A look at the possibilities — and warnings — of connected public clouds.

It’s a multi-cloud world, but recent alliances and initiatives are changing the way we live in it.

More than just a list of cloud vendors your company uses, multi-cloud is a strategy. Roughly 86% of enterprises are invested in that strategy today, according to a recent Forrester survey, and it plots out exactly how an enterprise uses multiple cloud providers to make business happen.

Motivations to go multi-cloud are plenty. Some companies want to balance risk against putting all their workload eggs in one basket. If one cloud provider goes down, redundancy with another can help a business avoid the threat of downtime. Other businesses, still, embrace multi-cloud for spot-on use cases and specific services offered by different platforms.

But that’s where things can get complicated — and expensive. The more cloud services a company taps into, the more complex it becomes to manage. Poor multi-cloud management is notorious for wasting money and creating silos.

What’s more: each cloud service provider has its own configuration nuances and interfaces. Integration across clouds requires depth and breadth of expertise you don’t often find within a single human being. So, multi-cloud companies are left with two options: find the elusive cloud unicorn or grow your team with already hard-to-find cloud computing talent.

How much does a cloud weigh on enterprises?

Frustrated with the heft of figuring out the right multi-cloud approach, some companies have started moving workloads from public cloud back to on-premises storage or on-site/private-cloud hybrid models. Cloud repatriation (as it’s known), however, isn’t interrupting the $214.3B cloud market.

But it’s a sign that enterprises are eager to find easier ways to navigate their clouds. Good news for them: the top cloud service providers are listening.

In early 2019, Google announced Anthos, a single managed service that enables enterprises to deploy, manage and run workloads using a common user interface across on-premises servers and third-party clouds, including AWS and Microsoft Azure (a.k.a. Google Cloud’s biggest competitors).

Anthos enables applications to run across clouds, unmodified — which means admins and developers don’t need to become experts at every cloud environment (that helps mitigate the talent-side sticking point of multi-cloud strategy).

The value in creating an environment that lets businesses move workloads and run applications from cloud to cloud isn’t simply about convenience. Interoperability is ripe with opportunity.

Microsoft made its overture to meet cloud clients where they are a few months later, announcing an interconnectivity alliance. Microsoft Azure and Oracle connected their clouds over a direct network connection.

Joint customers can migrate applications and data seamlessly between the two public clouds without rearchitecting what they’ve already built nor posting losses against their existing cloud investments. Interoperability between these two cloud giants means enterprises can run databases on Azure or Oracle Cloud infrastructure, and connect services, like Azure analytics and Oracle autonomous database, without rethinking their multi-cloud strategy.

The shapes of connected clouds to come.

Innovations and partnerships, like Google, Microsoft and Oracle, aren’t simply taking the pain out of “lift and shift.” The potential in connected-cloud alliances is changing the way enterprises and providers think about the purpose of public cloud.

Beyond pure cloud logistics, interconnectivity could change the way enterprises plot their multi-cloud strategies. Forget planning and parsing which environment supports each use case. Interconnectivity can transform the way enterprises use cloud with technologies like service mesh, portability and microservices.

Could the dream of simple portability in the cloud come true with increased interconnectivity? Portability (which implies that you can move workloads and run applications cloud to cloud, like from an AWS environment to Microsoft Azure) seems to be front-and-center with this year’s rising cloud projects.

Alongside its Oracle alliance, Microsoft is also pursuing the portability dream with other partners. Microsoft, SAP and Adobe joined forces in 2019 to start the Open Data Initiative, a partnership to create a single data model for customer data that’s portable between platforms.

By standardizing the data structure and improving portability, the initiative could make it easier for enterprises to do much more with customer data, like activate machine learning and AI. Locked into a CRM vendor, like Salesforce, enterprises are often stuck with the capabilities of their provider. (Although Salesforce hasn’t exactly been a slouch in the acquisition market.)

Still, keep your eye on the dark clouds.

Portability isn’t without its price. With any connected services, especially when data changes hands, security will always be a risk. The Open Data Initiative is still young, but will need to get clear on who’s responsible for protecting that data, too.

The idea of connected clouds isn’t without its security biases, either. Enterprises still struggle with getting cloud initiatives off the ground due to internal security biases — with cloud or specific providers. Despite opportunities inherent in connected clouds and services, the connected companies will need to create a foundation of strong security practices to get over the existing stigma of business data floating in the clouds.

As we imagine public clouds coming together, it’s important to wonder, too: what happens if all public clouds are interconnected?
Alliances, like Microsoft and Oracle, provide interoperability for joint customers and promise a level of portability multi-cloud users dream of. Consider what happens if those alliances become mergers and acquisitions, and a race to own a greater share of the worldwide market — and its data. Who would own what, and how could anyone else ever compete? Only the future in the cloud will tell.

The future of your multi-cloud strategy.

​
How might interconnectivity and the possibility of cross-cloud services change the way your business thinks about multi-cloud?

When contemplating your career plans, focus not only on the kind of work that fits you well now but also on what offers a path to the best jobs of the future. “Sounds reasonable,” you say, “but what specific positions should I focus on?”

Many are technical in nature. Ever-advancing technology opens up a wide variety of new and evolved roles, so many of the most promising professions require knowing and staying up to date with the latest digital innovations.

However, not all jobs that are currently seeing growth (or projected to grow in the foreseeable future) necessitate being an all-around tech wiz. Some involve keeping up only with software and hardware relevant to your duties — which is a best practice in the digital age no matter what you do for a living.

Employers will depend on their employees to make strategic, informed decisions using data collected by artificial intelligence and analytics, while keeping a pulse on industry trends and their customers’ needs and wants.

But the necessary aptitudes don’t stop with knowing and following technology. For example, interpersonal skills are important now — and will be even more crucial in coming years, putting positions with an emphasis on project or people management and empathy in high demand.

Here are 12 of the jobs our data show as having some of the greatest long-term potential, including their salaries:

Mobile Applications Developer

Mobile development continues to generate traction across industries. And as more businesses rely on mobile technology to reach customers, demand for mobile applications developers will continue to increase. These professionals are in the driver’s seat when it comes to designing and recommending enhancements to smartphone- and tablet-based software. They work on new deployments, app coding, testing and debugging. The midpoint salary, or median national salary, for a mobile app developer is $146,500, and the outlook is bright.

Data Architect

While the collection of data can be automated, the ability to translate, analyze and make business recommendations based off that data is in high demand from employers. As the Internet of Things (IoT) grows and more devices and sensors become interconnected, the volume of available data is only going to expand. To help manage and derive value from it, businesses need skilled data architects who can translate information into specific database solutions.

Data architects need analytical and creative skills, plus in-depth knowledge of data systems and database methodology. They need to communicate effectively, plan and coordinate data resources, and translate business requirements into database solutions. Familiarity with Oracle, Microsoft SQL servers and other systems — like Unix, Linux, Solaris and Microsoft Windows — is essential. Data architect jobs are plentiful across the nation, and start at a national midpoint salary of $141,250.

Compliance Manager

Working under the direction of the compliance director, a compliance manager in the legal field supervises the development of risk controls and oversees the efforts of the compliance administration team to implement internal procedures, processes and programs. People seeking this career should have a post-secondary degree and seven-plus years of compliance and audit experience in a relevant field. Due to frequently changing regulatory mandates and increasingly strict enforcement, the practice area is expected to continue to grow.

Compliance managers are in high demand in the legal profession, especially those who possess strong leadership and organizational abilities, as well as analytical and interpersonal skills. Candidates with seven to nine years of experience can expect average starting salaries around a midpoint of $97,250.

Business Intelligence Analyst

Companies have embraced the use of big data analysis, which has increased their activities in data mining and reporting. As a result, the need for business intelligence analysts has grown exponentially. This job involves turning raw data into actionable insights and developing reporting solutions that work across the organization. People who succeed in this role have solid analytical, troubleshooting and problem-solving skills, along with proficiency with using business intelligence and data mining tools, as well as Excel pivot tables, to analyze data. An education in finance, business or information systems is typically required. Relaying results and making recommendations to senior management necessitates high-level communication skills.

The current midpoint salary for a senior business intelligence analyst is $97,000, but due to the high demand for the role, employers may be willing to pay more. And candidates with additional qualifications, such as the CPA certification or specific industry expertise, stand to earn even higher pay.

UX Designer

UX designers are responsible for how a product or website feels. Their job is to zero in on users’ underlying emotional and functional needs and help create an enjoyable digital experience based on those discoveries. UX designers conduct usability testing and consult with clients to understand their goals and intentions.

The growth of mobile and web development leads to continued demand for this role. Today, the midpoint salary for a UX designer is $96,250 — and it’s likely to rise in the future.

Marketing Analytics Manager

Marketing analytics managers are in high demand across the country. These professionals are responsible for providing data-driven insights to various stakeholders and leveraging information from marketing automation and customer relationship management software, and other business intelligence tools. Strong analytical reasoning and collaboration skills are important, as marketing analytics managers often work with various partners and departments, like IT, operations, sales and marketing, to improve processes and meet business goals. The midpoint salary is $96,000.

Systems Analyst

Systems analysts help business and IT teams find technical solutions to business problems. They play a central role in the planning and execution of projects, and they may serve as a liaison between IT and end users. Duties include analyzing hardware and software issues, writing and maintaining systems documentation, and translating user and system requirements into functional technical specifications.

Hiring for systems analysts is projected to increase 9 percent by 2028 (based on levels initially from 2018), according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, largely because of the rapid adoption of cloud computing and the rising use of IT services in the healthcare field. Currently, systems analysts earn a midpoint salary of $95,500.

UI Designer

Working with UX designers and development teams, UI designers shape and build a product or website’s wireframe. Their goal is to make sure every touchpoint that users come across in their interaction with a product is intuitive and conforms to the team’s overall vision. With strong visual design skills, coding expertise and an understanding of website layout best practices, UI designers are key players for creating interactive experiences with customers. And as more companies focus on improving the customer experience, job prospects for this position grow stronger. The midpoint salary is $80,000.

Business Analyst

Business analysts bridge the gap between business and IT. They determine business unit needs and plan, implement and improve business information systems across multiple departments, ensuring business data and reporting needs are met. Companies hire for this role when they want to act on business intelligence and make data-driven decisions. People with experience in financial analysis, data flow analysis and project management are strong candidates.

These jobs are in high demand, and it can be difficult to fill these positions across industries. Previously considered a subset of general business skills, business analytics is a field with space to build a lucrative career thanks to explosive growth since it came into its own. Business analysts with one to three years of experience can expect to earn a midpoint starting salary around $71,000.

Litigation Support/eDiscovery Analyst

Litigation is a high-growth practice area, driving demand for lawyers and paralegals with litigation support and eDiscovery backgrounds.

Employers typically seek litigation support/eDiscovery analysts with a juris doctor or bachelor’s degree and proficiency in the latest industry software. Strong project management abilities, attention to detail and interpersonal skills are needed to support litigation matters and liaise with external firms and service providers. The midpoint salary for a candidate with one to two years of experience is $65,250. Hiring for this position should increase as law firms and companies focus on keeping pace with technological advancements, federal rulings and new regulations.

Member Services/Enrollment Manager

In the healthcare field, member services managers are responsible for quality assurance. They supervise other customer service staff, who answer inquiries from providers and members about coverage, claims, benefits and other issues.

Stellar communication and leadership skills are a must, as well as the ability to maintain confidentiality. The midpoint salary for member services/enrollment managers is $57,000.

Executive Assistant

An executive assistant supports senior leaders by doing everything from managing calendars and scheduling meetings to preparing reports and helping coordinate key projects. Companies look for job candidates with strong soft skills, expertise in Microsoft Office and project management experience. Resourcefulness, problem-solving abilities and discretion are also essential. The midpoint salary for an executive assistant role is $55,500.