With talent shortages, rising complexity, and growing reliance on hyperscalers all putting pressure on organisations, Dmitry Panenkov, Founder and CEO of emma, sets out why broader cloud fluency matters now.
For more than a decade, cloud computing has delivered flexibility and scalability, becoming a foundation of modern IT and transforming how organisations operate. Today, it underpins the operations of global corporations and emerging startups alike, enabling the use of advanced technologies such as AI, edge computing, and data analytics.
Yet, as adoption accelerates and cloud environments grow more intricate, new challenges have emerged that cannot be solved by technology alone. Cloud costs continue to rise; 84% of businesses reported more outages in the past two years, and architectures are becoming increasingly complex to manage.
While these are significant barriers to cloud success, one of the most persistent challenges facing organisations is access to people with the right skills. Some 76% of global businesses are struggling to find the IT talent they need.
Cloud proficiency is often treated as a one-time certification exercise, but it needs to become part of everyday work, embedded across roles and measured against tangible business outcomes, if organisations are to address the issue of talent shortages. Those that take this approach may improve operational efficiency and, more importantly, create stronger foundations for resilience and innovation.
Why people matter in cloud adoption
Major providers such as AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud continue to account for a disproportionate share of the cloud market, driving deep specialisation among engineers. This reliance on specific platforms has fragmented skills and reduced the pool of talent capable of working across multiple environments.
If left unaddressed, this could undermine some of the benefits the cloud was intended to deliver.
Businesses are already struggling to keep pace as costs rise and reliance on hyperscalers deepens. Without a shift in how cloud fluency is developed, this cycle is likely to continue, leaving more of the cloud’s potential unrealised.
Europe’s innovation dilemma
While cloud adoption remains strong, momentum is slowing as organisations struggle to find new talent to fill the pipeline. IDC’s forecast for this year suggests that more than 90% of companies worldwide will feel the impact of IT skills shortages, with losses expected to reach $5.5 trillion through delayed products, reduced competitiveness, and missed opportunities.
What starts as an operational issue can quickly become a strategic risk. Consider AI initiatives: companies are investing heavily, yet without skilled cloud professionals, the infrastructure supporting these workloads may struggle to scale effectively to meet demand and expectations. As a result, innovation can stall before it delivers meaningful operational impact.
A different approach to cloud operations is therefore needed. Organisations that build broader cloud fluency and equip teams with the right tools will be better placed to respond to these challenges and support innovation in their sectors.
Moving beyond certifications
Cloud technology is evolving rapidly and, as a result, traditional training methods such as certification programmes are often insufficient. By the time engineers complete an accreditation, the technology may already have moved on. While certifications remain useful for foundational knowledge, businesses need to reassess training so that it better reflects the pace of change.
One answer lies in use-case-driven training, particularly programmes that align with real workloads, compliance requirements, and architectural decisions. This approach helps close the gap between theory and practice. Embedding cloud education into repeatable, day-to-day workflows can support adoption and reduce reliance on external hiring by fostering a culture of continuous learning.
However, mastering cloud complexity takes time. Engineers need robust tools and ongoing support to succeed.
Democratising cloud expertise
To scale effectively, cloud expertise needs to extend beyond a small group of specialists. Organisations should broaden access to cloud knowledge across roles and functions so that cloud becomes less of a bottleneck and more of an enabler.
Low-code and no-code tools are one route to doing this. These tools have already shown their value in supporting digital transformation by enabling non-technical users to automate processes, and to build applications, without deep engineering expertise. The rapid emergence of vibe-coding tools also points to how this concept is beginning to influence the way IT operations are carried out.
However, despite these developments, cloud operations remain largely the domain of experts. Managing infrastructure, governance, and cost across hybrid and multi-cloud environments typically requires specialised skills, creating a clear gap between ambition and execution.
Providing accessible platforms with no-code interfaces for non-IT users, while integrating with DevOps tools for technical teams, may help bridge this divide. This kind of dual approach can enable organisations to move more quickly while maintaining governance and scalability, supporting specialists while widening access to important skills.
Turning the skills gap into an advantage
The cloud will continue to underpin Europe’s digital transformation, but talent shortages remain a constraint, slowing progress and reinforcing an ecosystem in which non-European providers continue to play a dominant role. If Europe is to make the most of cloud adoption, it will need to keep pace with changing compliance requirements and modern architectures, even as competition for experienced engineers remains intense.
This is no longer a future concern, but a current challenge. Embedding cloud fluency into everyday workflows and expanding access to the right tools is one practical step in addressing it. Doing so could help organisations not only narrow the skills gap, but also turn it into a source of greater agility, resilience, and long-term value.
