Clearly, this ain’t your mama’s IT department. What it means to work in IT and tech is quickly changing, and companies are learning there are certain new positions they need to fill to stay competitive in the new digital marketplace. While we could get lost in a maze of acronyms and buzzwords (CDA, CMO, CIO, CAO, CIoTO, CITSO), I want to focus on the top three areas that are absolutely essential to your company. It doesn’t matter if you call them “chief,” “engineer,” “analyst,” or “architect.” Just know: these are the tech jobs you should fill this year.
Data Scientist
This may not come as a surprise to you. But if you have not yet secured a dedicated data scientist of analyst, you are likely feeling a bit overwhelmed by the massive amounts of data at your fingertips—and you are also likely failing to make effective use of it.
Not all data scientists are the same. Harvard Business Review classifies the types of data scientists as those who crunch data for humans (marketing data, product development data) and those that crunch it for machines (AI, machine learning, etc.) The type you need will vary by the size of your company, your industry, and the resources available to you. In either case, you will want to find someone who is strong in business analytics, communication, programming, and—in my opinion—creativity. You want someone who can look beyond simple common patterns to notice meaningful trends happening below the surface. You don’t have to make them a “Chief” of data or analytics. You just need to find someone who is capable of leading when it comes to data. Data Scientist is one of the top tech jobs you should fill this year.
Cloud Systems Engineer
It’s always fascinating how tech circles around and equalizes itself. For instance, part of the excitement of using cloud in the past was that it allowed companies to outsource some of the old “data center” support work they’d been doing (i.e. laboring under) in the past. Fast forward to 2019, and now many smart companies are hiring cloud systems engineers. Why? The cloud environment is ever-changing and incredibly complex. Most companies have not been able to migrate exclusively to one cloud environment, for instance. The engineers need to know how to architect the cloud systems, protect them, scale them, and integrate them so that they work seamlessly for the business. They also need to stay abreast of other new trends disrupting cloud (IoT, 5G, edge computing, blockchain, etc.), that could allow your company to move faster where real-time communication is essential.
Security Engineer
With so much data floating around, it almost goes without saying that you need someone highly skilled to keep it safe. With so many companies today working in fragmented systems, it’s essential that the security engineer always be looking for ways to align processes and systems so that they flow more seamlessly together. That will help keep the data safer overall.
Depending on the products and services your company offers, you may find that you need security engineers dedicated to certain specific technologies. For instance, you may want an IoT security engineer, data security engineer, cloud security engineer, etc. Don’t get bogged down by titles. Just figure out which position is most essential to your company’s security threats.
This is by no means an extensive list of tech jobs you should fill this year. There are tons of new tech jobs being developed every day, and many companies have already moved beyond this basic list to focus on things like dedicated AI engineers, IoT engineers, or machine learning engineers. Whatever the case, you’ll want to make sure that whoever you hire is passionate about continuing to learn and continue their education regarding that specific role. Don’t be afraid to make that part of the job requirements, either.
If your company has not yet filled any of the positions above—I can’t lie: I’m worried about you. In today’s digital transformation, data, cloud, and security are foundational parts of business, which is why these are 3 tech jobs you should fill this year. If you haven’t yet set up strategies in those areas, it’s time to start.
The original version of this article was first published on Future of Work.
Daniel Newman is the Principal Analyst of Futurum Research and the CEO of Broadsuite Media Group. Living his life at the intersection of people and technology, Daniel works with the world’s largest technology brands exploring Digital Transformation and how it is influencing the enterprise. From Big Data to IoT to Cloud Computing, Newman makes the connections between business, people and tech that are required for companies to benefit most from their technology projects, which leads to his ideas regularly being cited in CIO.Com, CIO Review and hundreds of other sites across the world. A 5x Best Selling Author including his most recent “Building Dragons: Digital Transformation in the Experience Economy,” Daniel is also a Forbes, Entrepreneur and Huffington Post Contributor. MBA and Graduate Adjunct Professor, Daniel Newman is a Chicago Native and his speaking takes him around the world each year as he shares his vision of the role technology will play in our future.