As businesses of every size push forward with cloud projects in 2018, the demand for cloud skills is accelerating. Public cloud adoption is expected to climb significantly and the IDC predict spending will reach £197 billion in just three years.

But as cutting-edge technologies, like machine learning, continue to reshape the job market the skills gap looms large across the industry. With over 350,000 specialists needed to help fill cloud roles there’s clearly a massive opportunity for professionals that can prove their skills.

Whether you’re taking your first steps into cloud or are aiming to increase your marketability, this is your opportunity to expand your cloud skill set in 2018.

Cloud security

Businesses are comfortable storing their data with public cloud providers. The idea that a company’s data is not secure in the cloud just isn’t true anymore.

Most companies simply cannot provide the same level of security expertise as the leading cloud providers. Microsoft, for example, plan to invest over $1 billion dollars annually on cyber security.

But businesses must still pay close attention to their cloud security. Cloud providers operate under the shared responsibility model, outlining the security responsibilities between vendor and business. In short, businesses cannot rely on their vendor to ensure the security of their data and services; their staff must also understand and work towards security.

That means it’s still crucial for IT professionals to possess an understanding of cloud security – even if the heavy lifting is performed by the cloud providers. To ensure their organisations are protected, professionals must learn how to utilise the security tools offered by the likes of Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure.

And for professionals aiming to specialise their cloud security skills, there are a number of industry-standard qualifications available. Perhaps the most well-known is (ISC)2’s CCSP (Certified Cloud Security Professional) which builds on the knowledge taught through the popular CISSP certification.

Machine learning and AI

While machine learning, AI and big data may have just been seen as buzzwords for many businesses in the past, they’re now at the heart of an increasing number of IT projects.

Analyst firm IDC predicts explosive growth for machine learning and AI, with spend with increasing by 50% over the next three years. As a result, every major cloud vendor is now developing or expanding services that allow organisations to leverage these technologies in their applications.

The two largest cloud platforms, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure, both provide Machine Learning tools.

“These tools are easy to set up and there are plenty of tutorials available online. But to get valuable information out of them you’ll need strong data science skills,” says Mike Brown, Lead Cloud Instructor at Firebrand Training.

Microsoft is pushing ahead of the competition in data science training for professionals, creating the Professional Program for Data Science alongside a new certification – the MCSA Machine Learning that aligns to the expert-level MCSE: Data Management & Analytics certification.

Serverless architecture

Serverless architecture removes the need for developers to manage underlying infrastructure when they want to run or build an application.

“It’s the way that all new services should be designed,” says Brown. “The idea that applications should be deployed to a server or two is an old way of thinking.”

By adopting serverless architecture, developers can build services that are scalable and easier to patch or upgrade. This is often cheaper than designs that are based on servers.

Businesses were previously concerned about vendor lock-in when adopting serverless architecture. For example, if you’re using one cloud provider to host your serverless components, and they raise their prices, you could be “locked” into their service and forced to pay the higher fee.

Today, major cloud platforms use industry standard technologies and programming languages which means moving serverless applications from one vendor to another is no longer an obstacle.

Professionals can dive into learning serverless application development online but you’ll need to choose a platform first. If you favour AWS, consider following their Lambda tutorials and webinars to get started.

Cloud migration and multi-cloud deployment

As IDC’s report revealed, public cloud migration is accelerating and businesses need professionals knowledgeable in cloud to shift their apps and services.

Businesses that are struggling to scale resources to meet demand or are aiming to save time on menial tasks like database backup or maintenance will benefit from moving to the cloud.

But cloud migration isn’t a fast process and it’s by no means risk-free. Without skilled professionals, businesses risk downtime on critical applications and incorrect implementation could open them up to security vulnerabilities.

In the enterprise, multi-cloud deployments are increasingly common. Enterprises want the flexibility to choose different environments based on performance and cost. Because of this, professionals will want to consider expanding their skills across multiple platforms – particularly Azure, AWS and Google Cloud Platform.

Automation

“For me, automation is key to providing a cloud service for business. Auto-scaling, Infrastructure as code, automated monitoring and reporting all play a part in good cloud design,” says Brown.

“There’s currently a move to 3rd party services that allow us to automate across multiple platforms using the same tool set.”

Jenkins, Terraform and Chef are all popular tools that allow automation across multiple platforms and professionals aiming to increase their marketability should consider adding these skills to their learning path as soon as possible.

The key to marketability in cloud

The key to employability in today’s cloud jobs market is to gain cross-platform skills. If you’ve already achieved your MCSE Cloud Platform and Infrastructure certification, consider widening your skills to include certifications from AWS and Google Cloud Platform.

By transferring your knowledge between cloud platforms, you’ll diversify your skillset and boost your employability in 2018.

Editor's note: Once you've taken a look at the 2018 list, make sure to compare it with the 2017 list, which can be found here.

By 2020 there will be 1.3 million unfilled jobs in Europe, many will be in cloud-related fields. As businesses invest in digital transformation (83% believe cloud skills are critical for digital transformation, according to Microsoft), demand for skilled cloud professionals is set to surge.

Microsoft’s leading cloud platform, Azure, now boasts more regions than any other major cloud provider and continues to integrate with more Microsoft’s services, like Azure’s LUIS.

For businesses transitioning to Azure, knowledgeable cloud experts are required. Luckily, Microsoft’s comprehensive Azure certification portfolio is ready to support professionals looking to build or prove their knowledge.

Whether you’re new to Azure, or seeking new certs to bolster your credentials, you may not have considered these five lesser known Azure certifications.

Microsoft Azure Fundamentals (Course 10979D)

Get to grips with the principles of cloud computing and how they apply within Microsoft Azure. The Microsoft Azure Fundamentals course will teach you how to create the most common Azure services, like Virtual Machines, Web Apps and Azure SQL Databases.

Released in September 2017, this new course was created to provide the fundamental Azure skills and knowledge needed for professionals fresh to cloud computing. If you’re unfamiliar with Azure and are aiming to achieve the MCSA: Cloud Platform certification this course is a great place to start.

While Microsoft Azure Fundamentals does not map to an exam as yet, it is an ideal precursor to the Developing Microsoft Azure Solutions and Implementing Microsoft Azure Solutions courses. Pass the certification exam for both of these courses and you’ll get the MCSA: Cloud Platform.

Microsoft also supports a self-paced, online Azure Fundamentals course provided through the Edx platform.

Perform Cloud Data Science with Azure Machine Learning (Course 20774A)

At this year’s Ignite Conference in Orlando, Microsoft announced a swathe of new machine learning services, including Azure Machine Learning Experimentation, Azure Machine Learning Workbench, and the Azure Machine Learning Model Management.

These new tools will be hosted on in Azure, which already supports machine learning with Machine Learning Studio – a platform for developing machine learning applications at big data scale.

Providing professionals with a route to gain machine learning Azure knowledge, Microsoft launched the Perform Cloud Data Science with Azure Machine Learning (Course 20774A) in June 2017.  

This lesser known course is aimed at professionals who need to gain the skills to analyse and present data by using Azure Machine Learning. IT professionals, developers and anyone who needs to support solutions based on Azure Machine Learning will benefit from this credential.

Plus, pass the associated exam (70-774) and you’re only one more exam away from achieving the MCSA: Machine Learning.  

Configuring and Operating a Hybrid Cloud with Microsoft Azure Stack (Course 20537A)

Microsoft recently launched Azure Stack, an extension of Azure allowing enterprises and service providers to run their own mirror images of Microsoft’s cloud platform on premises.

Aligning with this announcement, Microsoft also introduced Configuring and Operating a Hybrid Cloud with Microsoft Azure Stack (Course 20537A). Complete this course and you’ll get the crucial knowledge you need to help enterprises migrate to, and manage Microsoft’s new hybrid cloud technology.

Designed as an in-depth introduction to Azure Stack, this course is ideal for service administrators, DevOps and Cloud Architects who are responsible for using Azure Stack to provide cloud services.

Take this course and you’ll also learn how System Centre 2016 components can be added to further manage your Azure Stack Environment.

While there is no exam yet, Azure Stack is set to be hugely popular for enterprises demanding more control of their cloud. It may just be a matter of time before we see more Azure stack certifications and exams in the future.

MCSA: Linux on Azure

With the rise of Azure, Microsoft has embraced Linux – having this week announced it’s sponsorship of the Open Source Initiative.

20% of the operating systems on Azure are Linux and to cater to this growing audience, Microsoft introduced the MCSA: Linux on Azure certification towards the end of 2015. This MCSA provides Linux specialists with a path to transfer their Linux skills directly into Azure.

Achieve this MCSA and you’ll learn how to deploy, configure, host and manage Linux websites in Azure. You’ll also study Azure’s key features incorporating Linux, including Windows PowerShell, Azure Active Directory, virtual machines and virtual networks.

Created with the help of The Linux Foundation this unique certification requires you to pass a non-Microsoft exam. Pass Implementing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions (Exam 70-533) and The Linux Foundation’s Certified System Administrator (LFCS) to achieve this certification.

Designing and Implementing Big Data Analytics Solutions (Exam 70-475)

This course previously awarded a “Specialist” certification, before that designation was retired by Microsoft. Nonetheless, this credential remains relevant and continues to provide valuable knowledge and skills.

The Designing and Implementing Big Data Analytics Solutions (Exam 70-475) supports data professionals who design and build big data analytics solutions in Microsoft Azure. Plus, this unique certification was updated in February 2017, removing elements of Azure Machine Learning to focus more on real-time data processing solutions.

Don’t confuse this niche certification with the similarly titled Designing and Implementing Cloud Data Platform Solutions (exam 70-743). The latter certification focuses on SQL Server and Azure SQL Database.

This exam also forms part of the MCSA: Cloud Platform, achieve just one additional exam after to achieve your MCSE: Cloud Platform and Infrastructure.

What are you waiting for?

After a recent certification overhaul, Microsoft’s credentials no longer expire, remaining valuable as long as the knowledge gained is useful.

Plus, pass any Microsoft Certification Exam and you’ll become a Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP), with access to the Microsoft Certification Program. What are you waiting for?

Read more: The top five in-demand cloud skills for 2017

The cloud skills gap is widening and almost 40% of businesses are now struggling to find the qualified employees they need, according to Microsoft’s recent Cloud Skills Report. This is an incredible opportunity for professionals who can prove their cloud knowledge.

Determined professionals validate their knowledge and set themselves apart from the competition with training and certifications. The same report from Microsoft also found that tech leaders believe professionals with formal qualifications in cloud technologies are vital for success.

But as new certifications are introduced from every major cloud provider, where should you invest your time? These are the six cloud certifications to boost your career in 2017.

AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is established as the market leader in cloud, bringing in a titanic $12 billion for the Amazon subsidiary in 2016 –  a 55% increase over the same period last year. AWS continues to expand with plans to open a fifth European region in Sweden.

Launched in May 2013, AWS offer three certification tracks – Architecting, Developing and Operations – designed to teach professionals the skills they need to use AWS. Each certification track is composed of two levels: Associate and Professional.

The first level of the Architecting track, the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate certification, is built for professionals who want to design and deploy applications and systems on AWS.

Professionals that achieve this certification will learn how to build and deploy applications on AWS, that make use of key cloud features, like scalability and high availability. 

Despite being the first certification in the Architecting track, this is not entry-level. You must have in-depth programming experience and good prior knowledge of AWS before attempting the certification exam. To help professionals get to grips with the cloud provider, AWS recommend this online exam workshop.

The Certified Solutions Architect – Associate proves to employers, partners and clients that you’re a skilled AWS pro. Because of this, it consistently ranks as one of the highest paying certifications; AWS Architects earn a median salary of £75,000 (ITJobsWatch, 2017).

Microsoft MCSE: Cloud Platform and Infrastructure

Despite Amazon’s massive global cloud market share, Microsoft’s cloud offering, Azure, is catching up. Azure’s popularity is increasing in Europe and recent reports rank Azure above AWS as the dominant provider of IaaS (infrastructure-as-a-service).

The MCSE: Cloud Platform and Infrastructure was introduced late in 2016 as part of a major restructure of Microsoft certifications. The overhaul saw Microsoft retire the MCSE: Private Cloud certification, alongside 24 other certifications.

This is Microsoft’s most advanced cloud certification and should be considered the crowning achievement of a cloud professional’s career. It recognises your ability to run efficient, modern data centres and qualifies you for high-responsibility jobs like cloud architect.

To achieve it, you’ll need to first obtain one of four Microsoft MCSA certifications:

• MCSA: Windows Server 2012 or MCSA: Windows Server 2016
• MCSA: Cloud Platform
• MCSA: Linux on Azure

As each MCSA requires 2-3 exams, this is a long-term investment. Once you’re MCSA is attained, you’ll then need to pass one additional elective exam to obtain your MCSE: Cloud Platform and Infrastructure certification. There a wide range of potential choices, including these relevant exams:

• 70-473 – Designing and Implementing Cloud Data Platform Solutions
• 70-532 – Developing Microsoft Azure Solutions
• 70-533 – Implementing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions
• 70-534 – Architecting Microsoft Azure Solutions

(ISC)2 Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP)

Because migrating to the cloud can often result in unforeseen security vulnerabilities businesses are increasingly investing in better cloud security. As a result, the cloud security market is expected to reach £7 billion by 2019 and there is a massive demand for professionals with these skills.

(ISC)2’s Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP) validates cloud security skills at the highest level. Backed by two leading non-profits – the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) and (ISC)2 – this certification proves expert knowledge of cloud cyber security and information management.

The CCSP builds on existing high-level (ISC)2 certifications and holders of the renowned CISSP are prequalified to take the CCSP exam. Otherwise, you’ll need to meet a lengthy set of prerequisites, including professional experience across multiple CCSP domains, like cloud data security, operations and legal/compliance.

However, it’s well worth it. The CCSP is a reflection of industry best-practices for cloud security and demonstrates your expert knowledge of cloud application, platform and data infrastructure security.

You’ll also get to grips with a focus on compliance, legality, audit processes and privacy – particularly important when GDPR is introduced in May 2018.

If your role involves managing and securing cloud environments, (ISC)2’s CCSP is one of the best certifications you can get.

CompTIA Cloud+

CompTIA is the leading provider of vendor neutral certifications and has issued over two million certifications since its formation in 1993. Alongside industry stalwarts, like the immensely popular CompTIA A+, CompTIA also provides two cloud certifications.

The CompTIA Cloud+ is a robust certification aimed at IT professionals with 1-2 years’ experience working in networking, storage or data centre administration. Don’t confuse it with CompTIA’s Cloud Essentials Certification, aimed at non-IT professionals.

Passing the Cloud+ will prove your knowledge of cloud models, virtualisation, infrastructure, security, resources management and business continuity.

For professionals who already hold CompTIA certifications, like Server+, Network+ or Security+, the Cloud+ is the next logical step.

Whilst this is a great certification path, you won’t need to study any other CompTIA certifications to sit the CompTIA Cloud+. And with a wide variety of topics, you’ll get a solid base of cloud knowledge, making this certification a great way to kick off any career in cloud technology in 2017.

Cisco CCNA Cloud

Cisco’s CCNA Cloud is regarded as a challenging certification to achieve, but it’s well worth the investment. Cisco sets the industry standard for network equipment; wherever you work, there’s a good chance you’ll be working with Cisco equipment.

The CCNA Cloud focuses on preparing professionals for on-the-job situations, including how to perform crucial administration and maintenance tasks. You’ll study the basics of Cisco cloud infrastructure and administration, including services like: Cisco UCS and server virtualisation, United Fabric and Unified Storage.

Despite a lack of any official prerequisites, professionals must still be realistic about their own experience before attempting the two certification exams: CLDFND & CLDADM. Even with a solid networking background and certifications like CCENT or Network+, professionals may still struggle to master this challenging certification.

Microsoft MCSA: Linux on Azure

The MCSA: Linux on Azure certification arrived at the end of 2015, providing Linux specialists with a path to transfer their Linux skills directly into the Azure cloud.

Achieve this certification and you’ll learn to deploy, configure, host and manage Linux websites on Azure. You’ll also learn how to take advantage of Azure’s key features like Windows PowerShell and Xplat-CLI and study Azure Active Directory implementation, virtual machines and virtual networks – all incorporating Linux.

And with more than one million Azure servers running on Linux, this certification will be highly sought after in 2017.

Financial results for the fourth quarter of 2016 reveals massive growth for the top cloud providers. With 47% and 93% revenue growth for Amazon AWS and Microsoft respectively, one thing is clear – cloud is growing at a breakneck pace.

Enterprises and small businesses will continue to adopt and invest in cloud technology. Cisco’s Global Cloud Index whitepaper shows global cloud IP traffic will almost quadruple over the next five years.

But the rapid expansion of cloud has created a skills gap; there’s a lack of qualified cloud professionals. To support this growing demand, businesses require skilled cloud professionals.

Take advantage of this opportunity and expand your cloud skill set; how many of these in-demand skills do you possess?

Database and big data

It’s estimated that 80% of the world’s data is ‘dark’ – collected and stored by computers, but invisible and unusable to organisations.

Big data systems – delivered through the cloud – are starting to tap into this potential resource and the sector is predicted to grow at a rate of 60% annually, report IDC.

Experts argue that cloud will be the place where enterprise databases live – “The cloud is going to be the destination for a lot of this big data moving forward” says Jeff Kelly, big data expert at Wikibon.

Businesses need somewhere to store and access their data, which is now increasingly hosted in the public cloud. There are an abundance of cloud database services, provided by large cloud providers like Microsoft, Amazon AWS, and recently, Google. As organisations continue to migrate databases to the cloud, professionals should familiarise themselves with how these platforms work.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) provide Amazon Relational Database (RDS) which runs either MySQL, Oracle or SQL server instances. Alternatively, professionals can get to grips with the schema-less Amazon SimpleDB for smaller workloads.

Microsoft Azure uses SQL Database to provide access to a SQL database on the Azure platform, or a hosted SQL server instance on virtual machines.

Professionals can also opt for open source database platforms, like MongoDB. Learn how to code in Hadoop — a massively popular language used to process masses of data — and you’ll be well placed to take advantage of cloud’s big data revolution.

Luckily for professionals, database skills are well-supported by vendors. There are a number of database-focused Microsoft Azure certifications as well as the Big Data on AWS certification to support your learning.

There are also a huge breadth of big data and Hadoop MOOCs (Massively Open Online Courses) and certifications available from Cloudera.

Application security

As cyber threats become more complex and the number of businesses using the cloud attracts larger numbers of cyber criminals, cloud professionals must be increasingly vigilant when developing applications for the cloud.

The lack of thought given to security built into publicly used applications is a huge weakness, one that can be exploited by cyber criminals.

“On average there are now 777 cloud apps in use in European organisations, but 94.4% of these apps are not enterprise-ready from a security standpoint” states Eduard Meelhuysen, VP at cloud security firm Netskope.

Software developers must understand the security threats to software developed for cloud. It is ultimately the developer’s responsibility to ensure the security and compliance of their Azure applications.

Plus, when EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is introduced in 2018, Azure application security must improve or businesses will risk up to £17 million in fines.

However, with only 2% of cloud applications ready for GDPR, there’s a massive amount of work ahead for cloud professionals.

If you need to develop your security skills – or prove them to potential employers – consider attaining (ISC)2’s Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP) certification. This high-level certification is co-developed by the Cloud Security Alliance and provides an in-depth look at cloud application security.

Enterprise cloud migration

It’s not just small businesses that are migrating to the cloud, commercial enterprises are doing it too, and at an increasingly rapid rate.

Nearly 77% companies relied on traditional IT infrastructure in 2015. As large businesses migrate to cloud-based infrastructure, this number is likely to drop down to 43% in 2018, according to a report from MicKinsey’s Silicon Valley group.

But enterprises migrating their applications and services to the cloud continue to face roadblocks. Cloud migration challenges are among the top constraints for IT, according to a survey from Frost & Sullivan.

The cloud may offer some automated features, but migration is not one of them. This means that enterprises typically rely on customised, professional services from partners or providers.

Businesses require cloud professionals with the knowledge to oversee migration projects in an organised and secure way.

These professionals will also need in-depth knowledge of their chosen cloud platform. For Azure, professionals should consider attaining the Specialist: Implementing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions certification through the recommend Azure course.

Alternatively, AWS professionals should consider attaining the Certified Solutions Architect – Associate, which covers the process of shifting an existing on premise application to AWS.

Containers

The cloud computing industry has witnessed a surge in the use of containers, a more agile and secure alternative to VMs, designed to virtualise a single application. Containers are an ingenious way to develop and deploy micro-services, especially for cloud-based apps.

Whilst arguably not a career-defining skill for most, knowledge of containers is becoming increasingly important for cloud professionals. 81% of businesses suggested that they will increase use of containers in the future, according to a survey from Robin Systems.

Interestingly, 40% of respondents also said they had already deployed big data applications tools, like Spark and Hadoop in their containers.

Containers promise to make operations more portable and efficient. Impressively, the application container market will grow from £610 million in 2016 to £2.17 billion by 2020.

‘Containers will be used for deploying solutions to solve real-world business problems. Companies will use them to provide new services that are secure, efficient, elastic, and scalable,’ says Anand Krishnan, EVP and GM of cloud at Canonical

Amazon AWS and Microsoft provide container services and associated tutorials. Take a look at the Microsoft Virtual Academy for a detailed tutorial on Azure Container Service or the Amazon EC2 Container Service walkthrough.

Cloud enterprise application development

As more businesses launch public and private cloud initiatives, the importance of application development and testing in the cloud is increasing.

If applied properly, the cloud provides faster application development and can facilitate DevOps style collaboration. Other benefits include: using cloud features with minimal coding, reducing development time, and creating realistic distributed testing for application lifecycle management.

Amazon AWS supports development with the AWS SDK, enabling developers to code with Java, C#/.Net, Python and JavaScript. There’s also a AWS track for development and free training through a number of online self-paced labs.

Luckily, developers already familiar with Microsoft technologies, like the .NET framework and Visual Studio IDE, should find developing for Azure an easy transition. With solid infrastructure and service delivery guidelines behind Azure, most developers won’t need much more than their existing skills to get started building apps for Azure.

Editor’s note: Take a look at the 2016 must-have cloud skills list here. What do you make of both and how do they compare? Let us know in the comments.

Financial results for the fourth quarter of 2016 reveals massive growth for the top cloud providers. With 47% and 93% revenue growth for Amazon AWS and Microsoft respectively, one thing is clear – cloud is growing at a breakneck pace.

Enterprises and small businesses will continue to adopt and invest in cloud technology. Cisco’s Global Cloud Index whitepaper shows global cloud IP traffic will almost quadruple over the next five years.

But the rapid expansion of cloud has created a skills gap; there’s a lack of qualified cloud professionals. To support this growing demand, businesses require skilled cloud professionals.

Take advantage of this opportunity and expand your cloud skill set; how many of these in-demand skills do you possess?

Database and big data

It’s estimated that 80% of the world’s data is ‘dark’ – collected and stored by computers, but invisible and unusable to organisations.

Big data systems – delivered through the cloud – are starting to tap into this potential resource and the sector is predicted to grow at a rate of 60% annually, report IDC.

Experts argue that cloud will be the place where enterprise databases live – “The cloud is going to be the destination for a lot of this big data moving forward” says Jeff Kelly, big data expert at Wikibon.

Businesses need somewhere to store and access their data, which is now increasingly hosted in the public cloud. There are an abundance of cloud database services, provided by large cloud providers like Microsoft, Amazon AWS, and recently, Google. As organisations continue to migrate databases to the cloud, professionals should familiarise themselves with how these platforms work.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) provide Amazon Relational Database (RDS) which runs either MySQL, Oracle or SQL server instances. Alternatively, professionals can get to grips with the schema-less Amazon SimpleDB for smaller workloads.

Microsoft Azure uses SQL Database to provide access to a SQL database on the Azure platform, or a hosted SQL server instance on virtual machines.

Professionals can also opt for open source database platforms, like MongoDB. Learn how to code in Hadoop — a massively popular language used to process masses of data — and you’ll be well placed to take advantage of cloud’s big data revolution.

Luckily for professionals, database skills are well-supported by vendors. There are a number of database-focused Microsoft Azure certifications as well as the Big Data on AWS certification to support your learning.

There are also a huge breadth of big data and Hadoop MOOCs (Massively Open Online Courses) and certifications available from Cloudera.

Application security

As cyber threats become more complex and the number of businesses using the cloud attracts larger numbers of cyber criminals, cloud professionals must be increasingly vigilant when developing applications for the cloud.

The lack of thought given to security built into publicly used applications is a huge weakness, one that can be exploited by cyber criminals.

“On average there are now 777 cloud apps in use in European organisations, but 94.4% of these apps are not enterprise-ready from a security standpoint” states Eduard Meelhuysen, VP at cloud security firm Netskope.

Software developers must understand the security threats to software developed for cloud. It is ultimately the developer’s responsibility to ensure the security and compliance of their Azure applications.

Plus, when EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is introduced in 2018, Azure application security must improve or businesses will risk up to £17 million in fines.

However, with only 2% of cloud applications ready for GDPR, there’s a massive amount of work ahead for cloud professionals.

If you need to develop your security skills – or prove them to potential employers – consider attaining (ISC)2’s Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP) certification. This high-level certification is co-developed by the Cloud Security Alliance and provides an in-depth look at cloud application security.

Enterprise cloud migration

It’s not just small businesses that are migrating to the cloud, commercial enterprises are doing it too, and at an increasingly rapid rate.

Nearly 77% companies relied on traditional IT infrastructure in 2015. As large businesses migrate to cloud-based infrastructure, this number is likely to drop down to 43% in 2018, according to a report from MicKinsey’s Silicon Valley group.

But enterprises migrating their applications and services to the cloud continue to face roadblocks. Cloud migration challenges are among the top constraints for IT, according to a survey from Frost & Sullivan.

The cloud may offer some automated features, but migration is not one of them. This means that enterprises typically rely on customised, professional services from partners or providers.

Businesses require cloud professionals with the knowledge to oversee migration projects in an organised and secure way.

These professionals will also need in-depth knowledge of their chosen cloud platform. For Azure, professionals should consider attaining the Specialist: Implementing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions certification through the recommend Azure course.

Alternatively, AWS professionals should consider attaining the Certified Solutions Architect – Associate, which covers the process of shifting an existing on premise application to AWS.

Containers

The cloud computing industry has witnessed a surge in the use of containers, a more agile and secure alternative to VMs, designed to virtualise a single application. Containers are an ingenious way to develop and deploy micro-services, especially for cloud-based apps.

Whilst arguably not a career-defining skill for most, knowledge of containers is becoming increasingly important for cloud professionals. 81% of businesses suggested that they will increase use of containers in the future, according to a survey from Robin Systems.

Interestingly, 40% of respondents also said they had already deployed big data applications tools, like Spark and Hadoop in their containers.

Containers promise to make operations more portable and efficient. Impressively, the application container market will grow from £610 million in 2016 to £2.17 billion by 2020.

‘Containers will be used for deploying solutions to solve real-world business problems. Companies will use them to provide new services that are secure, efficient, elastic, and scalable,’ says Anand Krishnan, EVP and GM of cloud at Canonical

Amazon AWS and Microsoft provide container services and associated tutorials. Take a look at the Microsoft Virtual Academy for a detailed tutorial on Azure Container Service or the Amazon EC2 Container Service walkthrough.

Cloud enterprise application development

As more businesses launch public and private cloud initiatives, the importance of application development and testing in the cloud is increasing.

If applied properly, the cloud provides faster application development and can facilitate DevOps style collaboration. Other benefits include: using cloud features with minimal coding, reducing development time, and creating realistic distributed testing for application lifecycle management.

Amazon AWS supports development with the AWS SDK, enabling developers to code with Java, C#/.Net, Python and JavaScript. There’s also a AWS track for development and free training through a number of online self-paced labs.

Luckily, developers already familiar with Microsoft technologies, like the .NET framework and Visual Studio IDE, should find developing for Azure an easy transition. With solid infrastructure and service delivery guidelines behind Azure, most developers won’t need much more than their existing skills to get started building apps for Azure.

Editor’s note: Take a look at the 2016 must-have cloud skills list here. What do you make of both and how do they compare? Let us know in the comments.