Disruptive technologies impacting IT roles

Adoption of disruptive technologies including the cloud, big data, mobile and social networks will change or redefine 90% of IT roles by 2018, IDC predicts.

A new brief, compiled by the research firm for SolarWinds, also projects that by 2018 a third of the top 20 market leaders in most industries will have been significantly disrupted by new and existing competitors taking advantage of these technologies.

Much of the disruption will be driven by companies using the technologies to improve the speed and agility of product and service development.

By 2020, IDC forecasts that more than $5 trillion will be spent annually by innovators and entrepreneurs developing new applications for the technologies.

The cloud, mobile, social and big data all encompass what IDC terms the “four pillars of the third platform”. Together, they are impacting IT infrastructure and the role of IT within the organisation, Suaad Said,SolarWinds executive vice president for products and markets, said.

“The full impact of today’s disruptive technology and rapid change is starting to affect the IT workforce and the IT infrastructure that underpin their operations in businesses of all sizes,” he said.

“Technology professionals at all stages of their career have to start thinking of themselves as creators and inventors, not just managers or administrators - which means they’ll need a range of diverse and dynamic skills to remain relevant to their employers.”

Development skills are already emerging as a top priority in the search for IT talent, he said. “The greatest demand, however, will be for individuals who have the technical nous to derive insights and connections from vast amounts of data; and the entrepreneurial perspective needed to convert those insights into applications with meaningful impact on businesses and communities alike.”

Image courtesy of Nana B Agyei under CC