Differences between DevOps and Cloud Engineers

The more you dive into the realm of technology the more obscure the job titles seem. Additionally, the same title in different companies may have various duties. If you ask twenty data scientists about their jobs you'll receive a range of responses.

"DevOps Engineers" and "Cloud Engineers" are two different jobs that sound remarkably similar, but they're different. As with many other jobs in the tech industry, there are a bit of similarities between them, however, there's a reason DevOps Engineer and Cloud Engineer are distinct job titles.

DevOps is the abbreviation for Development and Operations Engineer. "Cloud Engineering" refers to cloud-based computing "Cloud" of cloud engineering is a reference to the cloud-based architecture that many modern businesses depend on to run their operations.

Let's look at some of the key similarities as well as differences and career opportunities for each position.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A DEVOPS ENGINEER AND A CLOUD ENGINEER?

Simply put the main difference between the two is that a DevOps engineer and a cloud engineer lies in the fact that they are in essence DevOps engineers who are experts in cloud infrastructure solutions such as Azure, AWS, GC, Kubernetes, and Docker.

There's very little distinction between the two positions. Take a look at a few descriptions of the job, and you'll discover the cloud engineer is usually simply a cloud-based DevOps engineer. A cloud engineer specializes in their understanding of cloud-based technologies (AWS, MSFT, GC, and Azure). However, both jobs involve installations, active sites, and health metrics for systems.

It's difficult to find a DevOps engineering position that doesn't make use of some sort of cloud technology.

The primary difference between cloud-based DevOps and regular DevOps is particular to the kind of product these roles aid in creating.

For instance, a program such as Microsoft Word is not a cloud-based product. Desktop applications don't primarily run on the cloud. Logs are generated directly through the cloud. It is not necessary for DevOps experts who work on the deployment of client-side software to be as well-informed regarding cloud-based back-end technologies. Google Drive, however, is entirely cloud-based. They require DevOps as well as cloud-based engineers in order to push new versions keep all your files, push or pull changes to the files via different devices, etc.

SIX KEY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN DEVOPS ENGINEERS VS. CLOUD ENGINEERS

Once you've got an understanding of the differences between DevOps experts and cloud engineers, it's time to look at some of the distinct differences between these roles.

We'll examine:

• Responsibilities and roles

• Tools, skills, and technology

• Focus

• Collaboration and interaction

• Pay

• Job prospects

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Cloud engineers focus on the development, implementation, and maintenance of cloud-based systems. A DevOps engineer also concentrates on the design, development, and maintenance of services and infrastructure, but not necessarily cloud computing services.

There's a lot of language, isn't there?

Let's make use of a bakery analogy to understand it, as I'm hungry while writing this. As a DevOps engineer, you're making sure that the cake bakes thoroughly and evenly. If the recipe performs well, it should be recorded. If it requires adjustments, be sure to document the changes you make.

What will this mean when mapped onto the actual job duties?

DevOps engineers:

• Maintain and implement the continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines (ensuring the cake is in good condition to be delivered at the time it's required).

• Configure and manage cloud security infrastructure, including Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure (Checking the oven's settings).

• Get data on the performance of the software during production (making sure that the cake does not fall).

• Find solutions to problems that may arise during the production process (like when the cake starts to appear crispy on the top!).

• Work with development teams to improve the development process for software and adopt best practices (working together with various kitchen groups).

In contrast, a cloud engineer is a lot like a site manager who ensures the kitchen is ready. They ensure that the oven is operating correctly; they may bake one of the cakes before the actual one to ensure whether it's turning out okay and also to ensure that the temperature it claims it's at is true.

Let's examine real-life duties:

• Maintain and build cloud infrastructure, including server storage, databases, and servers (as well as ensuring that your kitchen is equipped with the tools needed, such as mixers, ovens, and baking trays).

• Create, implement, and maintain high-availability, scalable, and resilient systems that are highly available, scalable, and fault-tolerant (making sure there are sufficient mixers and ovens and that cakes will still be baked even in the event of a power failure).

• Configure your services to allow them to communicate with each other in a way that is appropriate (making sure you have the correct attachments for your mixer).

• Secure access control and manage access to cloud resources (making the kitchen safe so only authorized personnel have permission to access it).

• Automation of provisioning, scaling, and management of cloud resources with tools like Terraform CloudFormation and Terraform (making sure that, when additional ingredients are required, they are delivered at the right time).

• Work with the development and operations teams to ensure that the infrastructure is in place to support the process of delivering software (the site manager works in tandem with the chef or the DevOps engineer to ensure the kitchen is properly set up and prepared).

SKILL STRETCHES, TOOLS and TECHNOLOGY

DevOps Engineers typically have a solid background in the development of software and operations as well and cloud Engineers typically have greater knowledge of cloud technology and platforms like AWS, Azure, or GCP.

If you want to be a DevOps engineer Here are the competencies and knowledge you'll need to possess:

• Tools such as Ansible, Jenkins, Python, or Docker for scripting and automation.

• Infrastructure-as-code (IAC) tools like Terraform or cloud formation.

• Cloud infrastructure, like Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, or Microsoft Azure

• Systems for controlling versions that control versioning, like Git or SVN

• Tools for orchestrating containers like Kubernetes as well as Docker Swarm

• Tools for monitoring and logging, like Prometheus or Elasticsearch.

• CI/CD pipeline tools.

• Of course, good interpersonal and collaboration skills are also important, as DevOps engineers often work closely with both operations and development teams.

This particular area is where cloud engineers are compared, and DevOps engineers are the ones with the greatest overlap. As a cloud engineer, you'll need proficiency with many of the same tools you use as a DevOps engineer. Below, I've highlighted the various areas of overlap in the field of DevOps engineers as well as cloud engineers.

You'll need:

• Expertise working with cloud infrastructure providers, such as AWS, GCP, and Azure, and their offerings (overlaps and overlaps with DevOps).

• Experience working with IAC tools, including Terraform cloud formation and Terraform (overlaps and DevOps).

• Expertise in virtualization technologies, including VMWare and Hyper-V

• Experience with networking concepts and technologies, like VPNs, VPCs, load balancers, and DNS.

• Knowledge of best practices in security and the requirements for compliance, such as SOC2 and ISO 27001

• Automating and scripting abilities, including the ability to use tools like Ansible, Jenkins, or Python (which overlap with DevOps)

• Working knowledge of containerization and orchestration tools like Docker as well as Kubernetes (overlaps with DevOps)

• Experience using tools for monitoring and logging, like Cloudwatch, Stackdriver, and Prometheus (overlaps with DevOps)

The areas that don't have the same amount of overlap are:

• Security (cloud engineer's specialty)

• Virtualization technology (cloud engineer)

INTERACTION WITH TEAMS

Every employee and team member is not working in isolation. If you had been paying attention in previous sections, you'd have seen that DevOps experts and cloud engineers must collaborate with various teams within the organization.

A few software companies employ DevOps engineers as well as cloud engineers. Certain software products are better suited to traditional DevOps, while others require a greater cloud infrastructure. The task of installing and utilizing the cloud infrastructure may fall to an individual with the title DevOps engineer or cloud engineer, depending on the business and its background.

DevOps engineers work with a variety of teams within an organization, such as operations, development, and quality assurance (QA) teams. This helps to streamline the delivery of software and improve its efficiency for all three teams, and they have a part to play.

Cloud engineers collaborate with operations, development, and infrastructure teams too, but their primary focus is on the infrastructure supporting software applications.

JOB PROSPECTS

It's difficult to judge the career prospects that are offered to DevOps experts and cloud engineers since both are genuinely great. In the past, twenty many years ago DevOps engineers as well as cloud engineers were not even jobs. These days, they're among the most sought-after IT positions that are available. The job prospects are good for DevOps Engineers and Cloud Engineers will vary based on where you are and what industry you work in However, generally speaking, both jobs are in high demand in the present job market. Even in spite of the recent layoffs in tech!

As stated in Consultancy Bain & Company in September 2019, job listings for DevOps professionals soared up to 443% from 2015 to 2019. This makes this a more popular field than even machine learning, leaving software engineering behind, which had a growth rate of 167 percent and 69%, respectively.

Cloud engineers have also been in the market for a long time as more companies shift their processes and applications toward the cloud. According to the Open Source Job Report, 61% of the professionals who were surveyed said their organization had increased its utilization of cloud technology by 2021. That implies that there is a rising demand for cloud experts.

To improve your chances of finding work, it is a good idea to have a good set of skills and relevant experience. You should also keep learning about the latest technologies and tools that are sought-after in the market.

FINAL THOUGHTS ON DEVOPS ENGINEERS VS. CLOUD ENGINEERS

This is a comprehensive and hopefully conclusive solution to the question of DevOps engineers and cloud engineers. There's a lot of overlap between these roles, not the least of which is the excellent opportunity for advancement. There's no wrong selection in this case.

If you're considering which job to choose, this guide will assist you in determining which tasks you'd like to concentrate on.