When discussing the growing popularity of cloud computing, one must also consider the extreme shortage of cloud computing skills that has forced CIOs to train their own staff. When Majestic Realty Co., a Los Angeles-based commercial real estate developer, moved to Microsoft’s Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS) for cloud-based email in early 2011, CIO Jon Grunzweig was shocked by the lack of technical support he found for BPOS in the marketplace.
“A year ago, no one knew anything about BPOS,” he says. “We couldn’t get good advice ahead of time on what to look out for, what to think about. That knowledge wasn’t there. Microsoft didn’t have it. Neither did third-parties.”
Across the IT industry, CIOs, technology vendors, and consultants agree that there is a serious shortage of cloud computing skills that threatens to hamper adoption.