Virtualisation Administrators (VA) have had a good run of being in demand for some time but, as more companies move to multi-cloud environments, only the VAs who can adapt and build on the skills to remain relevant, will continue to enjoy a rewarding career.
Server virtualisation is not what it was just a few short years ago. The tech has moved on at a rapid pace and some VAs have not managed to keep up.
As tech recruiters for over a decade, we’ve seen the role evolve into one that is a far cry from the one we were recruiting for in the early days.
Today, many of the old responsibilities are now undertaken by others within the organisation, leaving the new breed of VA with a different set of objectives.
- Firstly, as more hypervisors are now on the scene (VMWare’s vSphere and Microsoft’s Hyper-V, for example), the use of multiple hypervisors is now common place and today’s VA needs to be well-versed in the features and interfaces of both.It is no longer enough to understand the terminology of vSphere alone – you need to be able to translate both.
- Secondly, as hybrid cloud environments and self-service IT becomes increasingly popular, the VA is freed up to focus on the underlying infrastructure, ensuring it remains viable, reliable and compliant.
- An appreciation of multiple cloud providers is also essential.There’s a clear theme running here. As tech has evolved, more providers and solutions have entered the market and the new VA can no longer sit in the comfort of the favourites they’ve used for years. Today’s VA understands the features and benefits of using Amazon andMicrosoft cloud services. It’s not just about supporting the machines; it’s about supporting multi cloud environments and you need to know what each provider can offer in terms of features and cost.
There are many virtualisation trends set to disrupt the VA role in 2018. A great article for those VAs wanting to develop their skills is this one: Virtualisation Trends in 2018, which gives a great outline of what a VA can do to future-proof their career.
From serverless computing and edge computing to containers and configuration management, the VA must adapt to new infrastructure. VAs are still very much needed within the organisation in the near future but under a new guise; one where their old skills can be put to new use in the multi-cloud environment.
To find out more about what employers are looking for from VAs in 2018, take a look at these current IT jobs.