IT Skill Sets To Expect in 2010
Certain areas, no matter how the economy performs, will always forge ahead, continuing to advance and improve upon previous benchmarks. Innovation never recognizes a boundary, and never imposes a limit. 2009 brought us the latest in communications solutions with Google Wave, and Microsoft upgraded its operating system platform from Vista to Windows 7. CompTIA delivered a new certification version of their A+ exam, while Cisco polished off brand new certifications. 2010 will develop more products or services as the year continues.
New Cisco Certifications - Cisco, a recognized leader in all things related to networks, targeted the areas of network operations and central data centers with their new Cisco data center certifications. Starting in December, the first selected group of individuals will participate in the Cisco Certified Architect course. The Certified Architect will be rated above the Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert level, already a difficult rating to achieve. In order to participate in the new course, ownership of the Design Expert rating is a prerequisite. The new course resembles a college thesis, as the candidates will characterize and support a network blueprint to a panel of experts. Acquired knowledge will not become the highlight, as the level of success in how their network blueprints addresses business objectives, and their capacity to explain and convey their dissertation face-to-face with the examiners becomes the crucial point.
Microsoft Windows 7, Exchange 2010, SharePoint 2010 - After the core revision of Vista and the inherent incompatibility with existing drivers and application software versions, Windows 7 arrives to erase the memories of a slow system with its share of problems. Corporate enterprises will adopt the new operating system as their hardware/software upgrade cycle fits into the fiscal year. Windows Server 2008 Release 2 should reach the public at the same time. Both solutions were designed to work in tandem in an enterprise environment. Exchange 2010 is expected to be released at the end of 2009, arriving with enhanced functionality, such as better database clustering, new storage and deployment options, and built-in email archiving. SharePoint 2010 brings usage reporting, logging, a streamlined central administration, and a Best Practices Analyzer.
Social Media - While some have bypassed the explosion of Twitter, Facebook and other social media applications, companies including Intel, Starbucks, Ford Motors, and others have taken advantage of social media marketing. Getting a company's message to the masses and keeping their brand alive in the minds of their audience shows the innovation of the new services, while traditional media shows its age. Research indicates interactive marketing, which includes display advertising, search marketing, email marketing and social media will increase to $55 billion dollars, or 21% of all marketing dollars spent. Most of the interactive marketing positions have been requesting individuals with a high level of social marketing tools, that can reach audiences on a variety of social networking sites, and have an ardent group of followers.
Cloud Computing - Hosted applications appear as the sparkling trinket, a great find that does the job with great returns. Free, simplistic in use, and always available wherever your location. Google Docs is a perfect example. The premier global provider of market intelligence, IDC, recently indicated in a study, one in five companies use Google Docs extensively in the workplace. Microsoft plans to release a cloud version of Office 2010, available free to their customers in the Software Assurance maintenance program. In beta, Google Wave is the next attractive solution, combining e-mail, instant messaging, blogging, social networking, document sharing, multimedia and other features. The other side of the cloud coin are the issues of outages and security. Gmail, Twitter, PayPal and RackSpace have succumbed to outages. Earlier in the year, a hacker gained access to Google Apps documents belonging to Twitter.
Usability Professionals - A user's experience has moved into the forefront of companies seeking to improve their product lines or services. Usability professionals assist in including user feedback in the development process of a product. Reductions in training and support costs, lower development time and costs, and a higher level of productivity are some of the benefits realized by incorporating the user's experience into the overall process. Usability professionals have a broad background including human-computer interaction, information design, psychology, technical writing, computer science, web designing, software analyst, and other related fields. A UPA survey conducted in 2009 showed usability professionals were under 45 years of age, just under half of the 1,700 participants in the survey held a Masters degree or higher, one quarter work for a software company, and the average salary was a little over $85,200.
About K Alliance:
K Alliance is a premier leader in computer based training and educational solutions. The K Alliance Cisco certification training has vaulted many students, users and professionals toward higher salaries, greater possibilities of career advancement and an increased knowledge base of technical skill sets. With Exchange 2010 training on the horizon soon after the awaited release of Microsoft's communication and collaboration software, K Alliance continues to deliver world class training satisfying the requirements of individuals, staff departments and corporations. Browse the extensive K Alliance catalog and discover the many certification, training and productivity solutions available, including the upcoming SharePoint 2010 training courseware.
