Adapt to succeed in high tech


The old saying about how nothing remains the same except for change must have particular resonance for the IT industry. As the industry has grown, it has become notorious for its somewhat amorphous nature – refining services and establishing staying power seem to be cornerstones of the IT industry.


A struggling economy has made that ability to adapt even more vital.


In Rhode Island and across the nation, the down economy had a greater impact on IT workers than non-IT workers.


A new study showed that the size of the IT work force dropped from 10.4 million to 9.9 million in 2001, and overall IT firms reduced their ranks of IT workers by 15 percent compared to only four percent for non-IT workers, according to "Bouncing Back: Jobs, Skills and the Continuing Demand for IT Workers." The study was recently released by the trade organization the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA).


However, the study also predicts brighter times ahead. "Bouncing Back" found the estimated demand for IT workers in the next 12 months to be increasing substantially over 2001, with hiring managers seeking to fill 1.1 million jobs in the next year.


"Revenue growth in the IT industry stalled in the past year, and now we know that IT employment has actually lost ground," said ITAA President Harris N. Miller. "The latest data from the federal government and other sources indicates that the economy has turned a corner, and today’s report shows the level of demand for skilled IT workers is on the rise too. We may have seen a bubble burst, but the digital economy is here to stay."


The addition of a new office in Manhattan, announced last month, was a direct result of the impact of the events of Sept. 11 according to Dana Paul, chief executive officer of Providence-based digital design firm Shazamm. As the economy ground to its temporary halt, so did many of Shazamm’s accounts.


But by November, Paul said, most projects were back on track, and with 70 percent of the firm’s client base – which includes ESPN, Disney and AOL – located in New York, "it was getting to the point where we were traveling to Manhattan two or three times a week."


Paul said that only 20 percent of the company’s business comes from New England clients.


The company’s New York office, located in Midtown, is used by its sales and account representatives, with production staff still operating from Shazamm’s headquarters in Providence. Paul said the firm has become busier as a result.


"Even though we live in the amazing, high tech virtual world, people still want to say ‘Can you come down in 10 minutes so I can go over something with you?" he said.


Increased concerns about security prompted Providence-based online art auction firm Orbidex to expand formally to include a subsidiary company, Polar Cove, early this year.


The addition of this "security arm" was a natural progression, according to the company’s chief technology officer, Erik Petersen.


Orbidex had offered security services, as a sideline, to clients they were already working with on custom Web sites and applications – and it has always been a particular interest for Petersen – but the real impetus behind Polar Cove seems to be the increased demand and interest in all types of security in these uncertain times.


"It came about because our clients were asking for it," said Petersen.


Some of the most common problems are Web site defacements and viruses, even for some of the nation’s largest companies and organizations. The New York Times, Barclays Bank, Yahoo! and Microsoft Web sites have all experienced defacements in recent months, Petersen said, who added that 2002 seems to be "unfortunately, a banner year" for that type of activity.


According to the CERT Coordination Center (CERT/CC) – which studies Internet security at the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University – the number of Web site defacements nationwide during the first quarter of 2002 reached nearly 27,000. It is a number that has increased each year since 1990, according to CERT/CC statistics, with the most dramatic increase being between 2000 (21,800 incidents) and 2001 (52,700 incidents).


"It’s not surprising to me at all that companies that secure information are doing well right now," said Bryant College instructor and chair of the IT committee for the Institute of Management Accountants Neal Hannon. "The hottest trends in the IT world right now are revolving around Web services."


Hannon predicted that as IT-related firms continue to evolve, there will be a move away from networking services, although he expects the demand for certified technicians (in systems such as Microsoft and Cisco) to remain in demand.


Hannon also predicted even more of a shift toward XML (Extensible Markup Language) technology, which allows for the interoperability of different types of systems and data, and in doing so, he said "takes the Internet to another level."

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