Communication More Important Than Technical Skills for the IT Pro of 2020
Communication More Important Than Technical Skills for the IT Pro of 2020
Nine in ten IT professionals say effectively communicating policy and change will be one of the biggest challenges they face
ALICANTE, Spain--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The future of IT will be shaped around BYOD, the cloud and virtualisation, which will lead to a transformation of the role of IT manager from technical specialist to central business communicator, according to a new study from Aruba Networks (NAS: ARUN) . An overwhelming 89% of IT professionals state that effective communication of policy and change to the business will be one of the biggest on-going challenges they will face. These are key findings from 20/20 Vision, a report launched today at Aruba's EMEA Airheads Conference 2013 in Alicante, Spain.
The study, which sampled a network of IT professionals to get their views on the future of their respective careers, highlights the rapid increase of consumerisation. Nearly half (47%) of IT professionals see BYOD as the trend that will most shape the evolution of enterprise IT, followed by data security in the cloud and virtualisation (36% each). Consequently over two-thirds (68%) believe that the IT function in 2020 will be more about policy enforcement than technology deployment.
In response to this, four in ten (41%) stated that communication skills would be more important than technical skills and almost nine in ten IT professionals (88%) believe they will need to be strong business communicators in the future in order to be successful.
20/20Vision was developed by Aruba Networks in partnership with Phillip Brown, professor of work, employability and labour markets at Cardiff University. The report used qualitative focus groups and quantitative omnibus research of over 150 IT professionals at all levels in order to help better understand what skills they will need in the future.
Philip Brown said: "Future roles in IT will depend on blending technical knowhow with the 'soft' currencies of employability, such as communications and business awareness. These roles will also require good networking skills, both virtual and face-to-face."
To achieve success in their future roles, the majority of professionals in the study (42%) said they would need to rely on technical certifications offered by vendors rather than develop the skills in-house. This is part of a wider trend that will see companies rely more heavily on third parties. Another 76% of IT pros expect the number of projects to be given to external specialists will increase in an 'on demand' fashion. The report also finds that the needs of the business are increasingly shaping the role of the IT professional.
On a day-to-day basis the IT professional will see an increasing demand for consumer-friendly technology such as smartphones or tablets, while 78% expect users will demand technology that 'just works'.
Ben Gibson, CMO of Aruba Networks, said: "In the future, IT and business will be fully integrated. To manage this, IT professionals will need to be equipped to communicate better, more frequently and more effectively than today. Communication is already a bigger part of the role of the IT department than it was 10 years ago, but in the future it is going to become even more important as technology becomes even more business critical."
To download the full report, visit http://www.arubanetworks.com/pdf/2020VisionReport.pdf.
About Aruba Networks
Aruba Networks is a leading provider of next-generation network access solutions for the mobile enterprise. The company's Mobile Virtual Enterprise (MOVE) architecture unifies wired and wireless network infrastructures into one seamless access solution for corporate headquarters, mobile business professionals, remote workers and guests. This unified approach to access networks enables IT organisations and users to securely address the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) phenomenon, dramatically improving productivity and lowering capital and operational costs.
Listed on the NASDAQ and Russell 2000® Index, Aruba is based in Sunnyvale, California, and has operations throughout the Americas, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific regions. To learn more, visit Aruba at http://www.arubanetworks.com. For real-time news updates follow Aruba on Twitter and Facebook, and for the latest technical discussions on mobility and Aruba products visit Airheads Social at http://community.arubanetworks.com.
© 2012 Aruba Networks, Inc. Aruba Networks' trademarks include the design mark for AirWave, Aruba Networks®, Aruba Wireless Networks®, the registered Aruba the Mobile Edge Company logo, the registered AirWave logo, Aruba Mobility Management System®, Mobile Edge Architecture®, People Move. Networks Must Follow®, RFProtect®, Green Island®. All rights reserved. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Waggener Edstrom for Aruba Networks
Laura Gillen, +44 (0) 207 632 3876
lgillen@waggeneredstrom.com
KEYWORDS: United States Europe North America California Spain
INDUSTRY KEYWORDS:
The article Communication More Important Than Technical Skills for the IT Pro of 2020 originally appeared on Fool.com.
Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Copyright © 1995 - 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
