In 
Information Technology ranks amongst the most dynamic industries. Matching the emergence of new trends and rapidly-changing technology is the fast movement in the sector. Despite the slowdown in the economy, there seem to be no dearth of openings and opportunities in the IT vertical. However, the big questions that arise with respect to job opportunities for IT Managers include what is the right IT job description of their roles? Are they equipped with the skill sets that enterprises want? What is their career outlook?
As an IT manager's core competency lies in technology, large enterprises look for three-four competencies in that area.
Competency areas for IT managers
“The IT manager should be strong in large enterprise application deployment and maintenance. He should have an in-depth knowledge of, among other solutions, PeopleSoft, Oracle, and Business Intelligence suits. On the infrastructure front, the job description encompasses networking, desktops and laptops” says Shambhu Agrawal, Founder of IndiHire, a talent acquisition company. IndiHire provides relevant talent solutions to a cross section of industries including the technology, outsourcing, pharmaceuticals, consumer goods, engineering and services industries.
While the focus is on technology skills, enterprises also want IT Managers to have strong leadership skills.
Strong leadership skills
“Although the IT Managers may not be interacting with the company's top management, they would definitely have to communicate with the different heads of business units. It is, therefore, important that they have the ability to connect to leaders and are articulate in their communication. Besides, it is a given that they are able to solve all business requirements by leveraging IT tools,” says Agrawal.
Thammaiah BN, Director, Kelly IT Resources India, on the other hand, believes that skill sets that companies look for may vary depending on the vertical or the industry in which it plays.
Varying skill sets across verticals
“The skills differ from company to company. A product based company looks at professionals with excellent product development experience and professionals who have hands-on experience with Agile/Scrum Methodology. Meanwhile, a service based company looks at professionals who have managed large teams, someone who has experience with delivery management, project management and good people management skills,” he says.
“Also, strong technical knowledge in the field that the company operates in is a must. Good project planning, communication skills, negotiation skills and logical reasoning are essential,” Thammaiah feels.
Kelly Services, is a leader in providing workforce solutions. It offers a comprehensive array of outsourcing and consulting services as well as world-class staffing on a temporary, temporary-to-hire, and direct-hire basis. Serving clients around the globe, Kelly provides employment to more than 560,000 employees annually. Its revenue in 2012 was $5.5 billion.
However, Rajeev Bhadauria, Director Group HR of Jindal Steel & Power believes the job description of an IT Manager has moved well beyond technology.
Knowledge beyond technology
“The overarching role of IT itself has changed. There would be demands in terms of domain specific knowledge but an IT Manager would essentially have to play the role of a change agent. He has to align technology with business needs,” says Bhaduaria.
Skill Set or Skill Gap?
According to Kelly Services, Life Science and Pharma seem to be sectors witnessing progress in terms of hiring IT professionals. Among all other industries, BFSI continues to lead in hiring IT professionals as improved technology is key for the banking industry to innovate and progress.
“As compared to previous year the current economic scenario is better and looks lucrative for IT leaders and professional looking for role expansion. This sector has seen a consistent demand and supply of IT professionals, be it senior leaders as well. Although there are certain critical skills for which hiring is often done from outside India, we believe there is no dearth of talent in India for companies looking for seasoned professionals, having handled global teams, multiple projects and with the ability to execute the strategy well,” Thammaiah avers.
Agrawal echoes the sentiment. He believes there are plenty of opportunities and openings for senior enterprise technology decision makers.
“The Board of Directors and the CEO realize that IT can play a very critical role in providing competitive advantage to an enterprise. They have, therefore, accorded number one priority to IT and are not delaying spending on technology,” he adds.
So while there are opportunities, do IT Managers' skill sets come across as an exact fit into the enterprise's job description? Agarwal feels the rapidly changing technology scenario is posing a challenge for IT Managers.
Challenge for IT managers
“In the last one-two years, technology has changed fast. In the times to come also, the IT space will continue to remain dynamic. Emerging trends and technologies such as cloud and mobility are proving to be challenging for IT Managers. For them, the need of the hour is to increase their knowledge levels around these trends,” he says.
Thammaiah, meanwhile, believes that, “In product companies, very often we have seen IT Managers not having hands on experience with product development and product engineering. IT Managers should be from an Engineering (Education) background and with past experience of product development/ product engineering and have at least worked for 7 to 10 years in an individual contributor role.”
Skill set based on domain
“IT Managers in service based organizations should be preferably from the same domain. For Telecom, managers should be hired for the telecom domain or for Investment banking, and candidates from the same domain should be hired. They should be from an IT background (Education) and preferably one who has managed multiple teams (good people management skills) and capable of delivering on time,” he says.
Bhadauria believes there is a big chasm when it comes to an IT Manager’s skill sets. “There is a big gap as far as managerial and administrative talent is concerned. IT Managers need to enhance their skills in these areas,” he says.
In such a scenario, can senior IT decision makers aspire for higher growth opportunities, which can help them shine in their organizations?
“Yes,” says Thammaiah. “Senior IT decision makers must have the right skills and competencies to lead a company, they should be able to identify newer growth opportunities and areas where the company should be investing in and at the same time ensure job at hand is implemented on time and cost,” he says.
“Senior decision makers should evangelize technologies/practices, build communities and advocate thought leadership in the space. Something that has been lacking inIndia,” he adds.
Add new comment