State of the IT Industry?

[IonBlade]

I’ve only really started using SharePoint since I’ve been contracting at my new place of work, and it seems pretty good to me.

I have two SP sites. One was inherited and maintained by my environment/configuration manager for my previous project, and the other I have been playing with in my spare time. I’ve been advised that to use it properly, you start with one document library which acts as a bucket for all types of files, and then you use the metadata you give to each file to augment the many views you can setup in SP – I prefer the traditional file/folder structure, though, which is what I have used for my new project SharePoint site

I’ve been playing with the front page, and with a little help from nakedfrog, I managed to get the html table in the centre looking much better. I think it's great, I've just got to get my project team using it more instead of using it as a basic repository:

Agreed that SharePoint has huge potential, especially if you're willing to get into the business data integration side of things. With 2010's native integration of PerformancePoint, you can make some really powerful dashboards that pull data directly from different data sources across the enterprise.

SharePoint has been quite the success in being a single point from which all of our users can "get things done" - from end-users entering daily numbers and storing project-related files, to middle management viewing reports on today's numbers, to upper management viewing trends and risky projects via PerformancePoint 2007 scorecards.

The other nice thing about SharePoint from an IT side is that there's a spot for just about all types of IT people. As a framework, it provides a base to use all the latest MS technologies for coders. Keeping a large implementation running smoothly can call for a fulltime SharePoint architect to design metadata schema, permissions, etc. There's also the web development side there, using SharePoint designer to make custom templates and site modifications.

 

[LS8]

It's 2009, try something better than a 17" monitor.

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

It's 2009, try something better than a 17" monitor.

I'm on my laptop. My desktop has a 24" monitor.

 

[drebo]

Voice is huge right now. Get a CCNA Voice or a CCVP and you'll get hired very quickly. Seriously, voice is exploding.

 

[RichUK]

Agreed that SharePoint has huge potential, especially if you're willing to get into the business data integration side of things. With 2010's native integration of PerformancePoint, you can make some really powerful dashboards that pull data directly from different data sources across the enterprise.

SharePoint has been quite the success in being a single point from which all of our users can "get things done" - from end-users entering daily numbers and storing project-related files, to middle management viewing reports on today's numbers, to upper management viewing trends and risky projects via PerformancePoint 2007 scorecards.

The other nice thing about SharePoint from an IT side is that there's a spot for just about all types of IT people. As a framework, it provides a base to use all the latest MS technologies for coders. Keeping a large implementation running smoothly can call for a fulltime SharePoint architect to design metadata schema, permissions, etc. There's also the web development side there, using SharePoint designer to make custom templates and site modifications.

Agreed, it can be very powerful and useful if used properly. I have about 25 people resourced to my project working flat out with no spare time to play around with the sharepoint site, so I’ve been playing with it in my spare time. I’ve already spent my remaining budget this F/Y (£530k) on SAP dev/IBM and other contract resource, so I can’t get anyone else in to improve and maintain it.

The largest programme of work currently being undertaken in my organisation (burning circa £1M a week) has armies of devs, business/system analysts, etc. and their SharePoint site looks amazing! But then they have the expertise to achieve this.

 

[Genx87]

This plus depending on the field, data on said servers might not be able to be accessed by anyone outside the company and/or said hosting companies might not have people with enough experience to realistically manage the resources.

I'm not saying it's not possible as this is a realistic option for a lot of places but I think it's erroneous to say 'most infrastructure jobs'

I think the whole ownership will get in the way of this mass migration to data centers. Humans like to be able to walk into a room and touch their servers. Do you know anybody who uses Googles online services??????

 

[Genx87]

I have been impressed with SP since the 2005 version????? I am just now playing with 2010 beta at home. It really simplifies a lot of things and presents data in an organized fashion.

 

[StageLeft]

I haven't looked for work in a while, otherwise I could say. Based on what I "Feel" and have read from elsewhere, I think that IT right now is a decent field. I don't think many fields are good for newbies at all right now outside of, say, nursing, but I am in IT and no indication to me that I'll need to switch fields in the future. Yes things are outsourced, but there is more to IT than just putting code together and dealing with end-users over a phone can become quickly problematic. Even if you could teleconference everything there is just a missing link when you are not all in a room around a table. Much of what I do now is business analysis to support technical solutions.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

IT can be easily outsourced. I recommend you get involved in a very specific field such as health informatics as there will be a huge emphasis on electronic health records over the next decade. Another safe bet would be to work in information security for the government or military. This is advice coming from a non-IT guy, though I have an interest in the field.

such a general statement. you cannot outsource everything.
and in a financial firm, it is next to impossible.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

All true, but also consider that many companies, especially SMBs, have experience a contraction of budgets in all areas. Despite what many (non-IT) people on this forum think, IT is not something you just toss over the pond to some random firm in another country. Statistically, only 20% it outsourced at all, and upwards of 10% of that is with onshore firms (that might be augmented by off-shore resources).

As people cut costs, the top guys are having their compensation cut or they're cut entirely. I can think of at least 5 very large companies that have removed their CIOs and mid-level management entirely so they can hit end of year numbers. But guess what? The work still needs to be done. They're going to look for more junior to mid-level people.

So: If you're just getting into IT, NOW IS THE TIME. The dot-com days was the time, early 2004 was the time and now it's the time again. It goes in about 5 year cycles for reasons unknown to me.

Hit the smaller businesses where you're not judged only by the words on your resume and thrown into a pigeon-holed role. Focus on experience, meet the right people and grow. Now is the time.

finally someone who knows what he's talking about.
it's a pretty good time to be in IT. probably not dot-com good, but pretty friggin good.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

cloud technology
focus on collaboration
everything virtualized

agreed on the last 2, not sure about the first because my firm (and the field in general) CANNOT rely on a third party because of sensitivity of the data.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

IT can be easily outsourced. I recommend you get involved in a very specific field such as health informatics as there will be a huge emphasis on electronic health records over the next decade. Another safe bet would be to work in information security for the government or military. This is advice coming from a non-IT guy, though I have an interest in the field.

clueless.

 

[JD50]

Here's a tip, though again this is wildly variable. A lot of places that list requirements don't stick by them steadfast. For example, my current job asked for 10 years of experience and I don't have that. This has been the case in every job I've worked for. It never hurts to try.

Agreed, I've had the same experience as you, I've never been "qualified" for the jobs I've gotten. Ignore the requirements and apply for the jobs that you think you should be able to do.

 

[geekender]

My compiled version:

The largest growth potentials in CIS and Computer Science are in the areas of networking, programming, and database administration. These areas hold 5 of the top 10 fastest growing occupations in the forecast for the next 10 years. However, three technologies not yet on the job radar which are sure to be the focus of the industry are collaborative applications, cloud technologies, and virtualization.

Despite the current economic conditions, or maybe because of them, the technology sector remains a strong and stable field on which students can rely and through which employers can reduce costs. While the dot-com bust of the early 2000’s led many to believe that the boom times of the tech industry had passed, in reality the field is currently in need of more workers than at the peak of that era.

Outsourcing IT has never produced the results which were promised. The cost has been higher than predicted and the quality much lower. The upcoming model seems to be a hybrid with less critical applications and services sent to the cloud while the day to day operations remain in house serviced by an IT staff who will also manage the quality of the outsourced services.

Collaborative applications and user created content are becoming more and more user friendly, to the point that web applications such as Facebook and SharePoint are standard operating procedure rather than reserved for the technical crowd. On one hand, this is great because some of the load is taken off of the IT staff for day to day content updates. However, for custom web applications this can mean that the back end programming, database, and security personnel are working overtime to support an easy to use interface.
Saving energy and consolidation of resources affects the bottom line. This is one major draw for cloud technologies. Also by distributing resources there is a reliability factor unmatched by individual machines. At the same time, virtualization allows multiple roles to be serviced by single instances of hardware or a single machine instance distributed across multiple physical components.

Emerging technologies allow telecommuting to be more commonplace because the virtual private networking services are being built into the operating system itself at the same time that the practice is becoming more accepted in the workplace.
In addition to the specialized IT worker role, there is much crossover to other fields and the networking, programming, and security training provided can be used to work with other areas such as healthcare for positions such as a Healthcare Information Technician. But almost every field has or will have an IT component or require IT support including HVAC, IST, and Automotive.

Sources: US Bureau of Labor and Statistics, Georgia Department of Labor, CNNMoney, Collaboration with technical colleagues