In 2012, certain areas of technology will offer key opportunities for IT career advancement. These fields range from data analytics and the consumerization of IT to the all-pervasive cloud ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­computing. By developing skillsets in certain areas, both entry-level and accomplished IT veterans can remain current with evolving trends. Extending one’s expertise also offers a means for staying relevant in the quickly changing world of information technology. For example, consider the consumerization of IT and its far-reaching effect on every aspect of today’s business environment. In a relatively short time, the proliferation of personal devices in the workplace has effectively changed how IT departments function. In the same way, these new developments will have implications for every area of IT, including technical support, networking, security, and customer service.

1) Data Analytics 
Accruing large amounts of data and the need for streamlined examination of that data—in terms of efficiency, analysis/recovery speeds, and accuracy, etc.—are on a collision course. The move from process-centric to data- and memory-centric computing is already having an impact on current computing trends. This change bodes a completely new approach to understanding data sets and will require new capabilities to perform fast, efficient data analysis. It will also mean new hardware and software resources—and the ability to run and maintain them. Data mining and modeling (DM) will be key. Knowledge and experience with industry-standard processes like CRISP-DM or SEMMA as well as troubleshooting are critical for this role and will be in increasing demand. The best advice is to begin to research and prepare now for this trend.

2) Consumerization of IT  
The demand for mobility is forecasted to grow considerably over the next few years. Access to advanced technologies in the workplace has led to the increased need of workers for usability, accessibility, and power. As mobile use within organizations becomes the norm, IT will be expected to provide infrastructure support, interoperability, and even application development. By understanding workers’ requirements and then delivering, IT is gradually changing its traditional role. For IT, access flexibility, troubleshooting, and controlling costs represent areas where it must become efficient. To that end, IT practitioners will require skills in identifying mobile opportunities, device management, security, community-driven architecture, and application development, to name a few.

3) Unified Communications 
The onset of the 24/7 business cycle has required the broad consolidation of communication tools. To better accommodate businesses and users, desktop handsets, voicemail, fax, email, IM, conferencing, and computing devices now require single-point of access. By integrating all these tools, it becomes easier for IT to manage them. Because UC relies heavily on software, certifications such as MCP and CCNA can be especially helpful. UC relates specifically to personal productivity, and a background with proven business skills, or at the very least a strong understanding of business processes, is helpful. Finally, implementing UC requires the project management skills to handle a number of moving parts. Being adept in each of these areas as well as capabilities in wireless, routing, and networking are critical to creating a successful UC system.

4) Social Media
The boundaries between home and work continue to blur. One goal of integrating social media into the business mainstream is to increase worker productivity. Through social media, the business world is attempting to accommodate a major technology trend and capitalize on its potential, for example creating brand awareness via Tweets. In some respects, IT is simply trying to keep up with the breadth and speed of the changes. As companies further integrate social media, it will become IT’s responsibility to help create policies that spearhead and guide this movement. For example, training employees to build a social presence that effectively promotes a company. Metrics to measure KPI (Key Performance Indicators), building a better collaborative infrastructure, creating knowledge transfer systems for new employees—these are just a few examples of the unique tools and systems that IT will be required to undertake in 2012 and beyond.

5) Security  
From creating attack profiles to building a better firewall, recent changes in the security landscape have shown what is no longer effective in fighting security breaches. For example, it’s common knowledge that intruders can leverage system flaws by attacking other devices on a network, from printers and routers to applications and, increasingly, mobile devices. The new approach to combating DoS, botnets, perimeter attacks, and backdoor viruses will require that all IT practitioners possess a certain amount of security knowledge. Moreover, companies need to anticipate attacks and initiate pro-active, risk-management approaches. While third parties are available for checking up to 80 percent of network infrastructures, it’s up to IT to evaluate the remaining 20 percent. IT practitioners need a strong foundation in security to deal with the gradual change and the increasing sophistication of attacks. Choosing an area in which to specialize can be a useful way to boost your career.

6 ) Cloud Computing
The technologies for implementing cloud platforms continue to mature. The variety of skills necessary as well as an understanding of the cloud require a level of technical knowledge that spans several areas. While sensitive data in the cloud requires extra scrutiny, it’s also increasingly clear that hybrid clouds offer a viable solution. The push to create public/private hybrids will be a major focus in 2012. For IT, this requires abilities in these key areas:

networking: the ability to rework entire networks on the fly with a solid understanding of TCP/IP, DNS, and related technologies, such as load balancing and NTP

virtualization: understanding the virtualization layer, including virtual machines and storage

operating systems: competencies in both Windows and Linux are key as well as certifications with vendors, such as MS, VMWare, and Red Hat applications: IT practitioners need abilities in languages, such as XML, Ruby, Pearl and Java as well as knowledge of back-end applications, such as Apache, Tomcat, Rails, and SQL