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Opportunities for temporary and permanent IT staffing are on the rise.
Growth in IT Contingent Labor Sector expected in 2010
As we emerge from the global recession, companies are once again hiring workers to meet Information Technology (IT) demands. There certainly exists a pent-up demand for new projects. To meet the staffing resource needs of these initiatives, IT leaders plan to increase their percentage of temporary workers gradually in the second and third quarters. We are already seeing IT projects and initiatives underway in insurance, healthcare and the banking industry.
Projects and budgets have been frozen for much of the past 18 months because of the economy. Still, with signs pointing to recovery and even job growth later in 2010, companies are planning to hire only in key areas. In many cases, companies will still resist bringing on full-time employees until they see clear signs of economic growth and stability. One thing we see our clients doing is bringing people in on a project basis and then as business comes back, hiring them full time. This approach allows companies to be both productive and flexible at the same time. In addition to providing flexibility, access to hard-to-find skills is a primary reason why IT leaders say they rely on IT staffing providers like Spindustry Staffing.
IT leaders indicate that the following types of initiatives will be underway this year: open source applications; mobile applications; cloud computing; business intelligence; Software-as-a-Service; Virtualization; and Security.
For IT professionals who are looking for work or considering a move, here are the types of skills we are seeing most in demand for 2010:
Application Development
Companies that plan to hire are doing so to meet demand for new systems and projects. That is why application development is the skill set that's most in demand.
IT leaders are seeing new projects get the green light. In many cases these are projects that were canceled at the end of 2008. Specifically, companies will look for developers with knowledge of .NET, Java, Web development, open source and portal technologies such as Microsoft's SharePoint. Clients are looking for candidates who can talk to the business and be a requirement gatherer and software developer, rolled into one.
Technical Support
Companies are seeing more need for support technicians as general business conditions improve. Many companies cut too deeply in this area in 2009. While this may work for a while it eventually impacts service and can affect revenue.
Networking
The demand for networking professionals is connected to the growing complexity of networks and the impact of virtualization. At Spindustry Staffing we are also seeing the new popular approaches to application delivery, such as cloud computing and software as a service.
Companies are making increasing use of video and voice over their IP network, so they will need network and voice engineers to handle upgrades and ensure compliance with federal mandates. Companies are also working with a converged infrastructure, driving a need for people with a mix of server, software and networking skills to support networked storage and server devices contained in a single chassis.
Project Management
Project Management is an area that is growing in importance and a good avenue for technology professionals interested in building up their careers. Professionals who understand technology and how it fits in the overall business strategy are the ones who add the most value, get paid more and have the most fulfilling careers.
Security
We see a relationship between demand for security skills and the recovering economy. The biggest threats to companies are breaches by their own staff. When you throw in changes to the staff and disgruntled employees losing their benefits or facing the threat of being laid off, the chances of network fraud or security infringement increase significantly.
Companies are concentrating on hiring people with cyber security skills. In the distant past we didn't worry about things like passwords. Now we're making sure we support complex passwords.
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