Report: Companies need contract workers
U.S.
economic growth may be hindered if companies experience a shortage of
highly skilled contract workers, according to a new report from
Minneapolis-based HotGigs Inc. The report reveals 30 of the most
desirable skill sets for the contract IT worker. The report, available
for download at www.hotgigs.com/articles, also shows that companies can
expect to pay 10 to 20 percent more for IT contractors in 2006 as they
ramp up new projects.
Contract workers accounted for about
one-third of all new jobs created in the United States between 2002 and
2004. HotGigs' report shows that project managers (15 percent of
searches) were the most sought-after contract workers. Companies are
specifically seeking project managers with experience managing teams of
15 or more employees, as well as those with a background in program
management, infrastructure project management, and project change
management.
The report also showed strong demand for networking
engineers (9 percent of searches), especially in wireless networking and
in network security. Specifically, network professionals who can handle
setup and support of local area networks (LANs), network security,
network architecture, Cisco, and TCP/IP are most desired.
Web
developers ranked third (8 percent of searches) among the most favored
IT professionals, with top languages being ASP.Net, HTML, JavaScript,
PHP, and XML.
Survey tracks adoption of new
technology
Affordability, fear of disruption to business
operations and apprehension about integrating new technology with old
are the top reasons small business owners hesitate to embrace
technological innovation, according to a recent survey by the
Dallas-based Yankee Group.
The biggest challenge for more than 50
percent of small business managers with 20 to 99 employees is the
integration of different applications and systems that currently stand
alone. More than 40 percent are concerned their technology needs are not
being met as a result of an insufficient IT staff.
IT
hiring continues decline
The Hudson Employment Index for IT
workers fell 4.4 points to 104.6 in February, marking the second
consecutive decline for this sector's reading. All factors influencing
the Index, including hiring expectations, perceptions of personal
finances, perceived job security and job satisfaction, reported declines
in February. The most notable changes were in regards to hiring and job
security. The number of workers reporting their employer had plans to
hire fell from 38 percent to 33 percent, while the number concerned
about job loss rose from 22 percent to 28 percent.
Nik
changes name
San Diego-based Nik Multimedia Inc. changed its
name to Nik Software Inc.
When Nik Multimedia was established in
1995 by its founder and namesake Nils Kokemohr, its product development
was dedicated to a broader market of graphic arts, design, print, and
digital imaging. Since 1999, the company has concentrated on digital
photographic filter development, and now produces plug-in software
products for digital photography and imaging
professionals.
VoIP adoption booming
The
number of residential VoIP customers (not including PC-to-PC services)
more than tripled to 4.2 million in 2005 and is expected to grow by a
compound annual rate of 43.9 percent through 2009, reaching 18.0
million. This was on the heels of an eightfold increase from 150,000 at
the end of 2003 to 1.2 million at the end of 2004, according to the
Arlington, Va., Telecommunications Industry Association's 2006
Telecommunications Market Review and Forecast.
The U.S. broadband
market has grown from 4.5 million subscribers in 2000 to 41.3 million
subscribers in 2005 and is expected to grow an additional 28 million to
69.2 million by 2009, a 13.8 compound annual increase.
VoIP
revenue has had a growth pattern similar to residential VoIP
subscribers. VoIP revenue increased from $25 million in 2003 to $200
million in 2004 and $1.1 billion in 2005. Revenue is projected to
increase 46.7 percent on a compound annual rate through 2009, reaching
$5.1 billion.
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