Hottest IT Jobs

In a recent research study done by Forrester, discussed here at InfoWorld, they released what their analysts believe are the hottest jobs in IT. The hottest of all jobs available were information/data architects and information security experts. Making the extremely hot list was data/content oriented business analyst, business architect, enterprise architect, and vendor management experts.

Of all the jobs on the list, Forrester found that these attributes were most important characteristics in all the jobs listed:

* Local knowledge of the business industry or region.
* Cross-discipline knowledge; understanding both management practices and customer groups.
* Those willing to take on high-risk roles that, if successful, will have a major impact on the business.
* Limited external supply; that is, while an outsourcer may be willing to supply 500 coders, the benefits of finding you a half-dozen enterprise architects is not worth their while.
* Consistency with technology, vendor, or industry direction, meaning rapid changes in technology; an example is how mobile put a higher demand on real experts who have domain-specific knowledge.

Enterprise Architects can be key in tough times

Yesterday, we told you that enterprise architects are vital to an organization for many reasons.

Today, Forrester released a study stating that enterprise architects could be a valuable asset for today’s businesses given the current economic downturn. The report, detailed here at CIO, states that during this economic hardship, executives will look closely at IT and judge the value of their investments. Enterprise architects can show the executives the areas of the IT departments that can be can be let go as well as the valuable ones.

Enterprise architects should be encouraging executives to prioritize, cost quantified list of the low-impact items available for cuts, the most important things not to cust and the most valuable places to invest any remaining funds.

Another important warning from the report: Technology strategies not only had to be aligned with business goals, but that the business charges them with spotting “game-changing” technologies” and leading their organization.

It is also imperative for the enterprise architect to be a business person above all, as the technology strategies should be aligned with business goals, and the architects should lead their organization when it comes to new technologies.