Offering regional and national programs, CIO (and CSO) events bring together some of the most respected names and thought leaders in information technology and security. Presented by CIOs and other senior level executives, these invitation-only programs offer timely topics and strong networking. Learn More »
Public Council Teleconference: Application Rationalization — Hidden Costs and Smart Decisions
November 17 at 11:00 am US/Eastern (GMT-5)
Join Honorio Padrón, of The Hackett Group, who will share the drivers for companies to tackle application rationalization and the results of research that define the hidden cost of complexity. Additionally, we will discuss key decision milestones—to start or not, holding the course steady and fulfilling expectations.
Virtual Desktop Cost-Benefit Analysis — Michael Jacobs, Catlin Group
The analysis contained in this presentation measures the cost of everything from the machines and licenses to the infrastructure for virtual vs. traditional desktop environments.
Honor your best senior team members - Apply for the CIO Ones to Watch Award
Get well-earned public recognition for your top up-and-coming team members, your IT organization and your enterprise. Award winners will be announced, publicized and feted in May 2010, great timing to help attract new IT recruits to your company.
Learn more about the CIO Executive Council »September 03, 2008 — Computerworld —
Despite high energy prices, rising inflation, falling retail sales, a rough housing market and a host of other troubling economic indicators, IT hiring is still showing some signs of life.
You just need to have the right skills—or apply to the right kind of company. And for some of those would-be employers, finding people to fill the jobs they have available isn't proving to be easy.
For example, there are plenty of open jobs for software developers with experience building wireless or embedded applications, according to Jim Lanzalotto, vice president of strategy and marketing at Yoh Services LLC, a Philadelphia-based staffing agency and outsourcing vendor. "It's a dead-on market for those guys, with unemployment rates of less than two percent," Lanzalotto said.
Also in demand, he said, are IT workers and consultants who have SAP know-how or are familiar with rival ERP applications, such as Oracle's PeopleSoft human resources software. SAP AG itself has estimated that about 30,000 more technical specialists are needed worldwide to fill a skills gap for its apps, Lanzalotto noted.
On the other hand, he said IT projects that don't "touch the customers" may be canceled or deferred because of tight budgets. As a result, companies that are in hiring mode now are typically trying to use IT to help boost their revenues, not to make internal improvements, Lanzalotto said.
Brian Krueger, Amazon's vice president of global talent acquisition, said in a follow-up interview that the online retailer and Web services company is looking to hire a variety of new IT workers "to fuel our growth." That includes software developers and people with experience in designing enterprise-class systems, as well as development and technical program managers, network engineers and tech support workers. Specific skills that are being sought include Java and C++ expertise from a programming standpoint, plus experience working with Linux, Windows, Unix and Mac OS X.
But Krueger indicated that attracting candidates for all those positions hasn't been easy, partly because of Amazon's retail-oriented image. He said that at the O'Reilly conference, many attendees asked the company's recruiters what they were even doing there.