Network and infrastructure roles continue to shift as enterprises adopt technologies such as AI-driven network operations, multicloud networking, zero trust network access (ZTNA), and SD-WAN. Here’s a recap of some of the latest industry research, hiring statistics, and certification trends that impact today’s network professionals, infrastructure and operations (I&O) leaders, and data center teams. Check back for regular updates.
Network automation continues to challenge IT leaders, and one factor is a lack of skills on staff.
When research firm Enterprise Management Associates surveyed 354 IT professionals about network automation, just 18% rated their network automation strategies as a complete success, and 54% said they have achieved partial success. The remaining 38% said they were uncertain of the level of success achieved or admitted failure with their network automation projects.
More than one-fourth (26.8%) of the respondents pointed to staffing issues such as skills gaps and staff churn as a business challenge.
“The most challenging thing for me is the lack of network engineers who can contribute to automation,” said a network engineer at a midmarket business services company in the EMA report. “The community is small, and it’s hard to find people who can help you solve a problem.”
April 2024
IT certification and training group CompTIA is expanding its product and program roadmap to meet the growing demand for AI-related skill sets.
AI becoming critical to existing job functions. At the same time, new roles are starting to land on employers’ radar. “Two entirely new job roles—prompt engineering and AI systems architects—are emerging. These positions align with the AI priorities of many organizations,” said Teresa Sears, vice president of product management at CompTIA.
Thomas Reilly, the chief product officer of CompTIA, has indicated that in order to keep up with job market demands, countless IT specialists will need to upskill in the field of artificial intelligence. In an official statement, he elucidated the intention to furnish numerous certifications and training options, which cater to professionals across various career stages, from the inexperienced beginners to the seasoned workforce veterans.
February 2024
The previous calendar year of 2023 reported a stagnation in the creation of new IT jobs, with a mere 700 positions being added. This stagnancy indicates prevalent anxieties concerning the economic scenario and an increasing need for abilities centered around emerging technologies, in stark contrast to the 267,000 jobs added in the year 2022. The drastic disparity is attributed to layoffs in the tech sector and other measures to reduce overheads.
Data from Janco Associates reveals that even with companies creating around 21,300 jobs in the last quarter of 2023, the total increase for the year amounted to only 700 new positions.
“Based on our analysis, the IT job market and opportunities for IT professionals are poor at best. In the past 12 months, telecommunications lost 26,400 jobs, content providers lost 9,300 jobs, and other information services lost 10,300 jobs,” said M. Victor Janulaitis, CEO at Janco. “Gainers in the same period were computer system designers gaining 32,300 jobs and hosting providers gaining 14,000.”
January 2024
Robert Half reports that the job market will remain resilient heading into 2024. According to the talent solutions provider’s recent survey, more than half of U.S. companies plan to increase hiring in the first half of 2024. While the data is not limited to the IT sector, the research shows 57% plan to add new permanent positions in the first six months of the year while another 39% anticipate hiring for vacant positions and 67% will hire contract workers as a staffing strategy.
Specific to the technology sector, 69% of the more than 1,850 hiring managers surveyed reported they would be adding new permanent roles for those professions. Still, challenges will persist into the new year, according to Robert Half, which reported 90% of hiring managers have difficulty finding skilled professionals and 58% said it takes longer to hire for open roles compared to a year ago.
December 2023
Building today’s networks requires a deep understanding of cloud technology and strong skills in security. According to Skillsoft’s annual ranking of the most valuable IT certifications, these expertise are well-compensated. Topping their list of 20 high-paying IT certifications is the Google Cloud-Professional Cloud Architect, boasting an impressive average annual salary of $200,960.
Notably, Skillsoft’s list of top 20 certifications isn’t only dominated by cloud certifications. It also features five certifications related to security, networking, and system architecture:
November 2023
