Information and Technology businesses have undergone massive transformation over the last five years; with the mainstream adoption of 'Agile' as a business-wide project methodology, major shifts towards cloud technologies like Azure and AWS, and a general move towards building a closer connection with customers through digital practices. As businesses adapt to the changing needs of an incredibly dynamic marketplace, we have seen demand for new talents and skills create new roles to help lead these transformations. This has resulted in the decline of more traditional roles. With the fast-changing landscape of the IT industry in mind, how sure can you be that your role will still exist in ten years' time?
The Changes We'll See
The introduction of technologies such as Azure and AWS has seen an increase in demand for Cloud Systems Administrators, Cloud Systems Engineers, and Cloud Architects. The focus on automation and improving efficiency and productivity has seen the rise of the DevOps Engineer role, whilst the maturation of Agile practices has seen new roles such as Iteration Managers, Release Train Managers, and Customer Experience Specialists becoming much more mainstream. Even at a C-Level we've seen new roles appearing including: Chief Data Officers, Chief Artificial Intelligence Officers, and Chief Innovation Officers within some of our high-profile New Zealand companies.
With the emergence of these new roles in the market, we have also seen the change and decline of some of the more traditional roles. The Systems Engineer and Administrator roles have been heavily impacted by the shift and it's likely that these roles will look very different over the next 10 years. The Business Analyst role will also be heavily impacted; particularly with the way Agile and other digital practices have been implemented, the classic Business Analyst role will likely be redefined and become more customer experience oriented.
Staying Relevant Over the Next 10 Years
The most important thing to keep in mind over the next decade is that the market is going to be changing very quickly. Candidates are going to have to work hard to stay relevant, remaining on top of the new trends emerging by taking an active approach to learning, constantly upskilling and keeping an open mind to possible career shifts. The increasing use of the Agile approach means that managers and candidates alike must learn to communicate easily with other operating teams on a project, being aware of the processes and systems they use as well as their own.
Due to the shift towards specialist and cloud technology, larger businesses are outsourcing portions of their IT functions to specialist agencies, and contractors are also frequently engaged to carry out and oversee individual projects from start to finish. Due to the market-wide adoption of the Agile approach, in some cases, multiple contractors can oversee various iterations of a project. Those who are in permanent roles should certainly ask the question of whether or not the service they provide can be outsourced, and many may want to consider contracting to ensure they're in control of their employment. There is an ever-increasing variety of contract roles available, which gives candidates a broad choice of projects to work on and go towards expanding their knowledge and skillsets.
Summary
The relationship between business and technology has gone through a major shift over the last five years, and projections show no indication that this rate of change will slow down anytime soon. With the constant development of new technologies and business methodologies, new roles will continue to appear and traditional roles are very likely to see drastic change, re-definition, and some may even disappear altogether. With that in mind, businesses and candidates alike need to plan for what might well be a very different looking world in the next decade. If you have any questions about this article or would like to consider moving into a different IT role, get in touch with one of our specialist Recruitment Consultants today.
