Social Media Use Doubles from 12% to 24% For Small Business

A recently published study reflects that social media adoptin by small businesses has doubled from 12% to 24% in the last year. The Small Business Success Index sponsored by Network Solutions and the Center for Excellence in Service at the University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business says the jump is the result of small firms trying to boost their efficency in a prolonged downturn.

Nearly one out of five small business owners are said to be actively using social media in their business according to the study. The majority of small businesses that have begun interacting on social networks have established a company page on Facebook and LinkedIn and are posting content to these platforms. Twitter and blogs are being used less frequently, as only 39 percent of small businesses using social media have started a blog and 26 percent interact on Twitter regarding their industry.

The study’s results is the impact businesses are seeing from their social interactions. 50 percent of the businesses surveyed said their social media programs are at least breaking even and an additional 22 percent have made or will make a profit this year through social media.
The majority of small businesses that have begun interacting on social networks have established a company page on Facebook and LinkedIn and are posting content to these platforms. Twitter and blogs are being used less frequently, as only 39 percent of small businesses using social media have started a blog and 26 percent interact on Twitter regarding their industry.

* 79% surveyed have a company page on a socail networking site

* 61% use social media for identifying and attarcting new customers

* 57% have built a network through a site like LinkedIn

* 45% expect social media to be profitable in the next 12 months.

New Business-to-Business Division Addresses the Growing Technology Needs of Enterprise, Small- and Medium-Sized Customers

Staples Advantage, the business-to-business division of Staples, Inc., today announced the launch of Staples Technology Solutions to meet customers’ growing needs for technology products and services. Staples Technology Solutions offers business customers – from small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to Fortune 1000 corporations – access to a full range of offerings from data center solutions and printer fleet management services to network services and everyday desktop technology products.

“At Staples, we’ve built our world-class reputation by making it easy for businesses to buy office products and services,” said Jay Mutschler, senior vice president of Staples Advantage. “Staples Technology Solutions combines expert service, great product selection, and our low cost-to-serve model to satisfy customers who increasingly depend on technology to run their businesses. By launching this new line of business, Staples Advantage now not only makes it easy to buy everyday office products, but becomes a reliable and cost-effective supplier of network services, data center solutions, and more.”

“As organizations of all sizes are tasked with doing more with fewer resources, enlisting the help of a small number of trusted partners becomes increasingly attractive,” said Bob Laliberte, senior analyst at the Enterprise Strategy Group. “For IT buyers who are deluged with a wide range of choices with regard to products, brands, and the means to source them, consolidating vendors can be quite a daunting challenge, despite the anticipated benefits. Organizations want to reduce the complexity of multi-vendor solutions by relying on trusted, single source suppliers like Staples Technology Solutions that combine real world know-how with a wide array of technology solutions and services.”

One Stop for IT Solutions

In an increasingly complex IT world, vendor consolidation is delivering valuable business outcomes. Businesses – from SMBs to Fortune 1000 corporations – can now depend on Staples to procure not only office products and services but the right technology equipment and services that are vital to customers’ everyday operations. Acting as an extension of an in-house IT department or running an organization’s entire IT operations, Staples’ flexible and robust product offerings, commitment to service, distribution expertise, technological excellence and dedicated IT specialists bring a distinct competitive advantage to the office products industry.

Today, Staples Technology Solutions offers:

Technology experts, including certified specialists that help customers make the right technology choices to keep their businesses running productively, efficiently, and on budget;
Managed services, including on-site and remote server and desktop support for Apple(R) (Mac), Microsoft(R), and Linux platforms, and engineers certified in industry-leading certifications, such as Cisco(R), Citrix(R), and Linux;
Printing solutions, including comprehensive printer fleet management that maximizes an organization’s assets and saves money;
Data center assessments and solutions, ranging from services such as sub-floor cleaning, to one of country’s widest selections of data center media equipment and supplies, including 24/7 data center emergency supply service;
Strong vendor relationships, including significant buying power that translates into considerable savings for customers and an outstanding product assortment that ensures access to all the top technology brands, such as Fujifilm, Hewlett-Packard(R), IBM(R), and Sun Microsystems (TM); and
Easy access to products, including innovative procurement solutions that fit a company’s IT needs and improved ordering efficiencies through eCommerce, EDI, XML, and third-party options.
As Vice President of Technology for the Boston Celtics, Jay Wessel is responsible for managing all aspects of technology for the organization – from strategic direction down to help-desk support for his end users. After his previous experiences with IT consultants resulted in more trouble than it was worth, he turned to Staples Technology Solutions’ network services offering.

“Many times when I would try to get help, we would end up spending a lot of money for someone to come in, do 90 percent of the work, then disappear with the hardest parts still left undone,” explained Wessel. “Where Staples Technology Solutions adds the most value for me is in the comfort level they provide. They continue to add value to the relationship by providing technology and systems recommendations, which makes it easier for the Celtics to choose and deploy the right solutions without me having to do the leg work.”

For additional information on Staples Technology Solutions, visit http://www.staplesadvantage.com.

About Staples Advantage

Staples Advantage, the business-to-business division of Staples, Inc. (Nasdaq: SPLS), serves mid-sized to Fortune 1000 companies, state and federal government agencies, and universities. Staples Advantage works collaboratively with its customers to enable procurement professionals to efficiently manage office products and services programs with a low cost-to-serve model. Staples Advantage has been certified by J.D. Power and Associates for delivering “An Outstanding Customer Service Experience” for six consecutive years. More information is available at www.staplesadvantage.com.

About Staples

Staples, the world’s largest office products company, is committed to making it easy for customers to buy a wide range of office products, including supplies, technology, furniture, and business services. With 2008 sales of $23 billion and 91,000 associates worldwide, Staples serves businesses of all sizes and consumers in 27 countries throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. In July 2008, Staples acquired Corporate Express, one of the world’s leading suppliers of office products to businesses and institutions. Staples invented the office superstore concept in 1986 and is headquartered outside Boston. More information about Staples (Nasdaq: SPLS) is available at www.staples.com.

Leading information technology (IT) and education professionals gathered together last week at a public roundtable discussion to explore the challenges facing California’s IT and New Media employment and education sectors. The goal of the roundtable is to determine how best to develop and promote education pathways and job market strategies while supporting beneficial uses of IT, New Media and innovation in California.

The roundtable event was held in conjunction with the Educating for Careers conference taking place Orange County, CA February 28 –March 2, 2010. The conference attracted over 2200 high school teachers and administrators interested in learning more about and promoting Career Technical Education (CTE) in California.

Sponsored by the WhyITNow.org initiative and established to promote IT and New Media education and jobs in California, the roundtable discussions will cover topics ranging from improving collaboration between K-12 schools, community colleges, 4-year colleges and universities, business and government around IT education and workforce development; IT and New Media workforce demand and career pathways; professional development for teachers and incumbent workers; promoting IT entrepreneurship; and fostering diversity and serving under-represented populations, including women and minorities.

Roundtable participants will include stakeholders representing a wide range of views and experiences, such as secondary and post-secondary education, job market data and research companies, software manufacturers, regional occupation centers, professional associations, small business associations, chambers of commerce and others. Industry representation includes companies such as Monster.com, Robert Half Technology, Southern California , WebProfessionals.org, CompTIA . Education and small business organizations participating include the California Department of Education, Los Angeles County Office of Education, and the California Small Business Association.

Participating panelist included:

* Andy Vaughan, Director, Strategic Programs, Monster, Public Sector & Education
* Sarah M. Vielma, Consultant, Career and Workforce Development / Regional Occupational Program, Los Angeles County Office of Education
* Craig Kapper, Senior Regional Vice President, Robert Half Technology, Southern California
* Gary Page, Consultant, California Department of Education (CDE)
* James Jones, Executive Director, MPICT San Francisco
* Betty Jo Toccoli, California Small Business Association
* Alan Rowland, Education to Careers Business Development Manager CompTIA

Bill Cullifer, Chair of the WhyITNow.org initative kicked off the event with an overview of why the event was important. The reasons include:

* Because California and tha nations future depends on IT
* IT cuts across all sectors of our economy
* IT is what drives our economy
* The pace of technological advancement moves rapidly and California will need to act now to keep pace
* China invest billions in IT education and we need to compete
* For example, India has more honor students that the U.S. has students

Bill Cullifer also provided a breif background regarding WOW’s background including:

* Supporting IT and New Media education for thirteen years
* Working with the U.S. Department of Ed, organizations like Comitia established national skills standards for IT and Web professionals
* Was recently asked by CDE to support the IT in California

To support education California and the current status IT WOW spent the last four months reviewing:

* Reviewed the California State Plan for CTE Participated in the 2009 Business Education Resource Group (BERG) Annual Meeting
* Reviewed the CAROCP Strategic Plan
* Reviewed the Chancellors Strategic Plan
* Reviewed the ConnectED California Partnership Academy Profile
* Board Member Position of the CAROCP
* Interviewed and met with key stakeholders

As a result, WOW has concluded that establishing an initiative to assit with the communication as to why it is important now because:

* The state, the world’s eighth largest economy is being hammered by the deep recession, rising unemployment, a growing multi-billion dollar budget deficit
* California also has an unprecedented high school drop out rate. It also has the second highest foreclosure rate in the nation
* To address these issues California will need think and act creatively

The vision behind the establishment of the WhyITNow.org initiative

* The WhyITNow.org initiative was established to advocate to and support IT in California
* A collaborative effort for promoting jobs, innovation and productivity for California
* Establish an IT Alliance to educate teachers, students, business and industry regarding the benefits of efficient use of IT

WOW introduced the moderators of the event:

* Vera L. Jacobson, M.A., Career Technical Education Resource Teacher, Sequoia Union High School District
* Sheryl Ryder, Coordinator, California Business Education Project, Napa County Office of Education

Event supporters include:

WhyITNow.org Announces Initiative to Support Information Technology Jobs and Services in California

Leading Information Technology (IT) organizations, businesses, industry and education professionals come together to collaborate on a new initiative that will help support California’s IT Job market pipeline. The goal of the WhyITNow.org initiative is to support California with an advanced information technology ecosystem that is able to refresh itself with IT talent, creative thinkers and entrepreneurs.

The initiative is responding to a crisis of record unemployment, a higher than average drop out rates and U.S. government studies predicting a significant shortage of technology professionals in the country within the next three to five years. The new initiative is designed to address the shortage of technology professionals and to answer the question, “Why Consider a Career in the IT Profession.”

“In order for California to continue to lead the world in innovation and creativity, we must develop an advanced information technology ecosystem that is able to refresh itself with IT talent and creative thinkers” said Bill Cullifer, WOW Executive Director and WhyITNow.org.

The WhyITNow.org initiative will drive skill development that will support and increase California’s job base. It also will:

•Develop an effective communication strategy to articulate that WhyITNow is good for California business, commerce, competitiveness and jobs
•Provide the legwork and the research of the employment data the state needs via analysis of existing and future data resources
•Deploy a strategy that works with California’s decentralized education structure
•Improve collaboration between K-12, community colleges, 4-year colleges an universities, business and government
•Aggregate an effective advocacy effort with state and national policy makers on behalf of the IT community in Sacramento and Washington D.C.
•Focus on promoting diversity and serving under-represented groups, difficult to reach populations and non-traditional learning organizations including women and minorities and the incumbent workforce
•Deploy relevant, workable, accessible instructional design strategies for learners (traditional and online methods) in partnership with California education including high schools, community collages, universities and ROP centers statewide.
•Work to build and promote IT literacy into general education curriculum in order to equip all graduates with these basic skills
•Support strategies to promote and support small business in California (where 90% of the jobs are)

In this ten minute interview with Christian P. Hagen, Principal with A.T. Kearney’s Strategic Information Technology Practice based in Chicago, Mr. Hagen who specializes in helping clients leverage information technology to increase efficiencies, improve customer relationships, and gain competitive advantage shares findings of the IT study entitled “Delivering Technology Innovation”.

Christian P. Hagen is a Principal with A.T. Kearney’s Strategic Information Technology Practice and is based in Chicago. He specializes in helping clients leverage information technology to increase efficiencies, improve customer relationships, and gain competitive advantage. He advises clients in the retail, financial services, high-tech, and automotive industries.

Chris has led several global business technology studies for A.T. Kearney and is the author of nearly 40 published articles and papers on low-cost competition, complexity management, eBusiness, and IT strategy. Prior to joining A.T. Kearney, Chris traded options at the Chicago Board of Options Exchange and consulted with KPMG Consulting.

Chris has a MS in Public Policy and MIS (with honors) from Carnegie Mellon University’s H. John Heinz III School of Public Policy and Management, an M.B.A. (with high honors) from Indiana University and a B.A. from Valparaiso University.

Transcript:

Bill Cullifer: I am on the phone with Christian Hagan, Principle of A. T. Kearney’s Strategic Information Technology Practice based in Chicago. Mr. Hagan specializes in helping clients leverage information technology to increase efficiencies, improve customer relations and gain competitive advantage, good afternoon Mr. Hagan and thanks for agreeing to the interview.

Christian P. Hagen: Thanks for having me.

Bill Cullifer: You bet. You just published a comprehensive report and titled Delivering Technology Innovation, what prompted the Delivery and technology innovation study?

Christian P. Hagen: Sure, well we have been doing this study I think three or, four times over the past decade I think the first one that we did was in 1999, and as anyone knows those where a heady times in the IT space and we have tried to do this every other year since that time, and so we have gotten three or four done over the past decade. So, it’s part of just the overall path we like to take in the IT strategy market, and really understand that the direction of IT, and certainly a lot of our clients participate in this study, and we tried to do it both in the United States and North America as well as in Europe, so we leverage some of our colleagues across the pond if you will, to leverage some of their client contacts to have them participate as well.

Really the thesis of our study and they are pretty, a thesis is pretty similar, year over year, but we will like to really take a pulse of how that’s changed, is that the companies that are successful in managing their IT and understand how to take innovative IT solutions to market to transform the business are in a much better position for growth and success than the ones that are not. So, there is really haves and have not in this technology innovation space, and we like to essentially test that in the market and I think that bear through in the results we are seeing in this latest study.

Bill Cullifer: What are some of the key findings?

Christian P. Hagen: Well, I think the main findings that we’ve had over the past year is again over 90% of the responders identified IT is important or extremely important strategic differentiator for their company, so it’s really if you ask the executive both from an IT standpoint and a business standpoint is IT important, everyone is saying that it is, and I think that is very encouraging. And also important to note is that almost 85% of the executives reported that IT innovation is growing in importance. So, compared to how the IT innovation was positioned five years ago, it’s much more important for the board, for the CEO, and for the C level executives that participated in the study, I think the thing that is interesting however given all that importance that the executives are saying IT invasion now has is that the actual investment in IT innovation lagged it’s target level by over 75%, and given.

I think this is surprising, because if you read the business press innovation is really positioned as very important both from a product standpoint and an IT standpoint, and one would have expected that this, that the investment in IT innovation would have increased year over year in the last decade, but instead it has gone down, and I think that was one of the biggest surprises that we saw in the survey. We also found that there is, plenty of barriers in delivering IT innovation, particularly around IT complexity and inconsistent data. So, the complexity notion is certainly one that we’ve, that we are acutely interested in at A. T. Kearney and we do a lot of work around IT complexity to help better position, IT departments to deliver results for the business.

Bill Cullifer: Define IT innovation for us?

Christian P. Hagen: Well, we define it in a pretty clear and straight forward manner, and I think how we basically set it up is that innovation, are investments in IT that really are game changers in a particular industry, we don’t define it as it’s got to be the latest wiz-bang technology that is out there, and we have actually found that you can be very innovative in your use of IT, and in your results by using standard and mature technologies in innovative ways across your supply chain, and working with your customers and integrating your customers, supply chain and products together, so we don’t define it has how mature that particular technology, is all though often that certainly provides an opportunity to create that breakthrough in business performance.

Bill Cullifer: You know it all sounds really logical, but I wonder where the disconnect is, so if delivering technology innovation increases ROI, why isn’t the metrics in the investment there currently?

Christian P. Hagen: Yeah, I think it’s the problem that we have seen so, well we imagine that we saw decreasing investment in innovation over the last decade, one theme that has been consistent over the last decade, is just the inability to get business and IT to work better effectively, to have people the IT folks that can speak the language of the business, for the business folks to really position IT as a board level initiative and that is certainly one, one thing that we found coming out of the study that we felt was interesting is that more and more folks are defining or, I should say assigning specific positions in charge of IT innovation, and this person is really on the hook to evaluate the technologies in the market place that could prove beneficial to a particular company.

And also work with the business and IT to identify the opportunities to bring this IT to bear within that company and really set up almost pilot type environments where companies can experiment to push forward these projects, because a lot of time there is really, we are finding that IT departments are almost a barrier through this IT innovation from the stand point to business is coming up with great ideas, on how they can use technology to improve their products, supply chain and relations with their customers, but the IT departments are so bogged down in IT, their day to day IT operations and IT complexity that that becomes a real mountain for them to climb and oftentimes they are not very successful climbing that mountain.

Bill Cullifer: You mentioned in the study there is five areas of IT innovation; can you give us a couple of high levels of what those are?

Christian P. Hagen: Yeah, I mean I think that basically we are seeing innovation across five key areas, so information, creating richer more interconnected experiences with the data and really being able to integrate this data in a much more effective manner across their value chain, again from their customer, suppliers to their products and their supply chain. We are often seeing it in applications, so the web oriented architecture is a software as a service, the service oriented architectures are really beginning to take root, and while they are far from mature, we are starting to see companies really reap some benefits from those types of architectures, the peripheral advices around mobile devices, well again I think they are fairly mature, and a lot of companies are using them now we’re seeing significant benefits from select companies in using these devices, particularly in field services and how they are really getting more out of their asset base and their human capital in using these devices.

That we reference in this paper a retail gas or propylene company that is been very successful when I was transformed their industry through the use of mobile devices and other technologies, connectivity just the ability to, the broadband techno that is really creating a connected work force at a global scale, and then also finally in hardware so that virtualization and grid computing and [indiscernible] [00:08:00] form as a servicing cloud computing we’re really seeing that, that transformed help people to procure IT and really transforming some of their cost structures as well, so those are really the five areas that we are seeing and there is a bit more detail in a paper, but again these really should be areas that all CIO are working at to drive innovation within their company.

Bill Cullifer: I am heading up on advocacy initiative entitled why IT now, the purpose of this advocacy effort is to promote education, bridge some of the relationships between business industry and education, but also to fill some of the skills gap between technology workers and management, any advice or suggestions on how we can improve that?

Christian P. Hagen: Yes, I think that you know, if you look at IT and how education, how IT education particularly computer science education has been structured over the past 20 years, I mean it’s typically a [indiscernible] [00:08:49] that of math departments and been very focused on the actual I will say programming, and programming languages and what we have seen over the past I think ten years, particularly at the graduate school level is really this notion that business and IT needs to begin to work together much more effectively and this whole notion of management information system has really bridged that gap.

And now the majority of folks who work in IT, particularly in business technology have never been hardcore computer science or, program folks. So, I think we are starting to see some of this shift in education to move into not only the under graduate ranks, but I would think that we should also begin to see that move into the high school ranks as well and you know, I will given an analogy my father is physics professor and he once looked at my cousins work that he was doing as the senior in high school, and he looked at that and he said yes, we did this when I was a senior also, a senior at MIT. So, consistently seeing this move earlier this education move earlier and earlier in education, and I think I would like to see IT do that as well, particularly this notion of business technology and really move that earlier in the education life cycle, it may not be the most important thing that the first computer class that you take is Pascal or C++, it may be much more appropriate for you to really take systems design or, to take more of a database class to really understand how information can be used, and understanding how you are gathering business requirements and working with business liaisons to define a business technology solution.

Bill Cullifer: I certainly appreciate your perspective very well report delivering technology innovation and for your time today.

Christian P. Hagen: Yep, thank you very much, I appreciate it.

California Jobs Available Now

In his Jan. 8, 2010 Sacramento Bee “Capitol and California” Opinion Column, Dan Walters cites Arnold Schwarzenegger declaring that ”the worst is over for California’s economy“ and predicted happy days ahead.

“Not so fast”, according to Walters. “Schwarzenegger once again has allowed his characteristic optimism — or hubris — to cloud what should be his better judgment. While our universities remain a stellar plus and Silicon Valley continues to lead in technological innovation, we are ill-positioned to attract good-paying, middle-class jobs.”

California has already lost automotive assembly and aerospace plants and the agriculture industry is in big trouble.

Governor Schwarzenegger says that California is “well positioned to take advantage of the future.” “Not by a long shot, says Walters. “Unless we get our act together quickly, we’ll be only well-positioned to become the next Michigan.”

California Jobs Available Now

Leading Information Technology (IT) organizations, businesses, industry and education professionals have come together to collaborate on a new initiative that will help support IT education and enable California businesses to become more IT savvy.

Considering that, despite the state’s unemployment rate, hundreds if not thousands of good paying IT jobs in California remain available today due to a skills and talent shortage, the state needs to move quickly and strategically to implement education programs that will provide California with a competitive advantage.

Business Growth Threatened

Andy Vaughan, Director of Strategic Programs for Monster, Inc., agrees, “A new shortage of skills and talent in IT and business is threatening business growth and many industries are facing large-scale retirements with no one to fill those jobs. Traditional technical IT skills will not suit the burgeoning demand for developing IT and business together.” Vaughan said, “Education and training are the key to the solution and we’re pleased to be involved with a statewide initiative to promote jobs in California.”

Nationwide, IT sector jobs in information and media support, (which includes all aspects of New Media and Information Technology including the Web, network and digital communications, programming and systems development) are on the rise in the United States. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, IT employment is expected to increase significantly the next few years. In its Dec. 10, 2009 report, the DOL noted that, “Three of the 10 detailed industries projected to have the most employment growth are in professional and business services: management, scientific, and technical consulting and computer systems design.”

In the United States and abroad, information technology is utilized in almost every company and a majority of jobs, from health care professionals utilizing IT to homeowners utilizing new media resources for information and business transactions on the Web.

Introducing the Why IT NOW Initiative

To address the growing IT skills and employment gap and the need for increasing the efficient use of IT among businesses in California, the newly created Why IT Now initiative addresses California’s critical need to address a shortage of qualified technology professionals.

To accomplish its goals, the WhyITNow.org organizers support California by working closely with leaders from education and those that hire IT professionals to improve collaboration between K-12, community colleges, four-year colleges and universities, business and government. The group also advocates building upon and promoting IT literacy into general education curriculum in order to equip all graduates with these basic skills.

Later in the year, the group will introduce and coordinate job shadow programs, internships and IT apprenticeship programs, as well as promote Why IT Now is good for California business, commerce and competitiveness.

California’s Economic Engine Depends on IT

“What makes the WhyITNow.org’ initiative unique is that it promotes jobs in California while improving upon the quality of education resources. The initiative bridges collaboration between business and industry, education and government while promoting the value proposition of IT to small businesses where 80 percent of the jobs exist,” said Bill Cullifer, Executive Director of the World Organization of Webmasters and Chair of the WhyITnow.org initiative.

Industry knows what it needs to prosper in the future, and California educators know how to inspire students to connect with the resources and skills they need to succeed. Bringing these two groups together builds a foundation for California’s future.

Like no other initiative, WhyITNow.org supports California’s IT Job market pipeline through the creation and support of an advanced, sustainable information technology ecosystem.

California has a long history of innovation. To continue that reputation and to prevent the state from losing more of its tax base, we need a concerted effort to ensure that California is able to refresh itself with creative thinkers, IT-savvy workers and entrepreneurs. Efficient use of IT has proven to increase productivity and profits as high as 20 percent and that’s a compelling business case for Why IT Now in California.

CIOs PLAN TO INCREASE IT HIRING IN FIRST QUARTER SAYS SURVEY

Four in 10 Executives Confident About Investing in IT Projects, Survey Finds

MENLO PARK, CA — Chief information officers (CIOs) are showing signs of optimism as they look toward the new year, according to the first-quarter Robert Half Technology IT Hiring Index and Skills Report. Seven percent of technology executives anticipate adding information technology (IT) staff in the first quarter of 2010 and 4 percent plan workforce reductions. The net 3 percent increase is up three points from last quarter’s forecast. Eighty-nine percent of CIOs plan to maintain current personnel levels.

The IT Hiring Index and Skills Report is based on telephone interviews with more than 1,400 CIOs from companies across the United States with 100 or more employees. It was conducted by an independent research firm and developed by Robert Half Technology, a leading provider of IT professionals on a project and full-time basis.

Key Findings

* The net 3 percent increase in hiring activity is the strongest forecast since the first quarter of 2009.
* Forty-two percent of CIOs are confident their companies will invest in IT projects in the first quarter of 2010.
* CIOs in the East North Central1 and South Atlantic2 regions expect the greatest hiring activity.
* Companies of all sizes foresee personnel gains in IT.
* The wholesale, retail and health services sectors forecast employment growth above the national average.

“After months of slow hiring activity, managers are beginning the year with new budgets and appear ready to carefully expand their IT departments,” said Dave Willmer, executive director of Robert Half Technology. “Many firms are investing in technologies that improve efficiency and competitiveness, and there has been demand for additional professionals to implement these projects. The health services sector, for instance, needs IT talent to manage the conversion to electronic medical records.”

When asked to rate how confident they are in their company’s likelihood to invest in IT projects in the first quarter on a scale of one to five (one being least confident and five being most confident), 42 percent of CIOs gave confident responses of four or five. Of that group, 23 percent rated their confidence level a five.

Staffing Mix and Experience Levels

Among companies planning to add technology professionals in the first quarter, 58 percent said they will recruit full-time employees. Twenty-eight percent plan to bring in a mix of full-time and contract or project workers, up from 9 percent last quarter.

Forty-one percent of CIOs said they expect to hire entry-level employees (up to two years of experience), while 40 percent said they are focused on staff-level talent (between two and five years of experience). Twenty percent of technology executives will concentrate hiring at the senior-staff level (five or more years of experience). (Note: CIOs were allowed multiple responses.)

Skills in Demand

Technology executives noted that it’s most challenging to find skilled IT professionals in networking, with 19 percent of the response. Thirteen percent of CIOs cited security, followed by applications development at 10 percent.

When asked which technical skill sets are most in demand in their IT departments, 70 percent of CIOs said network administration. Desktop support had 66 percent of the response, and Windows administration came in third at 62 percent. (Note: CIOs were allowed multiple responses.)

Regional Outlook

The East North Central and South Atlantic states will see notable hiring activity in the first quarter, according to the survey. CIOs in each region anticipate a net hiring increase of 8 percent, five points above the national average. CIOs in both regions cited rising workloads as the primary reason for adding staff. Executives in the East North Central states noted a particular need for network administration and desktop support skills, while those in the South Atlantic region seek applications, web and database developers to make product enhancements, as well as professionals skilled in help desk and business intelligence.

CIOs in the West North Central3 and East South Central4 states also anticipate IT employment growth above the national average. Technology executives in both regions forecast a net 4 percent increase in hiring activity.

Industries Hiring

The wholesale industry expects strong IT hiring activity in the first three months of the year. Twenty percent of CIOs plan to add employees and 4 percent project staff reductions. The net 16 percent hiring increase is 13 points above the national average. Retail executives also foresee hiring gains above the national average, with 10 percent anticipating adding employees and 2 percent projecting staff reductions, for a net hiring increase of 8 percent. CIOs in both industries cited an increased need for customer/end user support.

Within the professional services sector, the health services industry also stands out in hiring expectations. Sixteen percent of health services CIOs plan to expand their IT departments and 3 percent expect personnel cutbacks. More than half (55 percent) of technology executives in health services organizations are confident their firms will invest in IT projects in the first quarter of 2010. Twenty-two percent of CIOs attribute the need to add more staff to the installation or development of enterprisewide applications.

About the Survey
The quarterly IT Hiring Index and Skills Report was developed by Robert Half Technology and conducted by an independent research firm. First published in 1995, the study is based on more than 1,400 telephone interviews with CIOs from a random sample of U.S. companies with 100 or more employees. In order for the study to be statistically representative and ensure that companies from all segments were represented, the sample was stratified by geographic region, industry and number of employees. The results were then weighted to reflect the proper number of employees within each region. The margin of error for this study is +/-2.6 percent at the 95 percent level of confidence.

About Robert Half Technology
With more than 100 locations worldwide, Robert Half Technology is a leading provider of technology professionals for initiatives ranging from web development and multiplatform systems integration to network security and technical support. Robert Half Technology offers online job search services at www.rht.com.

Entry Level IT Jobs with Job Descriptions and Duties

Here’s a “representative sample” of the entry level IT jobs that are available now according to Robert Half Technology.

Robert Half Technology
Glossary of Job Descriptions for Technology
1/11/10

Help Desk (Tiers 1, 2 & 3)
All help desk personnel need excellent problem-solving, communication and interpersonal skills, along with patience, a positive, customer-friendly attitude and the ability to work in a team environment. In addition, they should have a strong technical understanding of the various hard¬ware, software and networking systems being supported. Employer requirements depend on the help desk position level. Tier 1, an entry-level position, normally requires less than two years of work experience and may require an associate’s degree or completion of coursework at a technical school. Tier 2 positions typically require two to four years of work experience and may require a bachelor’s degree or a two-year degree and additional, equivalent work experience in a help desk setting. Tier 3 positions often require four or more years of help desk experience, a bachelor’s degree in computer science or a related field and/or professional certification, such as HDI’s Customer Service Representative or Support Center Analyst (SCA) or the Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) designation.
Typical duties include:
Tier 1
• Taking initial telephone or e-mail inquiries and troubleshooting and managing relatively simple hardware, software or network problems that can be resolved in five minutes or less
• Recognizing and escalating more difficult problems to Tier 2 support
• Logging call activity
Tier 2
• Resolving more complex issues requiring detailed systems and applications knowledge; these issues have been escalated from Tier 1 support and may require five to 15 minutes to settle
• Using judgment and making the decision to generate a trouble or work order ticket for issues that cannot be resolved via telephone or e-mail and will require an on-site visit to the user’s PC or workstation
Tier 3
• Researching and resolving the most difficult and complex problems that other help desk levels have been unable to resolve
• Analyzing and identifying trends in issue reporting and devising preventive solutions
• Mentoring other help desk personnel on hardware and software problem analysis and resolution

Software Developer
Software developers need to be detail-oriented and have excellent problem-solving and analyti¬cal abilities. They should have good communication skills and be able to work independently and as part of a development team. Employers normally require a bachelor’s degree in computer science or a similar field but may accept a two-year technical degree if combined with sev¬eral years of practical experience. Equally important are programming skills in languages and frameworks such as C#/C++, HTML, Java/Java Enterprise Edition/J2EE, Microsoft .NET and SQL Server. A minimum of two to three years of programming experience is a typical requirement. Complex projects may call for additional years of demonstrated achievement.
Typical duties include:
• Coding, testing and debugging programs according to computer engineering specifications
• Modifying, expanding and updating applications
• Communicating with a team that includes analysts, engineers and quality assurance testers in order to coordinate and document application development and testing
• Developing software prototypes

Telecommunications Specialist
Telecommunications specialists need a detailed understanding of telecommunications theory and practice. They should have solid technical skills as well as interpersonal and organizational abilities. Employers may seek an associate’s degree in electronics or a related field but are equally interested in several years of hands-on experience with communications equipment. Experience working with the specific hardware used in the company’s telecommunications system, as well as with cabling and transmission test equipment, is highly valued.
Typical duties include:
• Installing, configuring and maintaining voice, data and video equipment
• Installing and testing cabling
• Investigating and resolving trouble ticket items; making necessary equipment repairs
• Resolving circuit issues
• Maintaining system logs and records

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Business Analyst
For ERP business analyst positions, employers seek candidates with a demonstrated ability to translate business requirements into ERP solutions. Because ERP business analysts work closely with colleagues in technical and business departments, strong interpersonal and communication skills are essential. Project management experience also may be required. Specific technical requirements vary by employer, but strong technical and functional knowledge of the employer’s preferred ERP solutions is a must. Candidates also should have a thorough understanding of business processes, as well as an IT- or business-related bachelor’s degree.
Typical duties include:
• Analyzing and defining ERP systems, functions, and business process and user needs
• Performing functional configuration and maintenance for ERP systems based on changing operational and business needs
• Researching transactional issues, identifying root causes and driving resolutions
• Creating documentation such as policies, procedures, workflows and user guides

Database Developer
Database developers need a thorough understanding of relational database theory and practice. They must be analytical and adept at problem-solving. They also should be good communicators. A bachelor’s degree in computer science or a related field often is sought, although data¬base experience can be substituted with some employers. Familiarity and experience with major enterprise database programs such as Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle or IBM are essential, and professional certification (Microsoft Certified Database Administrator or Oracle 10g Database Administrator Certified Professional, for example) in these programs is a plus. Since many web applications now interface with databases, experience in Internet technologies also is valuable.

Typical duties include:
• Developing database objects and structures for data storage, retrieval and reporting according to project specifications
• Implementing and testing database design and functionality, and tuning for performance
• Providing support to database administrators and interfacing with business users to ensure the database is satisfying business requirements
• Designing and developing back-end database interfaces to web and e-commerce applications

Developer/Programmer Analyst
Developer/programmer analysts must have strong analytical and problem-solving abilities. They must understand and conceptualize applications from both a technical/programming perspective and a business point of view. Because they deal with both technical personnel and business managers/administrators, as well as participate on project teams, they need strong interpersonal and communication skills. Excellent programming abilities in common languages and frameworks such as C#/C++, Java Enterprise Edition/AJAX and Microsoft .NET are needed for the coding aspects of the position. Most employers look for at least a bachelor’s degree in computer science, information science or management information systems, and relevant job experience.
Typical duties include:
• Analyzing business application requirements for functional areas such as finance, manufacturing, marketing or human resources
• Writing code, testing and debugging software applications
• Recommending system changes and enhancements
• Documenting software specifications and training users

Web Designer
Web designers must be creative and possess excellent design and conceptual skills in combina¬tion with in-depth knowledge of the technology and software applications used to create web pages. They need to be familiar with HTML, XML, JSP, CSS, PHP, AJAX and similar web proto¬cols as well as the following Adobe web page and design applications: Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat, Dreamweaver and Flash. The ability to multitask and adapt to changing priorities and new technologies also is essential. Employers may require a bachelor’s degree in fine arts, graphic design or communications, but often are more interested in three or more years of design and production experience and a strong portfolio of web designs.
Typical duties include:
• Working with design teams, marketing staff and developers to create a consistent and compelling visual style for a company’s website
• Designing and formatting web pages
• Testing and troubleshooting web page features
• Creating artwork to appear on web pages

Web Developer
Web developers should have in-depth knowledge of Internet protocols and applications in addi¬tion to a solid understanding of business strategy. They need strong communication skills and the ability to work both individually and as part of a team. Employers typically seek individuals with a bachelor’s degree in computer science or a related field, plus at least several years of web-related experience. Work experience can sometimes be substituted for the educational requirement. Sample code and web links to sample work are often requested. Candidates should be well-versed in web technologies and tools such as AJAX, ASP, ColdFusion, JavaScript, SOAP, HTML/DHTML, LAMP and others.
Typical duties include:
• Gathering business requirements and developing specifications for web-based applications
• Providing technical assistance to web administrators
• Integrating websites with back-end systems such as databases
• Writing test plans and test results

IT Auditor
IT auditors must have broad knowledge of the technical infrastructure and architecture of computer systems as well as exposure to a variety of platforms such as operating systems, networks, databases and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. These professionals must possess excellent interpersonal skills, including communication, presentation and leadership abilities. Employers typically seek at least a bachelor’s degree (a master’s degree may be pre¬ferred) in computer science, information systems, business administration, finance or a similar field. A Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) accreditation also may be required.
Typical duties include:
• Testing and evaluating IT systems and controls for conformity with industry standards of efficiency, accuracy and security
• Providing independent verification of compliance with statutory requirements and similar regulations
• Making recommendations for systems operations and process improvement
• Developing risk-based audit plans

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Business Analyst
Employers seek CRM business analysts with proven analytical and problem-solving capabilities, as well as extensive technical and functional experience with specific CRM systems. Because CRM business analysts serve as liaisons between IT and business groups, strong interpersonal and communication skills are essential. Employers also may require a demonstrated understanding of sales, marketing and other business processes. CRM business analysts must be able to anticipate the organizational impact of process changes. A bachelor’s degree in a computer- or business-related discipline is typically required, as is thorough knowledge of the employer’s existing CRM applications.
Typical duties include:
• Translating business requirements into user and functional requirements
• Conducting root cause analysis in support of process improvements
• Planning, conducting and directing the analysis of complex business issues to be solved with process changes and information systems
• Working closely with business users to resolve ongoing functional issues

The mission of the WhyITNow.org initiative is to advocate on behalf of the virtues of Information Technology (IT) and to serve as a bridge between interested parties from education, government, business and industry. To that end, we’ve been pouring over hundreds of websites, books and publications to better understand and report on the jobs, the skills that make up those jobs and what it realistically takes to prepare someone for these jobs. Today’s blog post regarding IT Trends – Evolving IT Job Titles the is telling of the trends in IT that those that aspire, those that practice and those that teach IT need to be aware of.

IT Trends – Evolving IT Job Titles New IT titles downplay technologies, focus more on business attributes

Evolving IT job titles

By Julia King

Think you want to be a CIO or CTO? Think again. What you might really want is to be a chief delivery officer or chief process officer.

Are you a software developer eager to advance? Look for a product architect role. Network and security administrators may want to start looking for positions as electronic privacy specialists. If business analytics is your area of expertise, your next promotion might be to the job of information architect.

And one more thing: Don’t expect to be part of an “IT department.” As a 21st century technology professional, your future – and most likely your desk – will be deeply rooted in the business, and your title will likely be scrubbed of any and all hints of computers, databases, software development languages or data networks.

Already, we’re beginning to see changes in IT titles that downplay specific technologies and focus more on business attributes. Wireless technicians, for example, are turning into mobility support staff, and tech support is called high-availability support.

What’s driving this recasting of IT job titles and roles is the commoditization of technology and an ever-growing base of new workers who are technologically savvy and perfectly comfortable having technology play a kind of background role in just about everything they do. These workers and the industries they’re in have less need for computer programmers and help desk analysts because they either know how to program themselves or the help they need is built right into the software they’re using to do their own jobs.

With the exception of deeply technical infrastructure roles – which for the foreseeable future will remain deeply technical – IT as we know it will no longer exist as a subset specialty in the not-too-distant future. Instead, IT will be integrated into whatever work you’re trying to get done. In the healthcare industry, for example, there is a huge drive to fill positions with people who have one foot in the medical world and the other in the technology world.

This is NOT a world in which IT doesn’t matter à la Nicholas Carr. Far from it. Rather, it’s a world in which IT is promoted or elevated from a subset specialty to a full-fledged, fully integrated business partner.

“The IT department is being disintermediated – but in a good way. It is being pushed farther up the food chain,” according to Kamud Kalia, CIO at $8 billion Direct Energy in Toronto. “A lot of stuff that IT staff would have done, they no longer need to do. The problems have been fixed or the technology has been commoditized.

“Ten years ago, for example, you’d put smart guys on the project of joining applications together. Now, middleware has obviated the need for that. You still want to have smart people, but you want them solving business problems, not technical ones.”

Another example: Animas, a Johnson & Johnson company in West Chester, Pennsylvania, is eliminating traditional IT roles and titles. There is no need for systems analysts and administrators as the company outsources data centers or contracts with vendors to provide software as a service.

Outsourcing, globalization and the decreasing costs of WAN technology all work to eliminate the need for systems administrators, help desk staff or developers, says Animas CTO Bogdan Butoi. “We pretty much have kept only business-savvy people who we expect to be partners in each department and to come up with solutions.”

It is IT, for example, that conducts focus groups with physicians, patients and others to develop new products and software for glucose meters, insulin pumps and other diabetes-related products that Animas develops. Another telling indicator of IT’s deeply embedded business role at Animas: IT is measured on how many original products it comes up with without anybody asking for them. In other words, IT is measured on how well it is pushing innovation.

While job titles for these emerging roles have yet to be standardized, the overall career focus seems pretty clear: It’s all about business. The one trend that virtually all of the emerging IT titles and roles seem designed to reflect is technology professionals’ inextricable connection to the products and/or services their company provides and not to specific technologies or gear like Java, WANs or SAS.

You’ll see titles like “solutions architect” and “product architect” that convey involvement in providing the product or service to a purchaser, as opposed to titles like “network engineer.”

This is because the notion of separation between IT and operations has been totally blurred. This helps explain the rise in combination titles on today’s business cards: CIO and EVP of operations. CIO and head of distribution. CIO and chief corporate strategist. These are real titles of real CIOs.

At Direct Energy, job titles – especially titles in the 350-person IT organization – are purposely kept vague. This is so people can apply descriptive labels to what they do. The company’s CTO says he wants IT staffers to think of themselves as people who work for an energy company, not people who work for an energy company’s IT department.

The bottom line here is that shifting away from technology management and toward information and business management does NOT marginalize IT or take it out of the picture. Rather, it changes what IT does – for the better.

* This article is adapted from an article that originally appeared in Computerworld magazine.

Bio: Julia King is an Executive Editor for Computerworld .

IT Jobs on the Rise in California with Second Highest Growth

I reached out to interview Kathy Masera Publisher, California Job Journal for an update on the IT job situation in California. A total of 3800 IT jobs were added in the month of November, 2009 statewide.

Recognized as one of California’s leading employment experts, Kathy Masera cites three reasons for her success: instinct, hard work, and a passion for excellence. For her, nothing is more important than maintaining the quality and reputation of her multi-faceted employment services company. Unique among such publications, the Job Journal helps job applicants identify suitable employment opportunities through fact-filled job listings that make conventional want ads pale in comparison.