What does Cloud Computing and Virtualisation mean for the future of IT skills?

One of the most prominent trends in IT nowadays is the move towards Cloud Computing and Virtualisation. In brief this is the concept of business using more IT services on demand via the internet, than in-house.

For Infrastructure needs businesses can now even get hardware functionality by subscribing to such services on the internet. This means they do not have to buy and maintain servers anymore, but can get those and their -operating systems via a Service Provider on the internet. If the capacity gets too small, add some more capacity is done by taking a better subscription.

For Software Applications the model is similar. Businesses can now replace their in-house software packages with subscribed software services from the same vendors. For example an accounting package that was previously used in a company and installed on an in-house server, is now available on the internet by subscription on a monthly or -usage basis by the same company.

This reduces the need for small to medium-sized businesses to maintain their own server and network infra-structure and rather get the same functionality over the internet an a pay-as-you-use basis.

What does this hold for the future of the In-house Techincal Infrastructure Specialist and for the In-house Software Developer ?

Infrastructure specialists will now be needed more to work in vendor environments. Their job skills will be the same as always, although Virtualisation skills and certifications will be more in demand. In such vendor companies, there will be an added need to equip these technicians with people- and sales skills because of the business model of supplying the services to clients.

On the software application side inside a user company, programmers will now need to customise and extract data from such on-line software services. These programmers will need to skill themselves up more on the Front-End side with web and scripting software skills to :


- enable in-house applications with web front-ends 
- use / extract data from on-line software services companies for in-house customisations.

In brief : - technical skills will never become obsolete, there will be more of a shift to where they will be employed. 

At Compuways we are ready to supply the right kind of candidate for every position in an IT environment. Whether it is with an IT vendor or with and IT user. Software Application developers for in-house systems or for vendors supplying web - services. We are able to ensure the right person is matched to the right position in the right company. Our 20 years in the IT Industry has seen many shifts in IT : From Mainframes to PC's, from procedural software programming languages to 4th generation programming languages to Object - Oriented programming languages. From mainframe to mini computers and then to servers. From servers to virtualised servers. There was never a stage where good - solutions-oriented IT skills were not in demand.

Our clients can testify that we are able to provide the right skills at the right time - always!

Centurion - ASP.NET Developer with C#, XML, XSLT (Salary up to R30k)

Our client provides Information Technology solutions and business consulting services to their clients in South Africa and abroad covering a range of vertical markets.
They have a proud history of software engineering excellence and has been doing so for more than 10 years.
They focus on providing business solutions to organisations active in emerging markets, i.e. Micro-Finance Institutions, NGO s and banks. Together with their clients, they are working to increase access to banking products and services to people and businesses in developing economies. Their solutions cover personal, SME and housing loan origination, credit management, as well as debt and arrears management.
They have developed an integrated suite of products including workflow, document management, credit scoring, payment systems, wireless front-office and MIS that augments the functionality of most core banking systems to create a very flexible web-based banking environment.
In addition, they provide software development services to a variety of other industries like transport, travel, education, training and retail management.
We are looking for a person that has 0-4 years experience in development C#, ASP.Net, XML and XSLT. Will first be doing development support (+-1 year) to learn the systems and then based on progress move into new development.

IT : SDLC : Systems Analysis, Programming (Lng)

1) The systems Analyst was a programmer before, but not doing pure programming anymore, rather designing within the architectural boundaries of the programming language environment like .NET or JAVA. He leads the programmers in terms of technical design issues.
2) Programmers are the kings of the code. Their strong point is to code and code fast and accurate, as is most of the time required. They are true masters of the programming language and may receive instructions from their systems or business analysts if they are working in a big team but if in a small team or alone, they do everything.e.g:
Developer
Programmer
Systems Analyst
Analyst/Programmer

Midrand : Java Developer, R20k-R32k

CRITICAL COMPETENCIES

· Ability to understand and map business and system requirements to the software solution.

· Ability to consistently produce world class quality deliverables.

· Problem resolution and debug ability with minimum assistance.

· Accuracy and attention to detail

· Efficiency

· Positive attitude

· Ownership

· Communication skills (both verbal and written)

· Strong team player with good interpersonal skills

NO	KPAs	KEY PERFORMANCE INPUTS / ACTIVITIES	CORE COMPETENCIES	FUNDAMENTAL COMPETENCIES
1	Design, code and test transactions	v Take ownership of certain system modules and transactions. v Designs are produced and maintained according to agreed project standards and guidelines. v Code is produced and maintained according to agreed project standards and guidelines. v Unit testing is planned and executed in a structured manner according to agreed project standards and guidelines.	v Proficient in J2SE (Java 2 Standard Edition). v Knowledge of the relevant business and functional requirements. v Knowledge of the relevant software architecture, framework and data model.	v Proficiency in the basic principles of programming, independent of programming language. v Willingness to conform to standards. v Ability to consistently produce world class quality deliverables.
2.	Processes	v Specification compliance is constantly sought. v Design reviews are structured, complete, clearly presented and issues are followed up. v Outcome of code reviews is followed up and applied in future. v Defects and change requests are properly raised, updated, resolved and validated.	v Knowledge of SDLC (Software Development Lifecycle) processes. v Proficient in Rational ClearQuest and ClearCase.	v Ability to approach and deal with work tasks in a structured manner. v Ability to attend to detail. v Ability to stand back from own work and accept feedback.
3.	Maintenance	v Defects and change requests are regularly attended to and resolved quickly.	v Ability to debug programs and isolate causes of program errors.	v Ability to perform tasks of a more routine nature with the same enthusiasm as new tasks.
4.	Time management	v Efficiency - tasks are completed in as little time as possible. v Predictability - tasks are completed on or ahead of schedule.	v Ability to estimate the extent of development effort required on assigned work tasks.	v Ability to independently plan and organize own time schedule.
5.	Internal relationships	v Knowledge is shared and assistance is provided when and where required. v Participation in team meetings and discussions, pro-active raising of issues.	v Ability to convey technical ideas, suggestions and solutions.	v Willingness to communicate effectively. v Interested in the problems of other team members.
6.	External relationships	v Assistance provided to business analyst, system analyst, test, STR and operational teams.	v Ability to convey ideas, suggestions and solutions in the “languages” outside of development.	v Interested in the perspectives, issues and problems of other project areas, outside of development.

SAS Positions in South Africa

I have to recruit about 30 SAS Developers to work for multinational companies with development arms in South Africa.

Project locations are all over South Africa in the major cities. Industries vary from Financial to Scientific to Manufacturing and more.

The position variy from entry-level graduates to seniot developers and team leaders. All should have a tertiary qualification from a university degree technicon national diploma with mathematics / statistics as a subject together with informatics.

This might be the opportunity you have been waiting for - take your career a step up!

See http://www.compuways.co.za for more details . . . and to apply

C/C++ on UNIX/LINUX Developer Required in Woodmead, Johannesburg.

I am looking for the following sort of experience / skill for developerresources (if u do not qualify - I offer a handsome referral fee ifyou refer someone that is succesfully placed:-) .

C Programming 5 years
C++ Programming 2 years
SQL Programming 2 years
Software Design 2 years
Software Engineering Process 3 years
GUI Development 1 yearUnix/Linux environment 2 years
Scientific/Mathematical Programming 2 years

These skills all need to be current.The candidate should demonstrate an ability to work resourcefully andindependently, whilst delivering in the framework of a team. The candidate must also demonstrate a willingness and desire to programhands-on in C and C++ code. He/she must have personally developedsignificant amounts of program code, demonstrating and requiringmodular design and the use of a source code repository for versioncontrol. The candidate must communicate well, and be comfortable discussingdesign issues with both the team and the customer. His / her presentrole should require this of him/her. The candidate must be able to describe the software developmentlifecycle and identify his/her personal points of interaction in thatcycle. These points must be Functional Requirements Specification,Software Design, Programming and Unit Testing.

The following skills would be an advantage:
Object oriented design
UML and the use of design tools like Rational Rose
Development tools (GDB, DBX, WxWidets/Qt/GTK, Makefilesetc.)

See www.compuways.co.za for more detail ...