SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT

	SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT

Volume 4 , Issue 1

Internet and Web skills the way to go

by Stephen Ibaraki

For the last 25 years I’ve been researching HiTech trends to provide forecasts of where IT professionals should direct their valuable training and certification energies and resources.

In the last several weeks, as a continuation of this process, I’ve interviewed more than 50 world authorities asking them what advice they would give to HiTech job seekers. Based upon exhaustive research in job task analysis of more than 2,800 IT professionals in 85 countries, the highest demand areas will be positions for Web developers and computer programmers, software engineers, technical support specialists, database administrators and network specialists.

In every interview I conducted, the Internet and Web were always first on the list. I separate the two terms since the Internet is the underlying network infrastructure while the Web is the software that binds together this foundation. I predict the Web will change from a static, primarily display system, to a fully interactive process.

The current system is much like reading the pages of a book coming from a Web site, whereas it soon will evolve into a full fledged, two-way conversation.

This is Microsoft Corp.’s .NET strategy you hear so much about, and the one that will be in high demand from a skill set standpoint. This two-way ability will come from programs being sent back and forth between Web user and Web site and thus increase the demand for Web-based software programmers and engineers. The data being manipulated will be held in databases, which explains the rapid growth in data administrators, SQL programmers and knowledge workers involved in data warehousing. Analysis and design of architectural solutions that meet increasingly complex business requirements will be an important part of the IT professional’s job. The newest tools coming out will focus on business analysis and the technical links will be auto-generated.

Currently, troubleshooting involving diagnosing and resolving problems with network infrastructure, system architecture, security, reliability and availability is considered the most important, frequent and difficult part of most jobs. From a HiTech skills standpoint, there is a strong demand for people who can do more than just build infrastructure. Skilled IT staff and partners who can integrate products and build solutions are needed. Hot areas are e-commerce, business processes (such as data warehousing) and knowledge management/collaboration. Among my many discussions, I received the most comprehensive assessment from Dr. Jaime Kaminski, senior e-commerce analyst and technical briefings manager at Xephon (www.xephon.com), an international technical and market research organization specializing in IT systems for large enterprises.

Kaminski is somewhat cautious about making broad generalizations, but in his mind the key skill for IT professionals is the integration of IT knowledge with business skills. He believes one of the principal lessons learned from Y2K was how integral IT was to business. “It may be an unpopular statement to make,” he says, “but the sole purpose of IT is to support the business function.”

According to Kaminski, there will always be a need for highly specialized technical staff but rapid advances in technology will fuel a demand for adaptable people who thrive on challenge. These people will be the key drivers in future IT departments: individuals with the ability to respond to rapid technological change, who have an understanding of business issues.

“My advice for those entering the field is to focus on areas that they enjoy,” says Kaminski. “This industry requires long hours of dedicated work; the implications of working in a sector that is not stimulating do not bear thinking about.”

In terms of actual areas of specialization, Kaminski affirms that skills in Java, Oracle, Cisco and the Microsoft product set are currently in great demand. But, he points out that it’s important to realize that much of this demand is being created by the e-commerce sector. “I would suggest we look at the most important technologies first. I would divide these into technologies companies need to evaluate and/or deploy immediately, and technologies important in the medium-term future,” he says.

In the category of technologies that require immediate attention are XML, Windows 2000, Linux, wireless technologies, Java and security.

Those that will be important in the medium-term future are VoIP, IP Version 6 and speech recognition. Other areas that Kaminski says companies need to consider are the various elements of the e-commerce arena, for example business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce and e-procurement.

Business-to-consumer e-commerce is also a buoyant sector at the present, but probably not as valuable as the business-to-business sector.

“New technologies are driving IT into every area of commercial, and even domestic life,” states Kaminski. “But the raw technology is outpacing our ability to manage it within a structured IT environment. I see this need for management as the key challenge in the near-term future for the IT industry.”

Companies need to prepare themselves now, says Kaminski. This means analysing business processes, simplifying where necessary, and devoting resources to creating internal departments capable of monitoring and quickly responding to technological change.

Stephen Ibaraki... His many years of IT experience have made him a much sought after speaker, educator and researcher...

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