Finance: Stable IT Spending, Less Hiring

With all the gloom around shrinking technology budgets in the financial sector, the news that trading firms are likely to at least keep IT spend in line with last year is a surprising bit of good news. Even more improbably, some areas may actually be growing.

Tech firms Sybase and Financial Insights took in responses from 200 investment banks, broker-dealers, fund managers and hedge funds and found that the majority planned to keep IT spend on a par with last year.

The old favorites, risk and compliance, are expected to see an increase in technology spending this year. Other areas are also set to see a slight up-tick in IT investment – market risk, security and fraud management, enterprise SOA, server virtualization, network management, collaboration technologies and CRM.

Sean O’Dowd, capital markets senior analyst at Financial Insights, says: “While capital markets firms are confronted with an extremely difficult market environment, the study’s evidence suggests that they are diligently working to position themselves for future success.”

However, while this is good news and gives you an idea of at least some areas where there could be job opportunities going forward, sadly recruitment is not on the agenda yet.

The one area where firms are pulling back is hiring staff.

– Paul Clarke

When IT Jobs Get Dirty

I didn’t know there was such a thing as a dirty IT job, but apparently there are a few. Last year, InfoWorld published  The 7 Dirtiest Jobs in IT, which included things like “help-desk zombie specialist,” an “excellent entry-level opportunity for a multitasking individual with low self-esteem.”  Then there was the on-site reboot specialist who must be “familiar with the three-fingered Ctrl-Alt-Del salute and power-cord reconfiguration.”

This year, IW followed-up with More Dirty IT Jobs, including the data cleansing drone that requires a ”detailed-oriented individual to pore over endless amounts of repetitive data looking for errors.”  The job needs individuals with a “high tolerance for mindless drudgery; clinical diagnosis of obsessive-compulsive disorder a plus.”

Okay, so you won’t go home smelly and caked in mud. These jobs are the technology equivalent of ditch diggers. So they make me think of one of my favorite lines from the 1980 movie Caddyshack, when Danny Noonan tells Judge Smails:

“I planned to go to law school after I graduated, but it looks like my folks won’t have enough money to put me through college.”

“Well, the world needs ditch diggers, too.”

Get More Value Out Of Certifications

Take test. Pass test. Move on. That’s how things usually work, but in the world of IT certifications, making the grade is just one step in an ongoing process that will occupy you throughout your career. NetworkWorld’s Linda Musthaler has some good advice for IT experts who want to make the most of their certifications, squeezing extra value from them beyond simply getting the credential. For example:

Use your certification as leverage with your employer. Your certification validates that you have specific knowledge and skills that might be hard to come by or costly to build, even in today’s job market. In particular, companies that resell products and services from vendors like Cisco and Microsoft are required to have certified professionals on staff in order to qualify for certain authorized partner programs. If you are the certified professional with the required credentials, your company needs you in order to maintain partner status. You can leverage this advantage when it comes time for a promotion, a raise, an increase in benefits – or even to keep your job during a reduction in force.

Musthlaer also has this clever suggestion:

Use your certification status to grab some glory. Vendors love to use quotes or testimonials from their members to market their programs to others. If your employer doesn’t object, you can offer to provide that testimonial. You might find yourself featured in news articles, on Web sites, in brochures or on Webinars. It’s an easy way to get someone else to toot your horn for a while.

What’s Up With ‘R’?

Linux Takes a Hit, But Won’t Stay Down

Some are predicting Linux will be the “fastest-growing operating system segment in the marketplace,” as the economy recovers, says InformationWeek. But for now, revenue growth is taking a hit.  Said IDC’s Al Gillen at this week’s Linux Foundation Collaboration Summit in San Francisco:

The economic disruptions impacting the market today are affecting all market segments, including the Linux ecosystem. Linux has experienced a reduction in growth of software spending. When combined with a falloff in revenue from servers to run Linux, the Linux “ecosystem” growth will amount to 9 percent in 2009, or less than IDC had projected.

Still, says IW:

By 2013, IDC expects revenue from Linux software, servers, and services to equal about half those of the lucrative Unix market, or $35.5 billion versus $74 billion.

Stay tuned.

How to be a Sales Engineer

Techies with a knack for sales are a rare breed. They need a technology mind combined with strong social skills. If this sounds like you, consider a sales engineering job. Of course, there are trade-offs: These jobs tend to be less secure, since you’ll only be as good as your recent sales number. But the salary and perks are better than most.

In NetworkWorld, Jamey Heary, a Cisco security expert, listed the top skills you’ll need to be successful in a security sales engineering role. What he say can apply to other IT specialties, as well:

• Good presentation, written and verbal skills: Basically you have to be able to communicate with people in a way that makes them want to talk to you again.  The trick is to become a “trusted adviser” to your customers.
• Personal integrity and strong ethics: What differentiates a good engineer from a great one is personal integrity and ethics. As a sales engineer, it’s imperative you put your customer’s long term success first, even above the company that you are selling for.
• Security architecture and design experience:  You’ll need to be proficient in security design. Broad security skill sets are in -demand for pre-sales security consulting gigs. For most companies, this includes a solid understanding of routing and switching. A proficiency in compliance also is a strong asset.
• Knowledge of the security landscape and industry trends: You have to be aware of what types of solutions are out there. You don’t have to possess a deep knowledge of each, just an awareness.
• In-depth knowledge of the products you’re selling : This is core to the job, and most likely the one that will be scrutinized the most during the interview process. How much you need to know will vary depending on the seniority of the position you’re applying for.

Where Companies are Hiring

ReadWriteWeb’s published its analysis of who’s been hiring so far this year.  Top sectors are software/ IT , social media/social networking, and marketing/advertising firms.

The social networking part caught my eye because recruiters are telling me companies continue to invest in Web development technologies, particularly small-  and medium-sized firms. They’re looking for ways to maintain market share in this crazy economy.

Anyway, ReadWriteWeb reported on 420 hires since January 1. The breakdown of sectors:

1. 24 percent in software/IT
2. 15 percent in social media/social networking
3. 11 percent in marketing and advertising
4. 7 percent in publishing and new media
5. 6 percent in hardware
6. 4 percent in mobile
7. 3 percent in gaming and entertainment
8. 3 percent in search
9. 2 percent in government
10. 2 percent in security.

The low figures in mobile and security – two areas that many consider growing sectors, even in during this downturn – are particularly troubling. But ultimately, they could be areas that pick up quickly when the economy shows sustainable signs of improvement.

Game Over?

The gaming industry is maturing. And while electronic games have become an entertainment staple, guaranteeing jobs for thousands, when an industry’s growth wanes, it ultimately has a significant impact on employment. In a recent article in the Los Angeles Times, reporter Alex Pham details some recent changes – and their employment impact – in the video game industry.

What a difference a year makes. After a decade-long boom, hiring in the video game industry slowed dramatically in late 2008 as consumers curtailed spending and credit dried up.

Electronic Arts Inc., or EA, a large video game publisher in Redwood City, Calif., has cut 1,100 jobs since October. THQ Inc., based in Calabasas, said in February that it would shed 600 jobs, about a quarter of its workforce. Chicago-based Midway Games Inc. in December said it would lay off 25% of its staff, about 180 employees.
The three posted large losses last year as their titles failed to sell well enough to cover the ballooning costs of developing games.

For companies, that’s one silver lining of the economic downturn: After years of not being able to find enough qualified people to make games, employers now have a surplus of out-of-work talent from which to hire.

But the brutal competition for jobs is weighing on even experienced developers, who are having a tough time landing full-time gigs.

Supported by information from his sources, Pham concludes that employers still have jobs to fill, but with the talent pendulum swinging in the other direction, companies are taking their time and being more selective, before extending offers.

Heeding lessons from the dot com bust, devout gamers should take proactive steps to enhance their skills, and even change jobs, if an unbiased review of the competitive landscape suggests that their current employer may not survive a period of industry consolidation. This time, there might be a softer landing, so note the warning and plan your moves now, so you are assured of winning the game.

The Next IT Push: Electronic Health Records

We’ve noted before that IT healthcare should be a good place for a career in the coming years, especially between 2011 and 2015. That’s when the industry will start to see the results of $20 billion in government funding allocated for health-information technology President Obama’s $787 billion stimulus package, according to an estimate from the Congressional Budget Office.

One area in particular is worth looking into: Electronic Health Records, also known as EHRs. Only 9 percent of U.S. hospitals currently have EHRs, according to a survey by the New England Journal of Medicine. The survey, sent to hospitals in March 2008 and based on responses from 2,900 U.S. hospitals, found most institutions only have basic electronic systems, such as for reporting patients’ lab results.

EHRs essentially replace a patient’s paper file and may be safer to use, doing things like alerting doctors for drug interactions and the like. Advocates say EHRs also reduce spending from unnecessary testing and help doctors spot trends in their medical practice.

But others argue it won’t be an easy transition for the industry to make, citing the “cost and complexity of installing the systems and building data networks required to share information electronically between doctors’ offices and hospitals.”

Easy or not, EHRs aren’t going to happen without more technical folks to put them in place.

Q&A: Goldman Sachs CIRO Phil Venables

Wall Street’s been on the cutting edge of technology trends for years. I recently had a chance to speak with Phil Venables, chief information risk officer for investment firm Goldman Sachs. He has the unique role of leading the firm’s information security, technology risk and business continuity programs.

Venables offered some sound advice for anyone looking to get a foothold in these areas. Take information security. It used to be a straightforward profession, Venables says, but now its home to many broad, deep specialist areas.

Question: What types of skills does a person need in order to work in the role you are in – as overseer of information security, technology risk and business continuity?

Answer: I think it varies. Our functions are fairly broad, so my team includes people with a very deep technical background who do a range of specialist security analysis tasks, like systems/application security testing. They require computer science and/or engineering qualifications. Other roles include business analyst-oriented roles for conducting business/information threat and risks analysis in the context of business flows.

Those people come from a variety of backgrounds. I have people on my team from a variety of educational backgrounds including information systems, economics and MBAs, as well as computer science, mathematics and engineering.

When it comes to building experience in security, Venables echoed a response I’ve heard from others in the field: It’s one of those areas where the techniques and methods of infiltrating systems constantly is changing and evolving. You build a stronger lock or higher fence, and the criminals just adapt and find another way to get in. So I asked Venables how important training and certifications are for IT security professionals:

I have some people on my team with a master’s in information security and related disciplines. But most of the members of my team come from other backgrounds. Generally, it’s been on-the-job training. You should have a good technical background with business analyst ability. We expect people to be constantly learning and upgrading their skills. Key skills include an ability to work with many and diverse teams, to be constantly learning, and above all a talent for placing technical risks and resulting mitigation in the context of our business.

If you want more information about security, check out the SANS Institute’s Web site.