Information technology is growing in all industries and sectors. Here are eight trends IT leaders will be looking for in the year ahead, presented by CIO.com.
1. A push for full-time employees. IT is largely a consulting-base industry, but organizations are increasingly looking to hire on IT staff full time. The report indicates the improving economy and a shift away from hiring freezes may be contributing to this trend.
2. IT certifications are on the rise. David Foote, chief analyst and research officer with Foote Partners, said in the report IT certifications increased by nearly 1 percent in market value for the year, demonstrating seven straight quarters of growth. Mr. Foote said this "is unprecedented in the 16 years we have been reporting certifications market pay."
3. Big data skills are slowing down. Paying employees for big data skills is less prominent than expected, as the ROI on big data investments isn't so apparent. "A bunch of big data skills dropped off the list [of skills with the highest pay premiums]," Mr. Foote said.
4. Human capital management is becoming popular. Mr. Foote said human resources technologies are gaining traction as it is becoming increasingly complicated to manage employees and their pay, bonuses and skills pay premiums. He suggested specializing in human resources IT solutions could be beneficial.
5. Employers have more cloud skills. As the demand for cloud technology rises, so does the number of employees with cloud skills and jobs, according to the report. "Employers have responded to cloud skills gaps with training and development to produce the skill levels they need," Mr. Foote said. Additionally, market pay for cloud certifications increased 2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014, totaling a 1.1 percent increase over the entire year, according to the report.
6. Cybersecurity skills remain in demand. Organizations are focusing more time and energy on cybersecurity issues, and IT leaders are pushing to take these threats more seriously. Certifications in auditing, hacking and forensics are valuable, and Mr. Foote said cybersecurity forensic analyst certification is the second highest paying certification among 55 certifications one can receive for information security.
7. IT architects gaining more demand. Both the demand and pay for IT and software architects is projected to grow in the upcoming year. According to the report, The Open Group Architecture Framework, security, data and infrastructure architecture are among the highest paying skills.
8. Along with architects, software quality assurance is needed. Not only do organizations need software and the architects who build it, but they need assurance that the job was done correctly and has good customer usability, according to the report.
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