Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Cristian Palomo-Ramirez
CST 300 Writing Lab
18 September 2018
The cloud computing industry is one that is rapidly growing. Although people may not
realize it, many websites or other internet services today are available thanks to cloud computing.
Many of the biggest internet based applications that are used today such as e-mail, music
streaming platforms, Netflix, and others all rely on cloud computing services to function. It has
definitely become an essential part of today’s online experience. So what is it? Cloud computing
is an industry that focuses on providing software and computing services via internet (What is
cloud). This is much different than traditional computing as before, startup companies and
websites had to have the hardware and database capabilities in order to be successful and that
could be take a lot of time and money to obtain. Thanks to the rise of cloud computing today, it
has never been easier for new startups and businesses to get going. What used to require big
databases, servers, and IT expertise for companies to be established is now not only made easy
and convenient, but also much cheaper allowing companies to allocate resources into other areas
Over the past decade or so, the cloud computing industry has seen many big name
companies get their foot in the door to start providing services. These include companies such as
Amazon, Google, Microsoft, IBM, and many others. As technological capabilities of cloud
services grow, so does the demand for these services. According to Gartner Inc. research,
revenue from cloud services is expected to grow 21.4% in 2018 which is about a $30 billion
increase (Moore 2018). The growth of the industry make it a very enticing field to go into, as
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surely these companies will be expanding their workforce to keep up with growing demand for
One of the biggest companies in the Cloud Computing industry right now is a subsidiary
of Amazon Inc. called Amazon Web Services. They are based in Seattle, Washington just like its
parent company and they have branch offices all over the country and even some other parts of
the world. They also conveniently have a branch office located in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Amazon Web Services was established in 2006 to help provide cloud services. According to
their Owler profile, they employ an estimated 23,000 people. AWS have a wide variety of
different products they offer customers via cloud like developer tools, storage, database,
analytics, machine learning, game development, and many others (About AWS). With so many
services offered relating to lots of different aspects of computing, it is no wonder why large
numbers of new companies are turning to AWS to provide what they need to be successful.
leadership roles at the company before taking over as the head of AWS. He graduated with an
AB from Harvard University and MBA from Harvard business school. Another major figure in
the leadership of Amazon Web Services is Jeff Bezos. As many people know, he is the founder
of Amazon, the parent company of AWS ad helped turn it into the e-commerce giant that it is
today. Today, Bezos is still the president and CEO of Amazon. He graduated from Princeton
University in 1986 with degrees in computer science as well as electrical engineering (Jeff
Bezos).
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One unique aspect of Amazon Web Services is its versatility. To understand what they
can offer businesses, it is important to look at the different types of cloud computing that are
common today that AWS provides. There are three types; Infrastructure as a Service, Platform as
a Service, and Software as a Service. (Grance & Mell, 2011) These can be thought of as a level
functions. Examples of this include networks, data storage space, and hardware (2011). The next
one, Platform as a Service, is the service where the company provides the environment for the
company to develop and test their software or application product (2011). Think of operating
systems. Finally, Software as a Service is where the cloud company provides a software to the
customer while also providing the necessary infrastructure and maintenance behind it so that the
consumer is able to focus on its product (2011). It is these levels of service, along with their pay
as you go pricing that make AWS enticing to businesses because they are able to select what
level of service they need to purchase based on the needs of the company, allowing them to save
money that can be invested into other areas of the company. Along with these levels of service,
AWS also lets its customers choose between private, public, community, or hybrid clouds.
(2011) This means that a company utilizing AWS can choose if they want a cloud service that
can be accessed by the general public, one that is closed to anyone except a certain group, or
something in between all depending on what type of service that company is going to offer. This
draws startups and other businesses to Amazon Web Services, and part of the reason why the
Like any other industry today, there are always trends taking place. Each year the website
RightScale holds a survey with businesses using cloud computing services. A few of the most
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interesting trends of 2018 are the following: Amazon Web Services has the most users,
Microsoft has shown the biggest growth, and public clouds are becoming more and more popular
(Weins 2018).
Amazon Web Services generally has a good reputation as being the most widely used out
of all its competitors. Financially, it is doing very well with an estimated annual revenue of $3.5
billion according to the Amazon Web Services Owler profile. In 2018, Amazon was also
awarded number one of LinkedIn’s annual list of top companies to work for (Schrodt 2018).
According to indeed.com, the average salary for a worker at AWS is about $107,000 pear year
(Kim 2016).
The cloud computing industry seems intriguing because of its rapid growth. With
growing demand for these services being offered comes a growing demand for employees for the
companies as they will be expanding its services and the job market for these positions will be
good. What interests me most about working in this industry sector is the the potential for growth
and innovation that it has. The industry is barely in its beginning stages and in the little amount
of time that companies like Amazon Web Services have emerged, they have already seen huge
growth and innovation. The other great aspect of this industry is that the companies providing
cloud computing are enablers for the growth of other groundbreaking and innovating companies
that are springing up today. They provide technology to supports these startups that could end
changing in the world in the future. That is what makes me want to pursue a job in this sector;
not just the idea of having a stable income, but also the thought that my work is contributing to
Although there may be many jobs in this industry in the future, it is important to know
that competition for these positions will definitely be high as well. That is why having a plan to
obtain a job in the field is essential. Personally, the first step in that process would be to continue
studies at CSU Monterey Bay and ultimately graduate with as BS in Computer Science. A couple
of the future classes that will help in preparation are CST 338 Software Design and CST 312
Network Security. This will provide a lot of the fundamental skills needed in jobs within this
industry, but it won’t provide everything. The plan is to one day pursue a masters degree in the
field, but that will be in future most likely after landing a job in the industry first. Time will still
need to be put in outside of the classroom in order to be competitive in the job market. After
graduating, my plan is to complete certifications in the field that are available. Amazon Web
Services actually offers a variety of cloud computing certifications which would be ideal if trying
to to get a position there or even at another company (About AWS). They offer three levels of
certification: foundational, associate, and professional. The certifications that look most valuable
to me are professional certifications as DevOps engineer and solutions architect. While these
may cost some money, they will likely be worth it in the long run. The next step in obtaining a
job in the industry will be to land an internship with one of the aforementioned companies. This
is a step that seems very doable and will most likely be key in getting my foot-in-the-door at one
of these companies. Internships are great because one is able to gain experience and skill under
the guidance of the company and even possibly be recruited into the company at the end of the
tenure. Even if I was not to be hired by the interning company, being able to put that on a resume
along with the knowledge gained will be huge assets in trying to apply to future companies. The
LinkedIn account and portfolio. Although my LinkedIn is just starting out, I plan to expand it
over the years to network with my fellow students, colleagues, and all other professional
relationships. These days, everyone has a LinkedIn. As for a portfolio, it would be great to have
one to show companies examples of projects I have been working on in the past. I currently have
a GitHub account, but all that it really contains is old projects from previous classes. As I move
forward in my professional career I will continue to collect the projects I work on in GitHub to
grow my portfolio.
With so many big name companies establishing cloud computing service platforms in the
past decade, the future is looking promising for the industry. As these companies grow, so will
the services they offer as well as the demand for them. The cloud computing industry is
important because it is making computing more accessible in ways that were not possible just 15
years ago. With this new method of computing, there are endless possibilities for the future of
tech startups and small businesses. It won’t be easy to land a job in this industry. With hard work
and a proper plan of action for the next few years, however, my goal is certainly attainable. I
look forward to one day working for one of these companies and contribute to the advancement
of computing technology.
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References
AWS competitors, revenue, number of Employees, funding and acquisitions. (n.d.). Retrieved
from https://www.owler.com/company/awsevents
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=97664&p=irol-govBio&ID=156701
https://www.biography.com/people/jeff-bezos-9542209
Kim, Eugene. (2016, November 1). Here's what people say about working at AWS, Amazon’s
https://www.businessinsider.com/what-its-like-to-work-at-amazon-web-services-2016-1
Mell, P. M., & Grance, T. (2011). The NIST Definition of Cloud Computing. National Institute
Moore, S. (2018, April 12). Gartner forecasts worldwide public cloud revenue to grow 21.4
Schrodt, Paul. (2018, March 21). The 50 best places to work, according to LinkedIn. Retrieved
from http://time.com/money/5208407/best-places-to-work-linkedin/
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/overview/what-is-cloud-computing/
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Weins, K. (2018, February 13). Cloud computing trends: 2018 State of the Cloud Survey.
Retrieved from
https://www.rightscale.com/blog/cloud-industry-insights/cloud-computing-trends-2018-st
ate-cloud-survey