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CIO MATTERS
[SIZE=5][B][U][I]IT jobs caught in the middle of IT
transformation[/I][/U][/B][/SIZE]
Scot Petersen, Editorial Director
Published: 3 Aug 2012
Amid the optimism created by increasing efficiencies in business due to
strategic and technological nimbleness, there remains the proverbial specter
that is haunting both buyers and sellers in the technology industry: Where are
all the IT jobs going?
Cisco announced recently its latest step (1,300 jobs cut) in an ongoing effort
to reduce its workforce in the name of "agility." Hewlett-Packard is beginning
its efforts to shed 27,000 jobs. Sony, Nokia and RIM are each looking to cut
thousands of jobs. In all, more than 50,000 tech industry jobs were lost in the
first half of this year.
It's not just technology vendors that are hurting. The private sector also is
looking at inevitable cuts in IT staffing as enterprise systems become more
service-oriented and automated. It was just a year ago that State Street Corp.
announced it was cutting 530 IT workers and reassigning another 320 to IBM and
Wipro Technologies as part of its "IT transformation" initiative related to its
big private cloud development project.
[B]Downside of efficiency[/B]
None of this is that surprising when you consider that it has always been the
role of technology to make businesses more efficient. More efficiency means
people can accomplish more things, or that fewer people can accomplish the same
(or more) amount of things. But rarely does technology innovation mean that
more technology people will be needed.
As IT becomes more strategic, it will take a more consultative role in the
business.
The story with enterprise IT is better than with the vendors, despite incidents
like State Street. HP, Cisco and especially mobile device makers are victims of
the economy, to be sure, but the bigger issue is a changing landscape where
smart businesses are pushing commodity computing into the hands of service
providers and, of course, the cloud. Apple, Google and to some extent Microsoft
have effectively killed RIM and other mobile device makers that have not been
able to keep up with innovation. Many of the layoffs among the tech vendors are
not just IT folks, either, but rank and file workers and managers from across
departments.
[B]Job glut or skills shortage?[/B]
But the issue at hand is enterprise IT. Strangely, there remains a shortage of
skilled workers in some areas, so CIOs are going to have to identify those IT
roles that will service IT transformation, jobs such as shared services
specialists, "brokers," analytics specialists and user experience designers. In
addition, businesses will have to create a culture that can retain the types of
specialists they will need in the coming years -- those "Millennials" who are
entering the workforce with different skills and expectations than the workers
of the client/server or early Web eras.
Finally, CIOs will have to start looking at new ways to organize IT within
their companies. IT functions are becoming more focused on business problems or
opportunities rather than technology for technology's sake, so people who
understand business goals and can communicate and collaborate should be prized
over those with purely technical expertise.
[B]IT as consultant[/B]
And as IT becomes more strategic, it will take a more consultative role in the
business. Balancing productivity and risk, such as the problem right now with
BYOD, will be a primary responsibility, as will managing the relationships
between the company and the many service providers that will be taking over
commodity IT functions. I do not believe this is just a swing back to the era
when outsourcing was king. This time around, the strategies and technologies
are available to make IT services the way of the future -- for good.
-=-=-=-= original article -=-=-=-
CIO MATTERS
IT jobs caught in the middle of IT transformation
Scot Petersen, Editorial Director
Published: 3 Aug 2012
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Amid the optimism created by increasing efficiencies in business due to
strategic and technological nimbleness, there remains the proverbial specter
that is haunting both buyers and sellers in the technology industry: Where are
all the IT jobs going?
Scot Petersen,
Editorial Director
Cisco announced recently its latest step (1,300 jobs cut) in an ongoing effort
to reduce its workforce in the name of "agility." Hewlett-Packard is beginning
its efforts to shed 27,000 jobs. Sony, Nokia and RIM are each looking to cut
thousands of jobs. In all, more than 50,000 tech industry jobs were lost in the
first half of this year.
It's not just technology vendors that are hurting. The private sector also is
looking at inevitable cuts in IT staffing as enterprise systems become
more service-oriented and automated. It was just a year ago that State Street
Corp. announced it was cutting 530 IT workers and reassigning another 320 to
IBM and Wipro Technologies as part of its "IT transformation" initiative
related to its big private cloud development project.
Downside of efficiency
None of this is that surprising when you consider that it has always been the
role of technology to make businesses more efficient. More efficiency means
people can accomplish more things, or that fewer people can accomplish the same
(or more) amount of things. But rarely does technology innovation mean that
more technology people will be needed.
As IT becomes more strategic, it will take a more consultative role in the
business.
The story with enterprise IT is better than with the vendors, despite incidents
like State Street. HP, Cisco and especially mobile device makers are victims of
the economy, to be sure, but the bigger issue is a changing landscape where
smart businesses are pushing commodity computing into the hands of service
providers and, of course, the cloud. Apple, Google and to some extent Microsoft
have effectively killed RIM and other mobile device makers that have not been
able to keep up with innovation. Many of the layoffs among the tech vendors are
not just IT folks, either, but rank and file workers and managers from across
departments.
Job glut or skills shortage?
But the issue at hand is enterprise IT. Strangely, there remains a shortage of
skilled workers in some areas, so CIOs are going to have to identify those IT
roles that will service IT transformation, jobs such as shared services
specialists, "brokers," analytics specialists and user experience designers. In
addition, businesses will have to create a culture that can retain the types of
specialists they will need in the coming years -- those "Millennials" who are
entering the workforce with different skills and expectations than the workers
of the client/server or early Web eras.
Finally, CIOs will have to start looking at new ways to organize IT within
their companies. IT functions are becoming more focused on business problems or
opportunities rather than technology for technology's sake, so people who
understand business goals and can communicate and collaborate should be prized
over those with purely technical expertise.
IT as consultant
And as IT becomes more strategic, it will take a more consultative role in the
business. Balancing productivity and risk, such as the problem right now with
BYOD, will be a primary responsibility, as will managing the relationships
between the company and the many service providers that will be taking over
commodity IT functions. I do not believe this is just a swing back to the era
when outsourcing was king. This time around, the strategies and technologies
are available to make IT services the way of the future -- for good.
Related Topics: Cloud computing for enterprise CIOs, Mobile technology and
management,Leadership and strategic planning, VIEW ALL TOPICS
