The beauty of cloud computing is the fact that it’s able to provide the foundation for countless programs and digital tools used in nearly every industry today; cloud services are incredibly flexible, they’re affordable and they’re completely changing the way we view the roles of IT professionals.

But wait — let’s stop at IT professionals for a minute. Cloud computing is a great technological advancement in the world of IT services, but it’s also having a major effect on how IT departments operate within companies.

According to recent research by BetterCloud as part of its “Trends in Cloud IT” series, it’s clear that cloud services are having a major impact on how IT departments are contributing to their companies. In a survey of more than 1,500 IT employees, researchers found that the average cloud IT admin has 15 years of experience and two different certifications.

According to betanews, the average IT worker managing cloud services has begun spending more time on tasks that involve developing cloud security, user training, and strategic use of specific programs.

Rather than spending tons of time on mindless tasks regarding storage and maintenance, it appears that many cloud IT employees — regardless of how much prior training they received — are focusing more on analytics and real-world usage of data within their companies.

Most importantly, as CIO reported, the survey shows that cloud implementation allows for more IT opportunities. Despite the fact that a majority of businesses (82%) state that they’ve cut down on costs by switching to the cloud, only 14% of businesses ended up downsizing their IT departments; instead of cutting jobs and losing good employees, businesses have been able to find new ways to bring their IT departments into the workflow.

“You become more empowered with cloud services and you end up being able to deliver more than you would otherwise,” says Robert Joseph, CEO, Step Ahead Solutions, Inc. “It is all about growth, quality of services, cost and time is all that matters for IT to be more responsive to the needs of the business demands. One has to keep moving his cheese to be ahead of his competition. One who embraces change, has more to get from it than lose.It is only a matter of time cloud computing is going to be mainstream and that means one staying in his comfort zone is not going to last long. It is better to accept new ways of computing than stay away from it! — Robert Joseph, CEO, Step Ahead Solutions, Inc.