Technology is advancing at a rapid pace, so it’s not surprising that there is a growing need for tech talent. According to a report published by Indeed, the number of IT openings has peaked at the beginning of each year since 2014. With that said, if you’re looking for IT talent to join your team that will advance your company’s digital transformation strategies, or you’re an IT professional looking to make a career change this year, here are 5 of the most in-demand skills for IT roles that can give you a competitive edge in the industry.

Artificial intelligence & machine learning

Machine learning and AI initiatives in the business world have helped to boost productivity and improve efficiency, and it’s clear these technologies will only continue to grow in popularity. As AI becomes more commonplace, businesses will increasingly require employees with the skills to help meet the demand for more services that are powered by AI. To stay on top of the automation trend in this ever-changing digital world, companies will need to look out for candidates with knowledge of machine learning, natural language processing, AI integration, AI application programming and change management experience.

Data management

According to the 2018 U.S. Emerging Jobs Report by LinkedIn, big data is one of the fastest-growing job sectors in IT. With more data being available than ever before, the demand for data scientists, analysts and engineers with the skills to handle this data has grown in importance. Going forward, companies will need to bank on the knowledge of data specialists with core skills like programming, statistics, machine learning, data intuition and software engineering to help bridge the gap between the data and the business.

Development

It comes as no surprise that everything is going mobile. With the rise of apps and software, comes the need for talent skilled in designing and developing it. Thanks to the increasing use of mobile, most websites now have a mobile app version to cater for the booming global mobile market which Statista reports to be at 3.5 billion unique users. As mobile-only platforms become more mainstream, the need for mobile developers will only increase as businesses seek talent that will help to streamline their business for a mobile platform and audience.

Cyber security

As data becomes more readily available, we are starting to see more and more businesses suffer at the hands of hackers. With Cyber Security becoming such a hot topic, security professionals are increasingly growing in-demand to help ensure the business’ hardware, software, networks and data are well protected and secure from threats. A security breach could compromise the integrity of the data held by these companies which could cause the affected companies to lose clients, not to mention the damage to their reputation. So, this year, with organizations’ increasing reliance on data for everyday business operations, demand for data, systems, network and cloud security professionals will increase as well.

Cloud computing

The cloud has proved to be one of the most important IT tools of today, capable of improving efficiency, productivity, security and operations. Nowadays, all companies have at least some workloads in the cloud. As a matter of fact, statistics show that about 90% of companies are on the cloud and it is projected that by 2021, cloud data centres will process about 91% of workloads. This proves that not only has cloud computing become mainstream in the IT industry, it is the future of the web. As more companies migrate to the cloud, they’ll need IT talent with cloud expertise and strong knowledge of cloud services such as Amazon Web Services, as well as experience in automation, and vendor management to oversee the company’s cloud computing strategy and deal with managing cloud applications.

Conclusion

As with any industry, it’s important for IT and technology professionals to develop their skills in a range of different areas to keep up with changing technologies and business needs.

For companies looking to hire IT professionals, we know how challenging it can be to navigate the IT jobs sector, which is why we are here to help. At Insight Recruitment, we can help your IT company in the recruitment of tech savvy candidates who are skilled and experienced in the areas of technology and IT that will give your business the competitive edge it needs to succeed. Contact us today to find out how we can be of help.