operational processes, and how to adapt these processes to deliver better services.
For further insight into why ITSM is important to cloud providers, read my earlier post.
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About the author
Mark O’Loughlin is a business owner, senior executive, Director, consultant and strategist helping organizations to improve their business development, sales, marketing, service delivery, and customer services.
Mark is recognized as a global thought leader in digital IT, cloud computing, DevOps, cloud service management and IT Service Management, providing consulting services to global clients.
Mark is the author of two books, is published in four languages and is a keynote speaker and educator. Has extensive experience in outsourcing, business transformation, driving business change, IP development and digital enablement. Mark is one of only eighty-five ITIL Masters globally.