Companies Embark On Cloud Hiring Spree

Hiring for staff with cloud computing skills has soared in recent months, according to tech news site Data Center Knowledge.

A recent survey by accounting and consulting organisation BDO also reveals that cloud technology has been key in boosting US technology companies’ hiring plans for 2011.

Hiring increase

The trends demonstrate the growing importance of cloud computing, with many companies turning to hosted services as a way to cut costs during the economic crisis, according to industry observers. Some argue cloud computing is relatively environmentally friendly as it promotes the more efficient use of resources through centralisation.

Data Center Knowledge founder and analyst Rich Miller pointed out that listings for cloud-computing related jobs have soared in recent months, according to jobs sites such as Indeed, and pointed out significant cloud hiring plans by Amazon.com and Rackspace.

“While much of the US economy experiences a ‘jobless recovery’, the cloud computing sector is hiring like mad,” Miller said in a research note published on Monday. “Demand for technologists with cloud skills is surging.”

Amazon.com is currently listing more than 900 technical jobs, including 423 jobs in Amazon’s cloud computing division, Amazon Web Services (AWS), according to Miller.

He also pointed out that Rackspace Hosting is hiring for 100 positions in various IT areas. “Most of the growth at Rackspace over the past year has occurred in the company’s cloud computing business,” Miller stated.

A survey published by BDO earlier this month found that nearly half (46 percent) of major US technology companies expected to increase employee numbers this year, with only 7 percent expecting staff levels to decrease.

Cloud flexibility

The survey found that 72 percent of companies surveyed were currently using cloud computing for improved business agility, scalability and cost flexibility. The number of companies using cloud computing was up 29 percent from 2010, BDO found.

Among the companies using cloud computing, 55 percent expected to increase its use in 2011, a figure 53 percent higher than in 2010.

Cloud computing has helped companies to recover from the recession by giving them a more flexible infrastructure, BDO said.

“The flexibility and scalability of cloud computing created cost-effective infrastructures that allowed adopters to weather the recession and emerge ahead of the curve,” said Hank Galligan, leader in the Technology and Life Sciences Practice at BDO, in a statement. “These forward-thinking companies are now giving the green light to new initiatives, and plan to devote resources to attracting and retaining top talent.”