9 IT skills for 2012

Techrepublic recently carried out a survey that identified the IT skills that would be in demand in 2012. This time around, IT employers are looking for innovation, as they seek to hire new employees next year.

The Survey took the views of around 300 employers who said the following nine skills would be taken into consideration while hiring.


The Survey took the views of around 300 employers who said the following nine skills would be taken into consideration while hiring.


1.Programming and Application development

61percent want to hire professionals for this skill. Skills required would range from website development to upgrading internal systems and meeting the needs of mobile users. There would be an increased effort to improve access technology for smartphone users. Web development will be another vital area for application development, as leading companies seek to better user experience.

2.Project Management

44 percent plan to hire for this skill. Large projects require project managers, but the recent trend has seen increase in demand for business analysts than project managers. Employers are looking for people who could help deliver projects in time, rather than just monitor. Business analysts help identify user needs and translate them to IT professionals.

3.Help Desk and Technical Supports

Increase in use of technology would mean increased demand for support staffers, internal or external. In many leading companies, technical support forms a starting point for IT professionals to advance their skills, to seek higher roles like that of a system analyst. With innumerable operating systems on the mobile platform, Help Desk has seen a huge rise in demand. 35 percent plan to hire employees for this skill.

4.Networking
35 percent will be hiring for networking skills. The need for networking skills has peaked partly due to virtualization and cloud computing projects. Managers are looking for employees with good experience in the networking field, especially those with VMware and Citrix experience.

5.Business Intelligence
Demand for this skill indicates a shift from focusing on cost savings to investing in technology that provides access to real-time data, enabling better business decisions. 23 percent plan to hire for this skill.

6.Data Center
Data center operations will also be influenced by companies' virtualization and cloud strategies. Employers will be looking for IT professionals with experience in system integration and data center operations. The need for data availability to achieve guaranteed IT service also underscore the requirement of experts in business continuity, disaster recovery, system backup and replication. 18 percent will be hiring for this skill.

7.Web 2.0
18 percent plan to hire for this skill,as technical skills centered on social media remain in demand today.More and more industries are looking for ways to integrate Web 2.0 technologies into their infrastructures. HTML, XML, CSS, Flash and Javascript, .Net will typically be the front end skills required while AJAX and PHP will be for back end

8.Security
Security is a high priority in any company as 17 percent employers plan to hire for this skill. While it is a difficult task to find experience and talent in this field, strong auditing and security are a must for any business organization. Security is always a big concern for many organizations, especially those who consider cloud computing as part of their IT strategies.

9.Telecommunications
9 percent plan to hire for this skill. Companies will be aggressively upgrading their communication systems in 2012, with a strong requirement for voice over IP help. This will make leading companies look for professionals with IP telephone skills. They will also hunt for those experienced in Cisco call center systems.