As the economy begins to show signs of improvement we can look forward to expansion in various job sectors, such as the tech industry. Jennifer LeClaire highlights three areas of the tech industry that will be in demand for 2011 in her newsfactor.com article. The first field indicated is business analytics. Companies are striving to take collected data and make decisions that will improve efficiency, profitability, and increase customer satisfaction. Tim Powers, spokesperson for IBM’s business analytics division, says “Data unanalyzed is data wasted. Therefore, businesses and governments need two very important things to make this happen: the right technology, and employees with the right expertise and skill sets.” In fact, Gartner Inc., a leading global IT research and advisory company, reports that business analytics will be a top 10 priority for companies in 2011.

The second area of focus mentioned by LeClaire is data storage and infrastructure. Companies will always need a method of storing critical data and it’s important for companies to structure data storage at the proper level of security. Storage architects must be able to analyze the needs of the company and provide solutions according to budget constraints. Also, with cloud computing in its early stages, individuals with expertise in this area will have an edge in this field. Jordan Rayboy of Rayboy Insider Search says “In the future, more and more companies will move toward virtualized environments and utilize cloud architectures. It’s a good idea to get on board now as the train builds momentum.”

The third field mentioned for growth in 2011 is the need for a qualified CIO. The same principles that are making storage/infrastructure and business analytics so important for 2011 are the same characteristics that are driving the need for good CIO’s and great high level managers – business efficiency and customer satisfaction. Of course improvements in these areas involve many complex decisions and detailed planning. Steve Watson, a managing director at global search firm Stanton Chase, had this to say about the importance of the CIO position: “IT jobs are especially in demand for people who can deliver to the complexity of the business — more for less, effectiveness and efficiencies, compliances, risk management, proactive business alignment, and service-level expectations.” Watson also mentions “Skills in strategic planning, business analysis and process improvement, project management, infrastructure services, security and risk management are in demand.”

In addition to the three areas mentioned in the newsfactor.com article, the results of a computerworld.com survey demonstrate that some of the more traditional IT skills will play a significant role for hiring in 2011. Job candidates with proficiency in areas such as programming and application development, project management, help desk/technical support, and networking will have the edge on open positions. The underlying theme for companies looking to hire is to find someone with experience who can communicate effectively to satisfy the client and the company’s need to be efficient. The trend towards new hires is obviously a good one and we can all hope that new jobs continue to be created.