Jobs Emerging from the Health IT Stampede

Friday, 4 February, 2011

The healthcare industry recently started clamoring to meet requirements for data handling to avoid financial penalties.  Those who aren’t EHR/EMR (Electronic Health/Medical Records) compliant by 2015 will still have to do it AND pay fines.

According to Dice.com, the recent expansion of specialized datacenters to facilitate a move away from low-density server and storage to Tier IV is expanding the job market.  IT staff including virtualization engineers, SANS experts and system architects are being sought after to fill out the expanding field.

Join the emerging Healthcare IT field with networking, programming and management training from GogoTraining.  Start today to take advantage of special offers.

2011 Priority for CIOs: Cloud Computing

Friday, 28 January, 2011

According to a study published January 21 by Gartner, Cloud Computing is the top technology priority for CIOs in 2011.

Roughly 43% of the 2,014 CIOs surveyed for the study indicated they expect transactions with their company to occur over cloud-based platforms, bearing significant implications for things such as networking, security and data management.

The second highest priority was virtualization and third was mobile applications.  CIOs continue to focus on alleviating cost and time burden from IT infrastructure maintenance and are especially conscience about producing reductions due to the economy.

GogoTraining has what you need to start getting involved in Cloud Computing!

Trained, Certified Staff on Security Manager’s Wish List

Friday, 21 January, 2011

There have been many reflections on the breaches in security that came out of 2010.  Continued growth in Internet usage powered by hot technologies like social media, smartphones, tablets and cloud computing present significant implications for security.

A.N. Ananth, CEO of Prism Microsystems, offered some insight on a security manager’s wish list for 2011 based on recent developments.  Toward the top end?  Trained, certified security experts on staff.

“Every CISO feels understaffed for the challenges at hand,” writes Ananth.  “Most organizations have already made investments in security tools – but having a trained staff that knows how to use them for maximum effectiveness is as important as having those tools.”

GogoTraining offers training courses for two of the most sought-after security certifications, including:

CompTIA Security+ certification training courses

CISSP® certification training courses

Why Businesses Need ITIL Certified Professionals

Tuesday, 18 January, 2011

The business community has always thrived on service.  The fundamental best practice of serving customers has always been a necessary ingredient to long-term success and a sustainable business model.  You simply can’t expect to have staying power – whether you’re serving retail or business customers – and fail to think about their needs (and respond to them!). 

As information technology has grown in prominence among business users, many of us became caught in a technology trap where the tech took center stage and it was up to customers to conform.  The result has often been problems with cost, efficiency and consistency as technology is adopted due to a less-than-whole perspective on who will use it and why.

Back in the 1980’s, the proliferation of information technology across different departments in the United Kingdom government was occurring at a pace that left things like consistency, relevance, applicability and utility behind.  It sounds strange because these are just the sorts of things information technology is supposed to support or even introduce into an environment.  But rapid adoption by multiple points within the same entity (e.g. the UK government) makes for a lack of continuity and a resulting jumble of confused and colliding implementations.

Enter ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library), a set of standards first envisioned in the late 1980’s by the Central Computer Telecommunications Agency (a division of the UK government).  This blossomed over the years into many volumes of publications covering best practices for IT management, application and service.  The focus remained on Service Management; specifically, a perspective on IT management that is centered on the customer’s perspective of IT.

This customer-centered approach represents a major competitive opportunity for businesses in 2011 and beyond.  Due to several years of difficult economic conditions the corporate lens is focused on finding ways to save costs and create efficiency, and ITIL certainly offers both of these advantages.

Those with ITIL certification have an opportunity to stand out in this economy.  Being able to bring this sort of perspective is a difference maker for those already employed or seeking a new position.  Companies large and small are looking for an edge and the user-focused best practices of ITIL make a strong business case for accomplishing real savings in any and all IT investments moving forward.  Businesses are already well-educated on the importance of this after several decades of technology deployments with very mixed results.

If you are currently employed and in the position to manage IT services, consider obtaining ITIL certification training that will enable you to get certified.  By making a case for efficiency and cost control you may be able to get your employer to pay for it.  If you are unemployed and looking to secure a new position that includes IT service management then ITIL certification could be a way to distinguish yourself.
 
Employed or not, taking a page from the ITIL philosophy on IT management and singing the tune of customer-focused service is sure to be one that resonates with today’s top employers.