In the latest of its Trends in Cloud IT series automated management specialist BetterCloud looks at how the emergence of the cloud is altering perceptions. It's freeing up valuable time that cloud IT admins are using to become proactive decision makers in their organizations, rather than simply reacting to problems.

Based on data collected from more than 1,500 IT professionals the report finds that the average cloud IT admin has 15 years experience and two certifications. Of Google Apps admins 13 percent have Certified Administrator status and seven percent are Google Apps Deployment Specialists. In Office 365 shops 19 percent of admins have a Certified Solutions Expert (MSCE) qualification and 15 percent Certified Solutions Asociate.

Other findings are that cloud IT admins are substituting routine work with a wide variety of strategic and proactive tasks such as improving security, end-user training and application integrations. Regardless of organization size or admin experience, around 25 percent less time is being spent on routine maintenance tasks and 20 percent less on storage management.

Office 365 and Google Apps admins are similarly involved in their companies' migrations to cloud office platforms, with the majority of migrations happening in house (67 percent vs 68 percent). Office 365 admins are managing multiple cloud office systems more often than Google Apps admins (47 percent vs 24 percent).

"With cloud adoption set to rise in the coming years, cloud IT admins need to prepare themselves for the changes to come -- especially as they become significant decision makers within their organizations. For some, these new roles are already taking effect, for others, change will come more gradually," says founder and CEO of BetterCloud David Politis. "But for every IT admin, the cloud has the potential to expand their roles and reverse the 'cost center' perception that IT departments often wear like a scarlet letter".

As cloud adoption increases admins will need to gain the skills, and tools, necessary to manage a wide variety of cloud applications, regardless of where their organization sits on the adoption curve. They're also likely to become more influential within their organizations meaning that businesses with strong cloud skills will gain a competitive edge.

You can read more about the findings on the BetterCloud blog.

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