Hello! Lately, there's been a concern regarding the future of system administrators with the advent of "cloud" technology. In my opinion, admins will still have a role in data centers, deploying their corporate cloud hosting. However, it's true that cloud technologies haven't reached their full potential yet and there may not be as much demand for admins in this field.

That being said, there are already cloud virtual servers available for purchase, with technical support provided by cloud providers. As for tips and suggestions for future development of system administrators, it's important to stay up-to-date with the latest advancements in cloud technology and constantly improve one's knowledge and skills in this area.

If I've made any mistakes in my understanding, please feel free to correct me. Thank you in advance for your insights!

Unfortunately, administrators must improve their expertise to keep up with the times. The IT industry is rapidly evolving with automation and web-based software taking the place of traditional office tasks. As a result, there are fewer opportunities for administrative roles. However, the emergence of cloud virtual servers has created a need for highly skilled administrators to support these systems. This is a positive development, as it gives admins a chance to upgrade their skills and work for large, reputable companies.

There may be fewer admin positions available than before, but there is still a demand for those who can learn new tools and adapt to changing technologies. DevOps has become a popular area of focus in IT, particularly with Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment, as well as Chef, Puppet, Ansible, and Jenkins. Nonetheless, administrators continue to play an important role in the IT industry.

The situation remains unchanged, and everything varies based on the objectives of the organization.

Cloud services resemble outsourcing of equipment/platform and may involve standardizing particular routine services. Despite this, there is still a need for someone to manage, maintain and troubleshoot them, especially when it comes to data entry by other individuals.

It's worth noting that cloud services have transformed the way businesses operate by providing flexibility and cost savings. However, companies must be cautious with their cloud strategy and ensure their systems and data are secure.

At present, clouds are not highly sought after since most individuals utilize their own servers. However, even with the current trend towards cloud services, there remains a need for someone to oversee the entirety of the company's IT infrastructure and manage the system as a whole.

Additionally, it is more efficient and cost-effective to retain certain tasks in-house, allowing administrators to maintain job security. Above all, it is crucial to ensure that employees receive fair compensation for their work.

Your understanding is correct in many ways. The role of system administrators is indeed undergoing a transformation due to the advent of cloud technologies. As in any industry experiencing technological shifts, roles evolve rather than simply disappearing.

Cloud Management Skills: Even with the shift to the cloud, someone still needs to manage these new platforms. System administrators who learn to manage and operate cloud environments, including virtual servers as you mentioned, will still be very valuable. This might involve working with platforms like AWS, Google Cloud, or Azure, managing Infrastructure as Code using tools like Terraform and CloudFormation, or overseeing Kubernetes environments.

Security: System administrators should also focus on cloud security. The movement of corporate data and infrastructure to the cloud implies new security challenges, and admins skilled in securing these environments will be in high demand.

Automation: With the rise of technologies like Docker, Kubernetes, and CI/CD pipelines, system administrators are also finding that knowledge of automation tools and practices is vital. By automating routine tasks, system administrators can focus on higher-level planning and strategy as well as more complex troubleshooting.

Hybrid Environment: Many organizations will not move 100% of their operations to the cloud and will instead use a mixture of public cloud, private cloud, and on-premises solutions. System administrators who are capable of managing these hybrid environments seamlessly will continue to be essential.

DevOps and Agile methodologies: A trend that goes hand in hand with the rise of cloud computing is the increased adoption of DevOps and Agile methodologies. Knowledge and experience in these areas are increasingly important for system administrators.

Interpersonal Skills: As system administrators roles evolve, soft skills such as project management, strategic planning, and liaising between different teams (like developers and network engineers) are becoming increasingly important.

Certification and Continuous Learning: Pursuing relevant certifications for cloud platforms (like AWS Certified Solutions Architect, Google Certified Professional Cloud Architect, or Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert) can be a good way for system administrators to demonstrate their knowledge and remain competitive in the job market.

Migration Expertise: Many organizations are in the process of migrating their databases and applications to the cloud. Knowledge and experience in managing these transitions, including planning, executing, and troubleshooting migrations, can be a valuable skill.

Cost Management: Understanding how to handle the financial aspects of cloud implementations is also becoming increasingly important. This includes being able to select the most cost-effective solutions, managing usage to minimize costs, and accurately forecasting future costs.

Data Management: Big data is becoming central to many businesses, and there is a growing need for professionals who know how to manage, store, and secure large amounts of data. This includes knowledge of database technologies, data lakes, and data warehouses, whether on-premises or in the cloud.

Understanding of various Cloud Service Models: There are various cloud service models – Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS). Each has its benefits, uses, and limitations. System administrators adept at understanding which solution is suited for a specific use case in an organization will carve out an important role.

Multi-cloud Strategy: Due to various reasons including service resilience, data storage requirements and avoiding being locked-in by a single provider, many companies are using or considering using a multi-cloud strategy. Managing and integrating such environments is a complex task, creating another skill area for system administrators.

Managed Services: More and more services are becoming managed services in the cloud. These services might handle databases, machine learning, IoT, or other cloud-native functionalities. Understanding, managing and optimizing these services will be key.

Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Planning: With the cloud, disaster recovery and business continuity plans might look quite different than when using exclusively on-premises infrastructure. Creating plans that take full advantage of the resiliency and flexibility the cloud offers—while also factoring in any new risks—is now an important part of a system administrator's job.

Microservices Architecture: Many companies are moving toward using microservices instead of monolithic architectures. This approach breaks an application down into its simplest services, each running independently of one another. This promotes scalability and efficiency but requires a new approach to administration that system administrators need to learn.

Serverless Architectures: In a serverless architecture, the cloud service provider entirely manages the server, and charges are based on usage rather than pre-allocated capacity. Familiarity with the management and expected behaviors of serverless architectures (using technologies like AWS Lambda, Google Cloud Functions, or Azure Functions) can be a valuable skill.

API Management: APIs are often the glue that holds digital services together. As more services move to the cloud, managing, securing, and troubleshooting APIs becomes more critical. It's another area where system administrators' skills can evolve.

Governance and Compliance: Helping to ensure that all cloud activities comply with regulatory requirements is another area where system administrators are called upon. Governance and compliance requirements can greatly influence how cloud environments are constructed and maintained.

The key to this evolution is embracing the transition and the new opportunities it brings. With many companies adopting a cloud-first or cloud-only strategy, the need for system administrators with advanced and diversified skills has never been greater. Constant learning, skill-building, and certification in relevant areas of cloud technology will keep system administrators in high demand.