Change is the Only Constant

This presentation provides some suggestions to help IT professionals keep up with the constant change in the IT industry.

Transcript

1. Scott Lowe, VCDX 39 Author, Blogger, Geek http://blog.scottlowe.org / Twitter: @scott_lowe Colossians 3:17 NIV Change is the Only Constant Five suggestions to help you keep up with the constant change in the IT industry
2. Before we begin • Get involved! Audience participation is encouraged and requested • If you use social media, feel free to post updates about this presentation (use hashtag #WPVMUG or the @MyVMUG handle) • You are welcome to take photos or videos of today’s presentation and share them online • This presentation will be made available online after the event
3. A quick intro • Husband, father, Jeeper, all-around geek • Blogger (11+ years at http://blog.scottlowe.org) • Author (7 books so far, 2 more in the works) • Speaker (Interop, VMworld, DevOps Networking Forum, OpenStack Summit, local meetups) • Podcaster (The Full Stack Journey podcast) • Employee at VMware, Inc., on the CTO team for NSX
4. What are we talking about today?
5. Signi cant trends in the IT industry • Public cloud (distinct and separate from private cloud)
6. Signi cant trends in the IT industry • Public cloud (distinct and separate from private cloud) • DevOps
7. Signi cant trends in the IT industry • Public cloud (distinct and separate from private cloud) • DevOps • Automation and orchestration
8. Signi cant trends in the IT industry • Public cloud (distinct and separate from private cloud) • DevOps • Automation and orchestration • “Infrastructure as code”
9. Signi cant trends in the IT industry • Public cloud (distinct and separate from private cloud) • DevOps • Automation and orchestration • “Infrastructure as code” • APIs for everything
10. Signi cant trends in the IT industry • Public cloud (distinct and separate from private cloud) • DevOps • Automation and orchestration • “Infrastructure as code” • APIs for everything • Containers
11. These trends are dramatically reshaping the IT industry as we know it.
12. What can we do?
13. Continous learning is the new normal.
14. Five suggestions to help 1. Start with the vocabulary 2. Focus on foundational concepts 3. Work smarter, not harder 4. Embrace automation 5. Share what you’ve learned
15. Start with the vocabulary • De ne key terms for the thing you’re learning • This helps with improved comprehension as you progress • Lots of tools to help here • Simple text le • Outlining application • Evernote/OneNote
16. Focus on foundational concepts • When learning something new, focus on foundational concepts instead of vendor-speci c implementation details • You’ll still need an implementation to help you learn • Try to extract foundational concepts • Read RFCs/standards/core documentation • Compare and contrast vendor-speci c implementations
17. Work smarter, not harder • Per RFC 1925, “With suf cient thrust, pigs y just ne” • Don’t brute force it, be smart about it! • Find ways to align your efforts with those of your team or community • Leverage your team or community (don’t be afraid to ask for help)
18. Embrace automation • Automation and orchestration comes in many different forms • Con guration management tools (Ansible, Chef, PowerShell DSC, Puppet, Salt) • Scripting languages (Bash, PowerShell, Python, Ruby) • “Full-blown” orchestration tools (vRA/vRO) • Applying these technologies to your learning efforts is like a “double header”
19. Share what you’ve learned • Sharing what you’ve learned helps solidify your understanding • This can take many different forms • Some examples include: • Blogging • “How-to” videos • Lunch-n-learn sessions with colleagues • Speaking at a VMUG event (hint, hint)
20. Great, where do I start? • Step outside your comfort zone • Some practical suggestions • Git • A scripting language (remember: embrace automation!) • Linux (or Windows if you're a *nix person) • Some networking basics (effect of latency on applications) • Application technologies
21. The IT industry is in a state of constant change.
22. The IT industry is in a state of constant change. IT pros need to be prepared for constant change.
23. • VMworld is a great place to get new information • Bring your spouse/partner/signi cant other along with you for some great organized activities • Visit http://spousetivities.com for more information One more thing...
24. Questions & answers
25. Scott Lowe, VCDX 39 Author, Blogger, Geek http://blog.scottlowe.org / Twitter: @scott_lowe Colossians 3:17 NIV Thank you! Please be sure to provide feedback to the VMUG leaders about this session