Not all that long ago, schools, businesses, teachers, and parents were just barely wrapping their heads around going digital. Focus shifted rapidly from traditional models to new and innovative methods of communication and teaching digitally. Now, that pin is being pushed in a little bit further—today, it’s not just about going digital; it’s about the cloud.
The cloud, no longer just a white fluffy apparition in the sky, is the term used for data storage outside of physical machines. Instead of saving documents to computers, floppy disks, or thumb drives, people are now storing everything in the nebulous “cloud.” Accessible from virtually anywhere, anytime, the cloud is now being looked to for the future of technology.
In a panel discussion between Silicon Valley executives, Keith Krach of DocuSign said that he believes the cloud will transform the perception of IT as we know it. He added that the corporate world “has a negative view of corporate IT, but the cloud is going to change that… I’m optimistic about the cloud’s role for the enterprise IT profiession.”
The development and use of the cloud will spur faster innovation. “It will be so easy and fast to spin up a server, there will be so many resources available,” Krach said. “IT departments have a wonderful opportunity to embrace that.”
What does this mean for our students? It makes learning in conjunction with technology a must. IT is predicted to be a major source for jobs in the future, and at our current rate, many of those jobs will simply be unfillable for lack of qualified applicants. With IT growing as an industry, our students should be encouraged to pursue career paths that will enable them to grow with the market.
Companies are investing millions of dollars in cloud technologies for internal communications, analytics, and more. Educating today’s youth to be familiar with and competent in various areas within the technology industry will give them their best chance for success as adults.