Changing channel demands new skill sets

Resellers must ensure they develop the right expertise to capitalise on market trends in 2011, says Matthew Poyiadgi

We’ve all seen the forecast for 2011: widespread cloud, with outbreaks of data explosion and rapid adoption of mobile devices. CompTIA’s own IT Industry Business Confidence Index predicts both sales and spending to see a significant lift in 2011, particularly within these emerging areas.

This is all very well, but technologies don’t just integrate themselves: changing technology must go hand in hand with skills development. To exploit the business potential of these developments, VARs must ensure they have the skills to deliver these technologies securely and efficiently to maximise productivity gains.

This means recruiting people with the necessary skills, or training and certifying existing staff. Yet there is a dwindling talent pool.

Recruiting IT employees is becoming more difficult. A decreasing number of IT professionals are applying for an increasing number of jobs. This reduces the chance of getting anyone – let alone someone with the right skills, qualifications and experience – to fill available positions.

I read the Technology Insights 2011 report recently, which estimates that 550,000 new entrants to the IT industry are needed to meet sector growth over the next five years.

This means everyone should focus more on drawing people into the IT profession, whether graduates or career changers. IT has a lot to offer in an increasingly insecure job market.

Over the coming years, the channel will have to do its bit to bring in people, train them up, and provide entry-level certifications to get them on the first rung of the ladder. Otherwise, it will find it cannot meet skills demands in years to come.

Resellers can also make the most of their in-house talent through training and certification. As well as increasing business productivity and efficiency, this has the benefit of boosting staff morale and retention.

With IT providers increasingly relied upon to keep abreast of the latest technical innovations and security threats in a rapidly changing world, we cannot afford not to keep employee skills up to date.

Our research suggests the skills most in demand are: project management (required by 80 per cent of respondents), business intelligence (75 per cent), PC/ technical support (71 per cent), and cloud/SaaS (70 per cent). Close behind were network administration (66 per cent), virtualisation (65 per cent), and security (63 per cent).

The channel must support intelligent, motivated employees who can acquire these skills quickly to begin building or developing their existing IT career.

During 2010 many organisations put off purchasing decisions and technology upgrades. As the fragile economic recovery begins, the pent-up demand for IT products and services – along with robust sales in emerging markets and industries such as healthcare – will drive industry and channel growth in 2011.

Matthew Poyiadgi is European vice president of CompTIA