Timing is everything, and students focusing on Information Technology and Management seem to be in exactly the right place at exactly the right time to take advantage of significant growth in cloud computing jobs.

7 Million New Cloud Computing Jobs by 2015

According to a Forbes review of an IDC report, sponsored by Microsoft, demand for “cloud-ready” IT workers will “grow by 26% annually through 2015.  IDC expects that as many as 7 million new cloud-related jobs will be available worldwide by that time”.  The author of the IDC report (Cushing Anderson) says that “Unlike IT skill shortages in the past, solving this skills gap is extremely challenging, given that cloud brings a new set of skills, which haven’t been needed in the past.”

Cloud-Related Positions Going Unfilled

According to the Forbes article, “lack of training, certification or experience” are the top three reasons cloud positions go un-filled.  Anderson says several skill sets are key to building and maintaining cloud capabilities within organizations. These are listed in the table below, along with projected openings for 2015:

From IDC Report as Reported in Forbes 12/21/2012

In an earlier article Forbes’ writer Joe McKendrick suggested what IT professionals (future and present) should be learning in order to succeed in cloud-related jobs. His list seems to be right in line with the IDC report:

• Business and financial skills: Know how to make a business case and calculate an ROI for cloud.
• Technical skills: Java, .NET framework skills and knowledge of virtualization are important, and familiarity with open-source tools and languages is also valuable.
• Enterprise architecture and business needs analysis:  Be able to build a “roadmap” for which services should be provided by IT and which by an outside provider. Learn to speak the language of business as well as the language of IT professionals
• Project management skills:  Managing scope “creep”, contracts, service agreements and risk exposure are just some of the project management skills critical to implementing cloud. Cloud computing can cause end users to “run wild” with feature and service requests, so scope has to be contained. Also, remembering that cloud is supposed to cost less than equivalent on-premises services, skills in negotiating cloud vendors’ contracts, service level agreements and availability are critical to success.
• Security and compliance: Understanding security protocols is important in all types of cloud deployment. Additionally, regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley and HIPAA have made navigating data-handling laws more complex. IT professionals with an understanding of both can be very valuable.
• Data integration and analysis skills: Inside we have ERP systems, data warehouses, etc. Outside we have cloud-based services. Those who can analyze both sides and implement sound data integration between the two will be in high demand.
• Mobile app development and management: The rise of mobile devices of all kinds has been key driver for the expansion of cloud solutions. A sound understanding of the basics is a valuable skill in cloud-implementation.

So how does the future look for those with a solid grounding in Cloud, Information Technology, and Management? All in all, it looks anything but cloudy.

References:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/joemckendrick/2012/12/21/almost-1-7-million-cloud-related-jobs-went-unfilled-in-2012-estimate/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/joemckendrick/2012/08/27/the-8-most-important-skills-needed-for-cloud-computing-today/

IIT’s Institute of Design (ID) is a world-renowned school of design. ITM professor Alon Friedman is also the Director of Information Technology for ID, and in the Spring 2013 term, he will be conducting a 3-credit-hour joint ITM-ID workshop course with two ID faculty members, Stan Ruecker and Anijo Mathew. The only prerequisites are ITM/ITMD 411 and an eagerness to work with designers to learn the communicational challenges and successful strategies for taking an agile methods approach to the creation of online prototypes of experimental human-computer interfaces. The course is open to both undergraduate and graduate students, and is great opportunity for graduate students to work with an interdisciplinary team in a real-world-style setting.

The workshop will be on Thursdays from 2pm-5:30pm at the Institute of Design, on the 4th floor at 350 North LaSalle Street, Chicago. This is a a 20 minute trip on the Green Line to Clark&Lake with a short, four-block walk to ID.
Email Professor Friedman (alon@id.iit.edu) for a permit to register for for 3 credit hours in:
   25895 ITM 497-135 Special Projects (Undergrads)
   25766 ITMT 597-135 Special Problems in IT (Graduate students)
Click “Read More…” for full details and course descriptions: Read more…

Our own Information Technology and Management Organization challenges IIT students to learn, build and create cloud infrastructure and applications in an event they have named IIT on da Cloud. In this four-day event open to all students at IIT, students can learn about cloud computing, build the infrastructure of a private cloud, and create applications that can run on it. Recently, cloud computing has been used as a popular marketing term to attract a target market, which has led to many misconceptions and misunderstandings about what cloud computing actually is. ITMO’s goal is to help educate students about cloud computing and give them hands-on experience using this technology. Rumor has it that there may be a team competitive aspect to the event! For more information and to register, visit the IIT on da Cloud website at http://itm.iit.edu/iitCloud/.

Microsoft has announced the release of Typescript, a superset of Javascript, which they say will better allow developers to build large applications and will provide better support for large teams, especially when building server- and cloud-side applications. It was released under an Apache 2.0 open-source license.

TypeScript Website: http://www.typescriptlang.org/
ZDNet article: http://www.zdnet.com/microsoft-takes-the-wraps-off-typescript-a-superset-of-javascript-7000004993/?s_cid=e550

HACK NIGHT! “Me, My App, and Twitter”,  August 27, 2012 at the IIT IdeaShop, 7 – 9pm
Register: iithacknight.eventbrite.com

Yes! A Hack Night!
A place to learn the magic behind coding. On this night we will have a two hour introduction to APIs and using Twitter to build a simple app.

Who should be there?
Everyone is welcome! Come if you’re interested in building something awesome or want to learn how to make your ideas a reality.

Which means that?
You really need to attend. We have food! No Walk-ins. Please register before coming.

Upcoming Hack Nights:
Aug. 27: Me, My App, and Twitter
Sept. 11: Building a Facebook App
Sept. 27: Karaoke with Twilio!
Oct. 11:  People’s choice
Overnight Hackathon Challenge:
3pm October 20 – 4pm October 21
Over $5,000 in prizes!!!

Bring your game: Three sessions, two days, one objective: Create the world’s first killer M2M app!

June 11-13, 2012 during the Connected World Conference at the Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles, IL

Hackers nationwide are invited to participate in the first ever M2M app Hackathon-with fame and fortune as the reward for your creativity and skills! We provide the energy drinks, snacks, developer kits, and the room to code-all day and all night. The winners will receive not only cash, but a secure place in the history of hacking-guaranteed by a cover story in the nationally distributed Connected World magazine.

Drop your mouse and check out these incentives:
1st place: $3,000 plus be featured on the cover of Connected World magazine and mentioned in the cover story
2nd place: $1,500
3rd place: an iPad
4th place: a cellular signal booster

About the Hackathons:
Join us June 11 from 4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m., and grab some free food and drink, as well as your developer kit to get started. You may participate in one or all three Hackathon sessions-either as an individual or as a team. Space is limited so sign up to participate today.

Additional details at http://connectedworldmag.com/conference/index.php?q=hackathon

So anyone want to guess at how many different programming languages exist? And have been used at least a couple of times? I discovered the following interesting URL:  http://rosettacode.org/wiki/Category:Programming_Tasks. Basically it lists a large number (>100) of different programming tasks and algorithms . You pick your algorithm, then they show you contributions coded in different programming languages. Granted there are occasionally holes in the matrix, yet it is amazing how much programming languages are similar and yet different.

Alternately you can go to the language tab on the left and look at all the algorithms contributed in that language.

Hopefully you find it useful.   —John Emrich

Marc Andreesen, creator of Netscape, discusses in the Wall Street Journal why he believes that the business giants of the future will be whoever has the best software; it’s well worth a read… Marc Andreessen on Why Software Is Eating the World – WSJ.com.