Vendor Neutral Training: Proven Protection Against Cloud Horror Stories

Second Government Cloud Computing Survey

By G C Network | April 1, 2009

Earlier this week I had the pleasure of presenting at the Sys-con International Cloud Computing Expo in New York City. My presentation, The View from Government Cloud Computing Customers, reviewed…

Navy NGEN and Cloud Computing

By G C Network | April 1, 2009

I spent half of today in downtown DC at the Navy Next Generation Enterprise Network (NGEN) Industry Day.  In case you’re not familiar with NGEN, this project will be the follow-on…

An Ontology for Tactical Cloud Computing

By G C Network | March 25, 2009

This week I’ve had the pleasure of presenting at two fairly unique conferences. On Tuesday I was in San Diego at the Simulation Interoperability Standards Organization (SISO) Workshop. SISO is…

Federal Cloud Computing Roadmap

By G C Network | March 24, 2009

ServerVault, a long time provider of IT hosting services to the Federal government, has been discussing cloud computing quite a bit with their current (and future) customers.  The repetitive nature…

Booz Allen Hamilton Lays Out Path To Cloud

By G C Network | March 23, 2009

Now that cloud computing is seen as a viable technology for the government marketplace, management consulting leader Booz Allen Hamilton is now providing cloud transition guidance. In his article “Cloud…

Is Sun Rising or Setting?

By G C Network | March 19, 2009

Today was strange. First Sun announces it’s open cloud computing platform. Sun Unveils Open Cloud Computing Platform “Sun on Wednesday announced plans to offer its own Open Cloud Platform, starting…

A Conversation with Emil Sayegh, Mosso General Manager

By G C Network | March 16, 2009

Last week, Mosso announced their new “Cloud Server” and “Cloud Sites” offerings. They also exited “Cloud Files” from beta, positioning themselves as a challenger to Amazon. With this as a…

Playing the Cloud Computing Wargame

By G C Network | March 12, 2009

Today at FOSE I tried my hand at balancing traditional IT, hybrid cloud offerings and commercial cloud offerings on a craps table. Just to set the scene, the Booz Allen…

Vivek Kundra Nominated for Federal CIO

By G C Network | March 10, 2009

Mr. Kundra’s quote from the Wall Street Journal says it all: “I’m a big believer in disruptive technology. If I went to the coffee shop, I would have more computing…

7th SOA for E-Government Conference

By G C Network | March 5, 2009

On April 28, 2009, Mitre will be holding its biannual SOA for E-Government Conference. This conference is one of the region’s premier opportunity for federal managers and MITRE Subject Matter…

Cloud computing is now entering adolescence.  With all the early adopters now swimming in the cloud pool with that “I told you so” smug, fast followers are just barely beating the early majority. The gold rush to cloud is also driving the IT herd to get cloud computing training.  Training vendors from multi-billion dollar behemoths to little Mom and Pop shops are ready to cash in with fast and easy, vendor-specific certifications for just about any cloud service provider.

Although at first glance, all is well with this vision, the industry’s adolescent hubris has started to show some troubling warning signs. The source of the trouble, however, is not with the Cloud Service Provider (CSP). The problems are actually caused by the CSP customers themselves!

Driven by an almost reflexive assumption that the planet’s largest providers are always best, most customers fail to conduct even the most basic CSP adoption due diligence tasks. These same customers also have a very limited appetite for learning foundational cloud computing concepts. These facts have combined to make cloud computing pilot errors typical and CSP transition failures much more common. The broadening use of hybrid cloud solutions and the rapid growth in the sheer number of cloud service provider options have also contributed to this unfortunate trend. Although there is always great value in vendor-specific training, this type of focused investment should be made after enterprise IT professionals have been well grounded in cloud computing fundamental and well versed in the now plentiful cloud service provider options. This is why vendor-neutral cloud computing training is so critical to today’s IT professional and, by extension, the modern business enterprise.

As more companies take advantage of cloud service benefits, the need for IT professionals to be skillful in the use and implementation of a wide range of cloud services becomes even more acute. This form of training also serves as a layer of protection against well-known cloud transition missteps, cloud service vendor lock-in and the multitude of other cloud computing horror stories. Provider agnostic training can give protection against operational failures by providing a strong foundation in cloud technologies, cloud architectures and in the management of cloud infrastructure.

This is even more important now because in about thirty days the National Cloud Technologist Association (NCTA) and Logical Operations will be jointly launching the NCTA CloudMASTER® Certification Training Program. This global event represents the first time that NCTA content will be delivered outside of the association’s higher education partners. Through Logical Operations, NCTA content will be delivered through a broad channel that will provide outstanding delivery options to a wide spectrum of professionals interested in cloud computing.

For more information on this exciting program please visit https://goo.gl/0vPP3l

Logical Operations helps organizations and individuals maximize training with an adaptable expert-facilitated learning experience. Its more than 5,100 titles are available globally through flexible delivery platforms that are designed for any learning environment. Logical Operations also offers a growing portfolio of high-stakes certifications such as Logical Operations Certified CyberSec First Responder and assessments including Logical Operations Certified CyberSAFE. Logical Operations’ CEO, Bill Rosenthal, is a board member of the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) and works alongside representatives from organizations such as AT&T, Bank of America, Facebook, Google, Intel, Microsoft, Verizon, Visa, and more, to make sure that everyone has the education and resources needed to stay safe and secure online. For more information, connect with Logical Operations at https://logicaloperations.com and on Twitter @logicalops.

The National Cloud Technologists Association was created in 2012 with the intent to provide vendor-agnostic cloud technology training for IT professionals within all levels of an organization. In comparison with other cloud computing certifications, the NCTA CloudMaster certification demonstrates real-world knowledge through practical activities and lab exercises, allowing students to learn and showcase a complete portfolio of skills on a wide range of common cloud technologies.

 “Cloud Horror Stories” were adapted from the following sources:
·         https://www.cio.com/article/2460967/cloud-computing/how-to-survive-4-cloud-horror-stories.html
·         https://www.computerweekly.com/opinion/Cloud-vendor-lock-in-our-experience
·         https://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240187687/Lock-in-fears-detering-busineses-from-moving-data-into-the-cloud
 https://www.cio.com/article/2460967/cloud-computing/how-to-survive-4-cloud-horror-stories.html

( This content is being syndicated through multiple channels. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not represent the views of GovCloud Network, GovCloud Network Partners or any other corporation or organization.)

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