The business case for continuous VMware learning

Training should never be a one-off. Find out why – and how it can benefit your business in the long run.



Continuous learning. Continuous professional development. Do these phrases strike fear into your heart? If so, it's probably because you believe they necessitate continuous spending.

And you wouldn't be wrong. Keeping IT professionals up to speed with their field – whether VMware specifically or something broader – is going to take bites out of your budget.

That's only a bad thing, however, if the training doesn't deliver a healthy ROI. And in our opinion, that's exactly what it does – if you work with a reputable, experienced and flexible provider.

The fact is that virtualisation in general and VMware in particular are constantly evolving fields. For the big picture, just think about the recent rise in AI integrations. And for VMware in particular, consider the way its product portfolio has recently been thinned out and consolidated.

This is where VMware Education Delivery Partners (VEDPs) come in. These are VMware-authorised third parties who provide courses on the full range of VMware software. And here at Ascend Cloud Solutions, we provide flexible and affordable lab hosting services to bring this kind of training to life.

At the end of the day, a business that relies on VMware software needs staff who know how to use it. And in an ever-changing landscape, that requires continuous learning.

But beyond this headline, what is the business case for continuous VMware learning? Let's take a closer look at the benefits.

It maximises ROI

When it comes to continuous VMware learning, your bottom line is the bottom line. By setting aside part of your budget to frequent training, you're sowing seeds for future profits.

There are a couple of reasons for this. The first is that it ensures your IT staff are in a position to fully leverage VMware solutions, whether VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF), Tanzu, Horizon or another product.

After all, the benefits of these products are primarily financial. They consolidate servers, cutting energy and hardware costs. They optimise resources and automate routine tasks, slashing operational costs.

None of this is possible – or, more precisely, fully achieved – without staff who know their vSAN from their vSphere. And as the IT landscape shifts and evolves, that involves regular training to ensure they're up to the minute.

But there's another way in which continuous VMware learning maximises ROI. This is down to the cost-effectiveness of upskilling your existing employees rather than going through the costly rigmarole of external recruitment and onboarding.

This is true in all sorts of industries. But in an industry as niche as VMware-based cloud computing, upskilling is the way forward.

It increases operational efficiency

IT staff who are up-to-date in their training can manage infrastructure more effectively. The result? A smoothing out of operations and an acceleration in the deployment of products and solutions – not to mention an elimination of data silos across departments.

It reduces risk

Cybersecurity is nothing new. It's at least as old as the 1970s, when Creeper (the first computer worm) was defeated by Reaper (the first antivirus program).

Nevertheless, the threats posed by malware, ransomware and other cyber threats continue to proliferate. Often, IT teams are engaged in a long, long game of whack-a-mole as new threats pop up and disappear.

Continuous learning makes sure staff contain these moles before they rear their ugly heads – and long before they compromise systems and reputations.

On top of this, it teaches IT professionals how to improve their disaster recovery plans, ensuring business continuity even in the event of a cyber-calamity.

It increases employee retention

There's no one way to maximise your chances of increasing employee retention. But a culture of training within your company is bound to help.

It's not just that it gives staff the confidence to execute everything from core tasks to edge cases. It's not even that they feel on top of the constant changes that the world of cloud computing is subject to.

Above all, it's that they come to appreciate the value you put on their education, skill sets and professional development. Continuous training is a way of demonstrating commitment to staff – something that will drastically increase the chances of them sticking around and adding value to your company.

It closes the skills gap

VMware experts are out there. But many are already gainfully employed. How do you close this skills gap and ensure your business is using its virtualisation software to the utmost degree?

This is another area where continuous learning can be a huge benefit. It ensures your staff are more than capable – they're up-to-date, too, and can go toe-to-toe with staff at other companies.

It gives your business a competitive edge

What do all these benefits amount to? At the end of the day, it's all about gaining an edge over your competition.

Skilled IT staff who can streamline operations? Check. Cost savings that let you adopt cutting-edge technologies like AI and ML? Check. Robust systems that are secure and compliant? Check, check, check.

This is the ultimate investment: continuous learning that translates into continuous improvement across the board. Once you've made the decision to strategically invest in this future, you won't look back.

Conclusion

If you see continuous learning as an expense, you'll probably see it as a financial burden – money as so much confetti.

If, however, you see it as a strategic investment in your business's future, the return on investment becomes clear.

In fact, "ROI" doesn't quite cover it. The return isn't just a matter of tangible financial savings and healthy-looking spreadsheets. It's also about those intangible benefits that give your business a competitive edge.

So, if your cloud infrastructure is built on VMware products, it's worth considering how continuous learning can make your business go further.

Ascend Cloud Solutions is an Ireland-based provider of cloud computing and digital transformation services. That includes providing secure, highly available lab hosting services for VEDP courses.