Cloud Computing 101: What's Next?

Over the past year, I've started learning about cloud computing and decided to create a "Cloud Computing 101" blog posts series to help beginners like me start their learning journey.

In this series, we've covered the basics of cloud computing, how cloud storage works, security measures for cloud systems, and the importance of monitoring cloud services.

In this final post, we'll review the main points from each topic, introduce different job roles in the cloud computing industry, and offer tips to improve your skills as a cloud computing enthusiast.

Key takeaways

Cloud computing is the delivery of computing resources on a pay-as-you-go basis, meaning you only pay for what you use. In previous posts, we covered several key areas:

• Storage: users can store their data in various formats and types on remote servers managed by cloud providers, accessible via the internet.
• Security: to address threats and data breaches in the cloud, it's essential to establish policies and procedures to follow before, during, and after incidents, based on existing and tested frameworks.
• Monitoring: by closely tracking delivered resources through metrics, logs, alerts, or dashboards, we can detect and resolve issues before they affect users.

While there's much more to learn, these fundamentals serve as a starting point for those looking to move further into the field.

Available cloud roles

As businesses get bigger and start using more cloud services, the need for specialized and defined roles increases to handle every aspect of cloud management.

From designing cloud infrastructures, developing cloud-based applications, analyzing cloud data, securing cloud environments, and managing the life cycle of shipping software to the cloud. Each role is defined by specific responsibilities and requires a unique set of skills to effectively manage their respective domains within the cloud environment.

Cloud Developer

A cloud developer is responsible for designing, developing, and maintaining cloud-native applications, integrating cloud services, managing APIs, optimizing performance and costs, ensuring security, and conducting thorough testing.

To be a cloud developer, you need to be proficient in programming, understand cloud environments, and be familiar with tools and concepts like cloud functions, object storage, and containerization technologies.

Cloud Architect

A cloud architect is responsible for designing cloud infrastructure, creating plans for scalability and reliability, optimizing cloud resources, managing security, and integrating cloud services.

To be a cloud architect, you need a deep understanding of cloud platforms, expertise in network and systems architecture, proficiency in cloud automation and orchestration tools, and strong problem-solving skills.

Cloud Engineer

A cloud engineer is responsible for building and maintaining cloud infrastructure, deploying cloud services, automating cloud operations, monitoring system performance, and ensuring security.

To be a cloud engineer, you need strong programming skills, experience with cloud platforms, knowledge of automation tools, and an understanding of networking and security principles.

Cloud Security Specialist

A cloud security specialist is responsible for protecting cloud environments, implementing security measures, monitoring for threats, ensuring compliance with regulations, and responding to security incidents.

To be a cloud security specialist, you need a strong understanding of cloud security practices, experience with security tools, knowledge of compliance standards, and skills in threat detection and response.

DevOps Engineer

A DevOps engineer is responsible for automating software deployment, managing infrastructure as code, monitoring system performance, ensuring continuous integration and delivery, and collaborating with development and operations teams.

To be a DevOps engineer, you need strong scripting skills, experience with CI/CD tools, knowledge of cloud platforms, and an understanding of automation and monitoring practices.

What’s next?

Based on the previous section, it's evident that the field of cloud computing has many different roles to specialize in, all of them require common prerequisites such as problem-solving, programming, familiarity with cloud environments, automation, and networking.

If you want to learn more about cloud computing, you might feel confused about what to do next. There's a lot to learn!

If you know the basics and have decided which part of cloud computing you want to focus on, here are some ideas for your next steps:

• Choose a cloud platform like AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, or IBM Cloud to build your foundational knowledge and then explore others to understand their differences.
• Acquire a professional certification to validate your cloud computing skills and enhance your job market competitiveness. These certifications offer structured learning paths and up-to-date knowledge on the latest cloud technologies.
• Gain hands-on experience by developing, deploying, and monitoring cloud-native applications and projects. You can take advantage of the free tiers offered by cloud providers to get started.
• Stay updated with industry trends by following expert blogs, news, and social media channels, and engage with the community for continuous learning.

Conclusion

Cloud computing isn't just about using someone else's computer. It includes different services on a large scale, available on a pay-as-you-go basis. It’s a fast-evolving field with applications in many areas, like AI, data engineering, IoT, big data analytics, machine learning, and software development.

In this series, I have tried to cover the main concepts, such as cloud deployment models, data storage solutions, security measures, and resources monitoring. I hope this serves as a good starting point for anyone wanting to learn more and improve their skills.

If you have any questions, suggestions or need further clarifications, please feel free to get in touch with me. I'm here to help and support your journey in any way I can ^_^.

Additional resources

Here is an updated list of categorized resources to kickstart your learning journey. If you come across any additional useful resources, please let me know so I can include them.

Certifications

• Introduction to Cloud Computing - IBM: Ideal for beginners, this certification covers topics discussed in this series with more detail and includes hands-on labs for practice.
• AWS Certification Exams: AWS offers paid online exams for various cloud roles. Earning one of these certifications can boost your profile as a cloud engineer.
• Google Cloud Certification: Similar to AWS, Google offers certification exams for various cloud-related roles too.

YouTube channels

• A Cloud Guru: A popular online learning platform that focuses on cloud computing education.
• IBM Technology: This channel provides educational content on major tech topics like AI, automation, data science, DevOps, and cloud computing.
• Tech With Lucy: Hosted by Lucy, a former AWS Solutions Architect, this channel helps people build tech skills and start a career in the cloud industry.
• freeCodeCamp.org: A highly popular platform for learning coding and IT topics for free. It offers detailed courses on cloud computing and exam preparation.

Cheat sheets

• Cloud Computing Basics: Covers basic concepts such as history, virtualization, deployment models, and types of cloud services.
• Cloud Services Comparison: Compares key services across AWS, Azure, and GCP.
• DevOps and IT Cheat-Sheet Collection: A list of cheat sheets for various tools and technologies used in software development and IT.
• AWS Roadmap: A step-by-step guide to learning AWS from roadmap.sh.

GitHub Projects

• Awesome AWS: A curated list of AWS libraries, open-source repositories, guides, blogs, and other resources.
• Awesome Cloud Native: A curated collection of cloud-native tools, software, and tutorials.
• Awesome Microservices: A curated list of principles and technologies related to microservice architecture.
• Serverless Chatbot Project: That’s one of the projects I worked on to practice AWS serverless architecture. It’s a ChatGPT clone based on the OpenAI API.