In every career, some skills will land you a better job than others and developers are no exception. According to IBM, there is one ability that will make a real difference in the interview room: developers who can create the open-source technologies that underpin the cloud are by far the ones most likely to get a call-back.<\/p>\n
New research published by the company shows that developers who can boast skills in open-source cloud technologies are likely to have higher wages and more professional opportunities. Instead of focusing on capabilities that are related to a specific vendor's cloud, therefore, IBM recommends that developers start building skills around the open-source software that is used to run those clouds.<\/p>\n
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Big Blue commissioned a survey that was carried out last year by O'Reilly Media among over 3,400 developers, and technology managers across different industries and companies large and small. The findings were clear: over two-thirds of respondents reported preferring skills related to the cloud's underlying open-source technologies, while only 36% preferred skills related to a specific cloud platform.<\/p>\n
New research published by the company shows that developers who can boast skills in open-source cloud technologies are likely to have higher wages and more professional opportunities. <\/p>\n
In fact, knowledge of proprietary software seems to have taken a backseat compared to open-source technologies. More than nine in ten (94%) of respondents rated open-source software skills as equal or better to proprietary software; and the majority of developers surveyed (54%) reported that learning cloud-computing skills specific to a single cloud provider limits their professional growth.<\/p>\n
The past two decades have seen cloud technologies and open-source software grow in tandem, and this is partly because the two technologies complement each other well. Businesses tend to steer away from the risk of vendor lock-in, and have, therefore, increasingly turned to multi-cloud or hybrid cloud services. In many cases, it makes a lot more sense to rely on open-source software that can run everywhere instead of on a single vendor's proprietary tools.<\/p>\n
A previous study published by IBM found that a typical enterprise uses nearly eight clouds from multiple vendors, andanticipates that hybrid cloud adoptionwill grow by 47% in the next three years; and most companies will adopt an open cloud approach, based on open-source technologies, to create a flexible IT infrastructure. <\/p>\n
In fact, as IBM noted, almost all cloud platforms are now leveraging open-source technologies in one way or the other. For example, Kubernetes, a Google-designed open-source container orchestration system, already underpins most cloud services, including IBM's own OpenShift platform, whichthe company developed alongside Red Hat.<\/p>\n
Nearly all of the companies represented in IBM's latest survey reported using open-source software in some aspect of their operations; and 70% of respondents specifically said that they prefer cloud providers based on open source. \"These findings all point to one thing,\" said IBMin a blog post summarizing the report. \"Open source skills are in demand. Developing skills in open-source software that supports cloud technologies will do the most to advance your career.<\/p>\n
\"Whether you're a solo developer, work for a start-up, or a large enterprise, contributing to an open-source community will help you achieve your professional and business goals.\"<\/p>\n
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The conclusion falls in line with the findings of a recent study by the Linux Foundation, which found that hiring managersare 70% more likely to hire a professionalwith knowledge of open cloud technologies. At the same time, the same report showed that 93% of respondents were struggling to find sufficient talent with open-source skills.<\/p>\n
Mastering open-source tools and programming libraries can add a lot of value to a developers' CV, therefore. Among the most important tools to add to developers' skillset, Linux featured prominently, with an overwhelming 95% of developers saying they considered the technology to be important to their career; but the understanding of containers and databases also ranked high.<\/p>\n
IBM's latest research comes in the midst of increasing interest in open-source software, and a desire to tap the technology to create value. Not-for-profit think tank the OpenForum Europe recently found that the open-source ecosystemwas contributing up to 95 billion ($113.7 billion) per year to the EU's GDP; and that even a marginal increase of activity could boost the continent's wealth by hundreds of billions of euros. <\/p>\n
The interest in open-source is unlikely to be waning anytime soon, therefore; for developers ready to catch that wave, the technology could open up some bright career prospects.<\/p>\n
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