THE IMPENDING DATA CENTER TALENT CRISIS AND HOW TO AVERT IT

Transcription

1 THE IMPENDING DATA CENTER TALENT CRISIS AND HOW TO AVERT IT Srinivasa Rao Velamala, Head - Global Infrastructure Engineering Services. Wipro.

2 Table of contents 03 Abstract 03 The changing Data Center 03 The move to the cloud and what it entails 05 The skills shortage: gap analysis 05 Reasons for the skills gap 06 Changes in the DC environment leading to the skills gap 06 Our recommendations 07 In the area of skills development 07 In the area of skills sourcing 07 For a new data center location 07 Conclusion 08 About the author

3 Abstract The increasing reliance by businesses on IT infrastructure, especially on data centers, highlights a new worrisome trend the lack of suitably qualified staff to run and maintain these facilities. A shortage in the right skillsets, a deficit of relevant training programs and the increasing complexity of the data center environment has led to an impending data center talent crisis, forcing companies to put projects on hold due to a talent shortage. In this paper, we examine in detail the reasons for the talent shortage, and list our recommendations to bridge the gap at various levels in the areas of skills development, skills sourcing and for new locations of data centers. The changing Data Center The number of data-thirsty businesses that depend on reliable and high speed connectivity has increased significantly over the last few years. As data volumes continue to grow, there is increasing pressure on the data center (DC) to keep up with demand while reflecting the changes in the technological landscape such as virtualization, cloud computing, increasing mobility etc. Figure 1 gives a glimpse of the myriad technology aspects, both current and future, that have an implication on an organization s IT infrastructure

4 Figure 1: IT infrastructure trends IT CHARGE BACK ON CONSUMPTION INCREASED COLLABORATION VIRTUAL OFFICE Hybrid Internal Employees Partners Private BRIDGE Public Mobile Employees Customers Third Party Workforce Suppliers APPS STORE MOVING INSIDE FIREWALL VIRTUALIZATION WILL GO UP TO 95% INTEGRATED APPLIANCES Increased Adoption of Open Source Context aware computing Mobile devices play a dominating role Several aspects of the data center ecosystem have changed in the last five years. For instance, the earlier immature and fragmented market with many service providers is now consolidating, with fewer legacy suppliers; at the same time, offshore providers are expanding the scope of their offerings. What was once sole source or ad-hoc contracting with deal/one-off pricing to grab low-hanging fruit deals, with the details of delivery determined post-contract, is now comparative and competitive, with utility pricing models that have well-defined Service Delivery Models There has also been a shift in the geographical location of data centers. Even if we exclude the smaller server rooms and server closets in small businesses as well as remote branch offices, the number of data centers in operation worldwide today is over 191,000; 1 of these, more than 85% are located in the USA and Western Europe. 2 However, emerging Asian markets such as China, Singapore and other Asian nations are seeing strong data center growth due to the growing demands of their economies, with rising standards of living and increasing reliance on IT. (SDMs) for example, utilizing the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) approach with baselines and Service Level Agreements (SLAs) negotiated upfront. Service providers who were once merely looking to acquire processing capabilities with ill-defined offerings that relied on as-is client processes (often customized), are now trying to fill domain capabilities, and provide more standardized offerings, such as self-service platforms and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), along with front-end customizations as necessary. While earlier there was little to no ongoing outsourcing management capabilities among clients, today they have developed more sophisticated outsourcing governance organizations. The move to the cloud and what it entails Many organizations are expanding their virtualization initiatives in an attempt to move towards cloud computing. Such initiatives include using private cloud for some processes to gain the advantages of speed and security, extending into a hybrid cloud if necessary, and migrating certain systems to the public cloud for maximum flexibility, and to optimize capital expenses. Further, some high security applications may not be moved to cloud at all. The various cloud deployment models have their own 1 The Datacenter s role in delivering Business Innovation: an IDC whitepaper (November Wipro research

5 standards, configuration management databases (CMDB), orchestration and architecture. As these standards may be different from the enterprise s own standards and architecture, it is not always possible to apply a common monitoring framework to manage and maintain systems between private and public clouds. In fact, this situation will entail the need for a new skill set, a sort of three-tier system with high-end, low-end and development profiles, to continually monitor and update the orchestration layers. The skills shortage: gap analysis Reasons for the skills gap With the changing face of the data center, IT functions have a fresh set of challenges to deal with such as keeping abreast of the new innovations and developing the required skills to make the most of the new technologies. The modern data center a highly automated, dense and virtualized IT infrastructure demands that IT professionals understand multiple disciplines as well as the facilities infrastructure. In addition, the evolving dynamics of the data center, with its mission-critical applications, require specific skills to deliver performance, availability and security. The staffing :. requirements of a data center are also dependent on several other attributes, such as the nature and growth rate of the industry (which can impact date center budgets), nature of growth (cyclical industry fluctuations can affect staffing needs), company size (which drives economies of scale), or the distributed nature of the operations (which may require similar skills across the various locations). Due to the specialized nature of the skills required in the data center industry, there is a limited pool of exceptional workers to tap, and there are also no graduate programs specific to the skills required. Table 1 below lists the various data center skills required along with the current skill gaps According to the DatacenterDynamics Industry Census for 2012, 3 more than 60% of operators have huge concerns about the lack of suitably qualified staff to maintain their facilities (see Figure 2). Coupled with a limited number of people with the experience and qualifications necessary at the higher levels of the industry, this has led to an almost recession-proof growth in salary levels worldwide, especially in the more well-established markets. Table 1: Data center skills gap Skill Category Skill Name Desired Expertise Level Usual skill source Skill Gap/ Challenge Engineer Architect Structural Engineer Power/cooling Engineer Datacenter Architect Entrprise Data Architect Network Architect Storage Architect In-House In-House In-House/SP In-House/SP Server Admin to Storage Admin to Network Admin to Tech support Database Admin to Operrations support - Batch, backup Datacenter Operations Manager In-House Management Datacenter Facilities Manager In-House

6 Key Areas of concern by Data Center Operators 2012/2013 Power costs Reduced operating budgets Reduced capital budgets 72.9% 72.8% 68.2% Skills shortage 60.5% Power availability Labour costs 51.1% 51.1% Lack of sitable real estate for development 39.9% Lack of local outsourcing facilities 34.8% Figure 2: Key areas of concern (source: Datacenter salary Whitepaper 2013: DCD Intelligence) There are several reasons for the data center skills gap, which may be analyzed as follows: 1. Lack of a structured career track at architect level: A well-defined career track to acquire the skills required for data center operations and management are missing at several organizations. Currently, the journey to become a DC architect is different for different people. However, a defined model (for example, creating Centers of Excellence, or investing in infrastructure to enable hands-on experience) :. will ensure that a DC architect has exposure to the required skill ingredients in the right proportion. 2. Too few foundation programs covering data center as a topic: Large service providers today have a factory kind of model to build skills; however, these programs operate mostly at an individual level. Integrated programs at the data center level would help create a large work force that gets early orientation on various aspects of the data center. 3. Lack of academic focus: Major programming languages, models related to synchronous data link control (SDLC), IT quality frameworks etc are covered as part of the academic course work in programs like Computer Technology, Engineering in IT, etc. While these programs help create skills in the Application Development & Management area, there are hardly any specific topics covered at an academic level for specialized areas like the data center. 4. Few employability options post-college: Due to the criticality of the data center environment, a fresh graduate rarely finds employment opportunities in this area, although, with the relevant skills, he/she can easily find a job in the testing, development or the ADM areas. In addition, choosing the data center area as a career track is not very lucrative, since one needs to spend at least a couple of years during the early stages of one s career procuring training/certifications and initial shadow exposure. 5. Insufficient training and certifications at the data center level: The fast changing technology landscape at the data center with new technologies like virtualization, cloud etc requires the constant updating of skills at a rapid pace. However, while there are training/certifications for topics such as virtualization, more comprehensive programs are needed to provide the skills required for advanced DC architect roles. Changes in the DC environment leading to the skills gap Over the next few years, increasing standardization and automation will reduce the need for low-end L0 and L1 profiles by around 30%; at the same time, the requirement for high-end profiles will grow due to the increasing complexity of the data center. However, it is not possible to ramp up the next level of skills (L2 to L4) overnight. In addition, over the last two decades, many of the low-level reactive jobs were offshored, leaving only policy makers (i.e., customers) in the developed markets, many of whom are approaching retirement. These twin developments both offshore and onsite are creating a vacuum in the skills market the talent crisis. Our recommendations The shortage of the appropriate skills is emerging as a significant and complex challenge to growth and future of data center operations across organizations. As a result, productivity, efficiency, and morale suffer. How,

7 then, can the skills gap be addressed? Here are our recommendations: In the area of skills development At the in-house IT organization level: The IT organization should focus primarily on developing strong data center architecture and enterprise data architecture skills among its employees. Facilities and Operations management should be part of in-house support in the case of customer-owned data-centers. At the data center service provider level: The main focus of the service providers should be to develop strong support skills in the server, storage, network and database areas. Architect skills in the area of storage and network are also needed in order to provide end-to-end data center management services. At the DC products/tools provider level: The tools provider should invest in advanced training/certification programs for its employees in the products and tools related to new technologies of the data center such as virtualization, cloud etc. At the academic/educational level: Considering the demand for these subjects, institutions would do well to introduce new courses covering data center-relevant topics such as DCIM, virtualization etc in their curricula In the area of skills sourcing At the in-house level: From a cost and manageability point of view, geographical stability, political stability etc, the new location of a data center should also take into account the availability of the relevant data center skills at that location. For example, some of the emerging market locations like China and India also have a large and relevant skills base for data center services, making them worthwhile options to pursue. Interestingly, with data centers moving offshore, there are more opportunities for service provider personnel to gain experience in hands-on DC skills, instead of merely providing remote services. Conclusion Over the last two decades, the data center has emerged as one of the enterprise s most valuable and highly visible assets. However, there has not been a commensurate increase in the skills necessary to maintain this infrastructure, leading to an ominous skills gap that must be addressed as soon as possible. This can be done through the concentrated efforts of all the players in the data center ecosystem, such as the organizations, the service providers and academia. Data center-specific courses and training programs such as those in virtualization and cloud-computing can fill a knowledge gap and help ensure a well-qualified team with the skills necessary to run an increasingly mission-critical facility like the data center. organizations should utilize competent service providers especially in technical areas like server, network, storage, database and operations. Co-located data centers can also explore the option of sourcing data center architects from the service provider, if this skill is not available in-house. At the data center service provider level: The service provider should create a comprehensive framework for developing and sourcing data center skills at varied skill levels. Data center competency-build programs at the foundation level must be devised so that the sourcing function can take in fresh college graduates and train them in data center skills. A clearly defined career track will help junior staff stay focused on developing higher skills up to the architect level. For a new data center location Apart from factors such as the cost of real estate, power tariff rates,

8 About the author Srinivasa Rao Velamala is the head of Wipro s Global Infrastructure Engineering Services. He has over 26 years of experience in the IT industry (including a six-year stint in the USA), with a successful track record in infrastructure management. He has worked with large firms such as Fidelity Investments, Siltonic and CMC, and has set up large architecture teams to manage voice, data and managed services. He has managed teams with more than 250 members including 60 architects, providing support in areas such as Remote Infrastructure Management Services, Database Management, Enterprise Application Support, Data Center Services, Release & Configurations Management and Batch Processing. Global Infrastructure Services Global Infrastructure Services (GIS), a unit of Wipro Limited, is an end to end IT infrastructure & outsourcing services provider to global customers across 57 countries. Its suite of Technology Infrastructure services spanning Data Centre, End User Computing, Networks, Managed Services, Business Advisory and Global System Integration. Wipro, is a pioneer in Infrastructure Management services and is amongst the fastest-growing providers across the world. GIS enables customers to do business better by enabling innovation via standardization and automation, so that businesses can be more agile & scalable, so that they can find growth and succeed in their global business. Backed by our strong network of Integrated ServiceNXT Operation Centres and 11 owned data centres spread across US, Europe and APAC, this unit serves more than 500+ clients across with a global team of 23,800 professionals and contributes to over 30% of Wipro s IT Services revenues of Wipro Limited. About Wipro Ltd. Wipro Ltd. (NYSE:WIT) is a leading Information Technology, Consulting and Outsourcing company that delivers solutions to enable its clients do business better. Wipro delivers winning business outcomes through its deep industry experience and a 360 degree view of "Business through Technology" - helping clients create successful and adaptive businesses. A company recognized globally for its comprehensive portfolio of services, a practitioner's approach to delivering innovation and an organization wide commitment to sustainability, Wipro has a workforce of 140,000 serving clients across 57 countries. For more information, please visit

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