Management Toolkit

Business skills: The key to tech success in 2005

David Southgate Tech Republic

Published: 18 May 2005 13:10 BST

New job category
IT governance itself is creating a new job category for people with CIO/CFO skills. "Instead of a CIO, there will be an individual appointed at some of the larger firms to deal with the compliance aspect — sort of like a Chief Compliance Officer," said Phillips. The person will need a CIO or CFO background and should have implemented a Sarbanes-Oxley compliance project or corporate governance project.

Like the CIO, the network administrator, business analyst and project manager will see evolution in their jobs.

A new breed of network administrator
Due to the increased use of automation in the network, network administration jobs are going to evolve in two ways. In 2005, more opportunities will arise for people with entry-level skills. Those net admins with advanced networking skills will become less tactical and more strategic in their jobs, requiring net admins to have strong business skills in research, planning, and project management.

The shift to automation makes way for net admins who are just starting their careers. "With automation, there is room for more operational skill sets, which could be brought in and developed on an entry level skill set," says Phillips.

Project managers on the move
Project managers also find themselves in demand this year. After being in maintenance mode for a number of years, companies wanting to expand need a new cadre of project managers. "Whenever you have business expansion, there always has to be someone leading that charge," says Phillips.

In terms of job growth for project managers, Sarbanes-Oxley projects are creating much of the demand. Project managers are needed to handle the implementation of process and procedures laid out in corporate governance initiatives, and for that, they'll have to know business rules and processes.