An Interview with Mike Pfeiffer

Mike Pfeiffer

Key Topics:Cloud Architecture, DevOps & SRE, Azure, AWS

Location:Phoenix, AZ, USA

Bio:

Mike Pfeiffer is a Twenty-year IT industry veteran who most recently founded CloudSkills.io (acquired by INE) and worked as an engineer and cloud architect for Microsoft and Amazon Web Services.

He's the author of six books, creator of over thirty-five online courses, the voice of over one hundred and forty podcast episodes, and trainer to over a half-million students on topics covering Azure, AWS, DevOps, Kubernetes, and Web Development.

Mike has recently featured in Onalytica's Who's Who in Cloud report.

How did you get to become an expert in your key topics?

I dropped out of college in 1995 and got a job at AOL and then Gateway Computers. I quickly became obsessed with technology and got “MCSE” certified which helped me move from help desk to IT field consultant in my first two years in tech. Since then I’ve remained curious and believe that my love of learning has contributed most to my expertise in the field.

What sub-topics are you most passionate about?

Working on open source projects over the years has really sparked a passion for me around community building. Especially now when we’re all more isolated than ever before. It’s amazing to watch what happens when like-minded people from all over the world get connected and start sharing ideas.

Who influences you within these topics?

There are so many awesome open source projects with vibrant communities out there. The Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) is doing an amazing job of connecting contributors of open source projects with end-users in a variety of ways. There’s so much to learn these days and these community interactions give people clarity that otherwise may have never been realized.

What challenges are brands facing in this space?

I think the biggest challenge we have right now is the talent shortage in tech. Hiring cloud engineers has never been harder. People are going to be challenged to find new ways to up skill their teams. Some large enterprises are already developing their own internal training initiatives. It’s going to be increasingly harder to hire strictly based on “skills”. Instead, the challenge will be finding someone who is the right fit for the team who you can train to get the job done.

What do you think the future holds in this space?

Everyone can see the pace of technology innovation is just getting faster. This is going to create a ton of complexity and ambiguity, but also massive amounts of opportunity for people from all walks of life.

What brands are leading the way in this space?

The talent shortage is responsible for influencing brands like Google and Apple to hire people without a college degree. Microsoft and Amazon are hiring engineers like crazy and even building up skilling programs to help in the process.

If a brand wanted to work with you, which activities would you be most interested in collaborating on?

Podcasts, speaking opportunities, video interviews, webinars.

What are your passions outside of work?

I’m a recreational bodybuilder, guitarist, and I’m learning to play piano.

What would be the best way for a brand to contact you?

Email or LinkedIn/Twitter/IG.

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