Thessa de Cock

2009’s Most Wanted!

With the recent downturn in the UK economy, the question many IT professionals are asking themselves is what particular skills will still be in demand in 2009? The IT Job Board has the Top 5 for you:

Findings from a recent survey have shown almost 50% of IT professionals put SAP as the most likely skill in demand for 2009. Although SAP systems are notoriously expensive to introduce and new implementations may reduce in 2009, the numerous companies that have already implemented it will still need plenty of SAP-qualified workers to maintain and develop these systems.

Despite the state of the economy, many companies will see a shift in their online digital spending (expected to rise from 10-15% to 33% in 2009). This will increase demand for web and online game developers. Investment in technologies like XML and RSS is likely to increase, as well as old favourites such as Java, .Net and PHP.

Research has shown leading experts believe the field of SaaS will see growth and become more mainstream in 2009. Therefore skills such as Software Architects and Developers, as well as Project Managers will benefit the most. Business/Systems Analyst skills may also be in demand as more managers look to identify how SaaS could benefit their companies.

The growing trend towards SaaS and SOA (Service Oriented Architecture) as well as ‘Green Computing’ will directly impact Infrastructure departments. Pressure will mount to lower costs and emissions of data centres and to adopt high-end technologies such as server visualisation and teleconferencing software. This will lead to a demand for specialised software developers and architects to implement and maintain these new systems.

As mobile technology continues to grow, many companies will try to gain an advantage from the accessibility it provides. J2ME Developers and Architects, as well as Mobile Application Developers are likely to be in demand.