In a recent survey regarding technology investment priorities, cloud computing hit the top.  Other highlighted areas include mobile, hardware, and business-process innovation.

Sixty-one percent of responding heads of IT focused on cloud computing which was a 10% lift from 2010.  Cloud computing continues to command increased attention from IT leadership as a catalyst for cutting costs, increasing efficiency and more.  The pursuit of the cloud is also transforming the role of key IT personnel in their organization, shifting emphasis toward resource management, business process and business intelligence and away from the more operational aspects of technology.

Mobile continues to appear on the scope of IT leaders.  Finding ways to apply the fruits of a recent explosion of mobile device innovation is the focus here.  IT departments are receiving or generating their own mandates to employ tablets and smartphones in ways that push beyond simple interaction.  In particular, the advent of tablets has inspired fresh thinking of how to empower human resources in the field of a variety of industries.  Intense effort being poured into mobile platform development for iOS, Android, webOS and Windows Phone 7 provide a strong backbone for this emerging field.

Newcomers to the IT field and experienced personnel looking to maintain their edge (and employability!) are increasingly seeking training in key fields.  Virtualization is a key aspect of cloud computing and is seeing expanded training opportunities.  Acquiring mobile development skills is another area of focus with Android programming the latest to emerge as a viable platform.

Expensive training options and “$99” courses that claim to equip one with a new skill set continue to populate the market.  GogoTraining, leading provider of IT and management training, continues to put forth effective and affordable training for the latest areas of pursuit.  VMware training and the Android Development Training Program are but two of a wide range of training opportunities that exist in the GogoTraining IT training course catalog.

Find what will benefit you the most and pursue it today!  These job markets are only beginning to open up and early adopters will – as usual – be positioned the best.

AMD, the multinational semiconductor producer, is hiring over 1,000 IT professionals across their global operations in anticipation of the enterprise movement toward Cloud Computing.

The highest portion of new hires will be focused on design and verification and will be recruited at all AMD facilities including Boston, Orlando, California, Texas and in Canada.

Given AMD’s support of open-source software, engineers with Linux, C/C++, Ruby, and Java are going to be a focus of hiring on the software side.  In hardware, analog design engineers with backgrounds in electrical engineering, CISI and ASIC design abilities will be hired.

AMD plans to meet the new cloud market with software and hardware products and expects to leverage the same entrepreneurial ethos that has served them well in the past. Lance Phillips, Global Talent Acquisition Leader for AMD, defines this as, “candidates and employees who are good fit are those who like to work beyond typical boundaries and beyond a job description.”

GogoTraining has introductory and advanced courses in the majority of technologies being sought after by AMD and other large employers gearing up for the cloud (or just gearing up to compete in the emerging economy).  Check out the online IT training course catalog for more details.

Expanding activity and energy in the IT industry is indicating a good time for investing in IT skill education and certification.  Based on activity, the economic outlook in the industry and in general is much stronger than in recent years.  Early adopter of key skill sets are likely to see above-average career opportunities.

In 2010, mergers and acquisitions in the technology sector have picked up significantly over recent years which is signaling a return of confidence by technology companies.  Overall this bodes well for the economy as the disposition of the tech industry is often found to be a bellwether for the overall economy.

According to John Shea of Berkery Noyes, mergers and acquisitions indicate how people are viewing the economy 3-4 years in the future. Not only did activity rise but the prices paid were at pre-recession levels.  In 2010 there were 1,121 transactions in the software industry versus 819 in 2009.  Value of those deals was up over 100% as well.  Niche software, business software and infrastructure software saw the most activity, according to the Berkery Noyes report.

Increased M&A activity in the previous year coupled with renewed vigor in enterprise-level pursuit of significant projects such as entering Cloud Computing and enabling workforces with tablets and custom mobile apps are all indications of how investing in an information technology career – new or existing – is likely to provide positive returns over the coming years.

Interested in enhancing an existing IT skill or acquiring a new one? Check out GogoTraining’s online IT training course catalog.  From Oracle certification exam prep training to Android mobile development training program, there’s something for everyone.

Looking to get caught up in the shift toward Cloud Computing? It winds up even those focused on storage and network administration will need to add management to their skill set.

There are two roles that are becoming relevant in cloud computing, according to Drue Reeves, VP and Gartner analyst on cloud computing. The first are Cloud Leads, operating at the strategic level to serve as enterprise evaluator and ambassador.  The second are Cloud Administrators, repurposed storage and network administrators who move more into a management role working with cloud providers.

Thus, the adoption of cloud platforms will drive an increase in demand for those with not only the requisite IT skills but also key management training or background.

One excellent form of management training for IT professionals is the certification for ITIL, or the Information Technology Infrastructure Library.  ITIL is among the most widely used set of best practices where it comes to IT services management (ITSM).  Those interested in obtaining ITIL certification begin with the ITIL v3 Foundation certification training in order to obtain the initial certificate.  Afterward, ITIL offers an Intermediate level with two tracks of learning, Lifecycle and Capability.  Certifications are offered in each of the Intermediate modules but those seeking to sit for the exams must demonstrate they have taken ITIL v3 Intermediate training from an Authorized Training Organization (GogoTraining is an ATO).

GogoTraining offers the ITIL v3 Foundation certification training courses (there are 2) at a “buy one get one” price to help interested professionals get started quickly and easily.

Other strong IT management training courses include:

• Service Oriented Architecture in a Cloud Computing World
• IT Asset Management: A Comprehensive Overview
• ITSM Comprehensive Overview
• Performance Management
• Risk Management

Microsoft confirmed with Dice.com they are looking to fill a wide range of technical positions across key groups.  Their focus on cloud computing and mobile development (both smartphones and tablets) is generating a significant, ongoing demand for fresh talent.

Software engineers, program management engineers and software testing engineers are being sought in the United States.  Their gaming division is looking to add software engineers as they pursue development of a new version of the popular Halo title.

Microsoft confirmed with Dice.com that around 2,400 positions are to be filled in software engineering and research along with another 400 in general IT positions.  Whether you have experience or not, we strongly suggest obtaining GogoTraining online technical training in order to beef up your resume and make you more hirable for employers like Microsoft.

High growth in demand and compensation for non-certified IT skill sets has occurred for four straight quarters and is projected to continue, outpacing certified skills which have been experiencing comparatively anemic activity in the same timeframe, according to a new report by Foote Partners.

Factors cited as responsible for the growth include a focus on skill-based acquisition (creating more contract and consulting positions), increasingly distributed IT responsibilities in organizations, and the evolution of “hybrid IT/business professionals.”

“Technology and business skills have in effect collapsed into each other, creating legions of what our firm refers to generically as hybrid IT/business professionals.  New hybrid jobs and job titles have been created throughout the enterprise,” said David Foote, co-founder and CEO of Foote Partners. “Globalization and competitive pressures have accelerated the popularity of hybrid IT/business professionals and in turn energized market demand and interest in paying cash premiums for hundreds of certified and non-certified IT skills.”

Foote said the economic recession had a hand to play in the skill-based approach and rise in hybrid positions yet the story of evolving the IT workforce started earlier. “The truth is that IT and business leaders have been struggling with transforming the IT workforce for years, trying to make it more agile, flexible, nimble, whatever you want to call it, said Foote. “What the recession did was help leaders get ‘unstuck.’  More focused and motivated.  The pressure to get on the other side of this transition is enormous.”  Foote mentions the “end game” is to find a way to “react quicker, execute faster and more predictably.”

Of the certifications showing continued growth in worth, VMware is at the top showing an average compensation premium of 8.5%.  As virtualization and other areas tied to Cloud Computing grow, relevant certifications will continue to rise in value commensurately.  Other certifications seeing rise in value include those from Red Hat and Oracle.

Non-certified skills which saw a sustained lift for four consecutive quarters include database, application development tools, SAP/ERP, Web/e-commerce and methodology and process management.

GogoTraining provides outstanding quality technology and management training at an affordable price.  IT and technical management professionals of all stages in experience and academic background are encouraged to meet the needs of today’s job market, ensure longevity and increase your chances for above-average compensation by identifying a training path and getting started with GogoTraining today.

There is a myth persisting where it comes to data center jobs.  Those willing to understand the true landscape stand to gain a great deal in the job market.

The myth is that data center jobs are going away as enterprises move to the Cloud.  It isn’t true.  Gartner analyst Dave Cappuccio sets us straight in pointing out that “when virtual infrastructures are using SAN’s, and Fiber Channel is running over Ethernet, who has responsibility for the overall storage environment; the network team, storage team, virtualization team, or server team?  All of the above.”

New recruits able to meet the demands of tomorrow’s data centers are needed.  Dr. Mickey Zandi points out that while “data center hiring isn’t in crisis yet, it’s already difficult to find qualified people.”  Consolidation of systems such as storage, network and computing save the data centers money but increase the qualification needed from employees. 

 Zandi recommends companies invest in the training needed to deal with these more advanced environments.  He points out that certifications will increase in importance, such as cloud-related certifications from Cisco, EMC and VMWare, and he recommends that workers do more training, research and learn other domains.

Learn more about IT certification paths for key technologies.

The latest large employer looking for mobile developers is SAP, one of the leading providers of business software.  Their model of how they meet market demands involves their Global Business Incubator, which essentially is a venture developer that creates nearly autonomous teams of people to act like a start-up company.  These teams are tasked with fulfilling a specific need in the market.

One such new team is the Consumer Mobile Initiative focused on “leveraging consumer’s adoption of smartphones and SAP technology to redefine consumer shopping experience in and around the store” (per many of the current SAP job postings for developers).  The new team has already developed market pilots with a handful of leading retailers and consumer product concerns in the American and European markets.

Specific areas of growth in SAP will be mobile development, cloud computing and security as they continue to pursue development using their Global Business Incubator model.

Those interested in meeting the need of SAP and other enterprise software providers in these growing areas can make use of IT training courses from GogoTraining, such as:

• Android Development Training Program.
• Cloud Computing training courses.
• Security training courses.
• Oracle training courses.
• Java training courses.

Sometimes it seems like the IT industry was the inventor of the acronym, with a new one getting created every two minutes.  Enter Cloud Computing and a host of new and fun abbreviations that can get confused or switched around.

Adron Hall offers a simple run-down (and introduction for some) on three important acronyms in Cloud Computing that are used to represent three general areas in the Cloud:

Software as a Service (SaaS): Perhaps the most commonly heard and understood of the three, SaaS is a service that is provided by any sort of entity – from a small group up to a government – that provides software to the client.  That software could be delivered in any way; internally or from a provider/vendor entity to a user/contracting entity.

Platform as a Service (PaaS): Somewhat less heard-of is the concept of delivering a platform wherein clients can develop software and re-deploy it either internally, over the Internet or via other Cloud environments.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): This entails an entity providing networking fundamentals such as load balancing, routing, virtualized OS hosting, content delivery networks, computer networking, backup, etc.

Interested in the Cloud?  Check out what GogoTraining offers for training in Cloud Computing, ITIL training, and project management training.

We found this Google Knol about setting up a private cloud computing environment using Eucalyptus and Xen.  Has anyone done anything like this?  What was your experience with it?

Also, check out GogoTraining cloud computing technology training!