No doubt about it, cloud computing has dominated the arena for enterprise IT during the last decade. The global market for cloud services is maturing big-time, with proven speed, scale and security to support new business models. In fact, data from Gartner indicates three years from now more than $1.3 trillion in IT spending will be impacted directly or indirectly by the shift to cloud computing.
On a similar note, a finding by Oracle projects 80 percent of all enterprise (and mission-critical) workloads will move to the cloud in 2020. The implication for this is demand for cloud computing skills is set to increase exponentially. To put this into perspective, consider the following figures from Gartner TalentNeuron, an online talent market intelligence portal that provides real-time labor market insights:
- In 2018, the median salary for cloud computing skills stood at $146,350 and continued to rise through 2019.
- The most in-demand, cloud computing skills include Linux, Java, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Software Development, Docker, Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), and DevOps.
- Employers are finding it difficult to find the right candidates with cloud computing skill sets, with the average job post for a cloud computing engineer staying open 46 days.
- The top five cities where the demand for cloud computing engineers is highest is Washington DC, Arlington-Alexandra VA, San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward CA, New York-Newark-Jersey City NY, San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara CA, and Chicago-Naperville-Elgin IL.
So the big question is, what are some of the best cloud computing companies to work for in 2019?
The Best Cloud Computing Employers
Here’s a detailed look at some of the best companies cloud computing professionals should consider.
An asterisk (*) next to the companies name means that they rely on Akraya to provide them with cloud talent. Click here to search our current cloud openings.
Amazon*
Amazon Web Services is one of the leading players in the cloud computing market. AWS key strongholds include DevOps, backup and restore, web hosting, business applications, blockchain, serverless computing, hybrid cloud architectures, etc.
Data from Synergy Research Group shows that Amazon Web Services market holds 33 percent of the cloud infrastructure market which includes raw computing and storage, services for running applications and hosted private cloud.
In terms of IaaS, AWS now covers 114 Points of Presence and 52 Availability Zones in 18 different regions. The company is even planning to open 12 more Availability Zones and four regions including Bahrain, Hong Kong, Sweden and a second GovCloud in the U.S.
Google*
Google has invested $30 billion in its cloud infrastructure over the past three years. The returns have been massive as Alphabet announced that the Google cloud is already a billion-dollar-per-quarter business.
Google started as PaaS cloud computing service and later moved to IaaS and SaaS. It’s cloud platform offers products and services in compute (Compute Engineer, App Engine), Cloud AI (AutoML ALPHA, Cloud TPU), API platform and ecosystems, developer and management tools, storage and databases (Storage, SQL, Bigtable), among others. Throw in all of Google’s famous employee perks, and its an obvious company to include in this list.
(Read The Ultimate Guide for a Successful Cloud Engineering Career)
SAP
SAP cloud is a PaaS service platform that provides services and tools to build and deploy cloud-ready sample app, extensions, and open integrations, to connect any digital products. SAP cloud allows connection and integration with other SAP cloud systems and solutions (think SAP HANA and databases, data warehousing, application integration and infrastructure, enterprise information management, big data, etc.)
Data from Fact.MR estimates the SAP cloud platform services market will experience exponential growth over the coming years, with the market expanding at a value CAGR of 29.5% throughout the period of 2018 to 2028.
SAP has fantastic ratings from its employees on Glassdoor and Indeed. They are also rated as the #28 best company to work for in the US by Forbes. They are not only a great employer for cloud professionals, but other types of professionals as well.
VMware*
VMware is another leading company in the cloud computing and virtualization space. Figures from a study by IDC showed that VMware’s vendor revenue in the worldwide cloud system management software and SaaS grew 18% in 2017 to exceed $4 billion.
The company serves public, private, and hybrid cloud computing structures. With its five cloud products (think Cloud Foundation, Cloud-Native Apps, NSX Cloud, vRealize Suite, and NSX Cloud), VMware provides solutions in integration public clouds, virtual cloud network, modernization data centers, virtualization management, among others.
VMware has also been listed on a number of “Great Places to Work” lists, making it a prime employer of choice for many cloud professionals.
Oracle
Oracle is also a big player in the cloud infrastructure market. Interesting to note is that it leads the market with growth by revenue in iPaaS, with data from Gartner showing that the company’s market share by revenue grew 270% between 2016 and 2017.
Oracle has invested heavily to develop its own cloud applications for customer relationship management (CRM), enterprise resource planning (ERP), supply chain management (SCM) and human capital management (HCM) functions. The company recently acquired NetSuite for mid-market ERP and Aconex for Cloud apps for construction companies. They are constantly looking to hire top-notch cloud professionals.
IBM
IBM made headlines when it bought Red Hat for $34 billion last year. The company wants to be a top player in the hybrid cloud revolution.
IBM cloud standout services include web and native mobile apps, disaster recovery, building and running websites, DevOps, hybrid IT management, backup and restore, high-speed data transfer, API economy, digital business automation, SaaS integration, etc.
Despite the fact that IBM isn’t usually mentioned in the same breath as other, younger tech companies when it comes to being a top employer, it is definitely worth considering. IBM receives high marks on both Glassdoor and Indeed from current and past employees.
Adobe*
There are few companies that have transitioned their products and services to the cloud better than Adobe. They are a multinational computer software company headquartered in San Jose, California and the company offers features such as enhanced security and control, Adobe products (think Adobe Stock, Dreamweaver, Adobe XD, Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, Character Animator, etc.), data management platform, audience manager, and error-proof workflows.
Adobe gets high marks on Glassdoor (4.1 stars) and Indeed (4.3 stars).
Microsoft
Microsoft is another cloud computing company that is quickly gaining ground in the public cloud infrastructure market. It currently holds 29.4% of the installed base, measured by application workloads. As a matter of fact, numbers from a Q4 FY 2018 earnings report suggests that revenue generated from Microsoft’s cloud offering, Azure, grew at 89% compared to Q1 FY 2017.
Azure covers all three cloud services options, that is, IaaS, PaaS and SaaS.
Salesforce
Salesforce is a provider of PaaS and SaaS cloud computing services which include account and contact management, omnichannel routing, opportunity tracking, sales analytics, among others.
Interesting to note is that studies confirm Salesforce dominates the customer relationship management (CRM) software market segment especially with data showing the CRM market is growing at a rapid rate where a higher proportion of spending occurs in the cloud than in traditional software.
Salesforce is ranked #2 on Forbes 2019 best places to work.
The Takeaway
There are other, lesser-known companies that should be near the top of your list as well, including Zoho, Qubole, Reltio, Mendix, Databricks, Netskope, OutSystems, Box, Skytap, and LogicMonitor. Its also important to remember that most industries including banking, retail, education, healthcare, manufacturing, real estate, automotive, non-profits, and many others rely on cloud talent. They are all in desperate need of qualified talent.
Cloud computing is transforming nearly every enterprise, industry, and product/service. Business organizations are applying cloud technologies in meaningful ways across their operations, driving new business, creating new value, and building more sophisticated applications. This means that cloud computing skills are growing in demand and show no signs of slowing down.