Take IT Flight with the SOAR Framework

In 2015, I introduced the DART Framework as a series of skills that virtualization administrators can leverage to master their virtual universe. In 2016, it’s time to take your IT career flight beyond the final frontiers of your virtual universe. Just do it with the SOAR Framework: [Updated with hyperlinks to SOAR articles.]

• Secure - Govern, control data, app, stack, and user planes
• Optimize - Run more efficiently & effectively
• Automate - Scale IT
• Report - Show & tell to the leadership team

SOAR-ing skill set

Security should be top of mind with every IT professional – we are all responsible for security ops whether directly or indirectly. Securing IT delves into governance, compliance and control of data, applications, stacks and user planes.

Optimization boils down to maximizing the return on investment (ROI) of IT. We all get that IT budgets are getting squeezed or being diverted into new investment areas. Optimizing allows IT professionals to do more with less in their data center environment. If done well, it highlights command and control over any given data center ecosystem and opens the door to many new career opportunities.

Automation is the skill that allows IT professionals to scale both their data center and their career aspiration. Whether it’s through scripts, workflows, templates or blueprints, automation is a skill that reclaims the most important resource for any IT pro – time.

Reporting is the least glamorous IT skill; but it’s the one that will most likely get you promoted. Essentially, it revolves around communicating how great of a job you are doing managing your data center efficiency or making your case to get the necessary tools to deliver what the business needs.

February S.O.A.R.s

Every Friday in February, I will publish an article on each specific SOAR skill with an example of what good looks like in a virtual environment. P.S. it can be applied to any tech construct and tech domain. Time to shatter the shackles of silos!

Reference [Updated with hyperlinks to SOAR articles]

• IT’s a MAAD World​
• Secure
• Optimize
• Automate
• Report