Business executives have been hearing for quite some time about the business advantages of cloud and IT-as-a-Service (ITaaS), and more recently about Data Science and Big Data Analytics. However, implementing cloud or Big Data strategies is not just about the technology. New roles, skills and business models are required for these strategies to succeed.
There has been a fair amount of press coverage and industry buzz about the significant skills gap for technical skills related to cloud and Big Data analytics, and how the shortage of skilled IT professionals is a key impediment to successful cloud and Big Data implementations. But, the skills gap goes beyond technical professionals. Many of those who completed EMC’s Cloud Architect or Data Science and Big Data Analytics training and certification programs told us that they wished there was similar training designed for their business management team. In fact, in a recent EMC survey1 of over 1000 IT professionals in 600 companies worldwide, overall, only 18% of respondents felt that their management had strong skills in cloud and ITaaS, and only 16% believed their management had strong skills in data science and Big Data analytics.
So how do business leaders get smarter about these topics?
To help business executives develop the skills they need to undertake one of the biggest transformations in the history of IT, EMC is excited to introduce two new courses: Cloud and IT as a Service for Business Transformation and Data Science and Big Data Analytics for Business Transformation.Offered as one-day courses as well as 90+ minute Executive Modules, the courses provide business leaders with the tools and knowledge needed to successfully implement cloud or Big Data analytics strategies within their organizations.
Education and skills development are critical to the success of business transformation, and those at the top must be part of the solution. Smarter, educated people do better things for their business. They make better decisions, increase productivity, improve operations, and have faster implementations. Cloud, ITaaS, Data Science and Big Data Analytics all hold enormous promise for business advantage, but unless you invest in developing the right skills across the organization, your implementations will not be as successful as they could be.
1 “Managing Information Storage: Trends, Challenges and Options-2013-2014” to be published May 7, 2013
