Would you believe knowledge of virtualization is the hottest IT skill you can have these days? That’s the conclusion of Global Knowledge – which bills itself as the worldwide leader in IT and business training – in light of tightened IT budgets around the world.
“Virtualization is hot,” states a recent Global Knowledge white paper entitled Ten Hot IT Skills for 2009. “Vendors are jostling for lead position in the virtualization stakes and user organizations are seeing virtualization benefits through increased efficiency, lower costs, quick return on investment, and a more flexible computing model.”
Achieving the Number Two rank is Web 2.0 skills. “Organizations have moved beyond establishing web sites for their brands,” the paper states. “Now they are embracing social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook, where you can find such household names as Ford Motor Company and AT&T. CIOs in a wide range of organizations are demanding IT professionals who can keep them up to speed with the fast-moving Web 2.0 world.”
Networking/Windows Administration came in third, followed by ITIL and then IT Architect/Project Management skills. Rounding out the list are IT Security, Wireless, Telecommunications, Languages (C, C++, C#) and, finally, Business Skills.
“Employment surveys have been telling us for a number of years that IT pros must possess business skills as well as technical expertise,” the paper says, “and in a down economy IT folks who understand the business could be considered more valuable than those who don’t.”
Stay tuned for the list of … gulp … the Top 10 Dying IT Skills.