Web Developers in Demand; IT Budgets Rise [Roundup]

by Don Willmott Mar 30, 2012 3 min read

Recruiters Struggle to Find Web Developers: Recruiters are facing difficulties in filling Web development positions. During February, they posted more than 38,000 ads, 28 percent more than in February 2011, and a 68 percent increase since the same month in 2010. Metropolitan areas such as New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Atlanta, San Francisco and Seattle are especially good for job hunters. The skills recruiters seek include Java, JavaScript, HTML, SQL, CSS, XML, AJAX, ASP, .NET, and jQuery. Wanted Analytics IT Budgets Are Up by 20 Percent: According to surveys by Florida-based search and staffing firm PROTECH, IT budgets and salaries are increasing while employers show increased concern about losing their employees. Average 2012 budgets increased to 10.2 percent from 8.5 percent in 2011. The research also revealed that 42 percent of tech leaders plan to increase IT staff this year (up by 13 percent compared to 2011). Fifty seven percent are concerned about losing top IT talent in 2012, a 14 percent rise. Marketwatch A Rush to Learn Internet Skills: The market for night classes and online instruction in programming and Web development is booming. Students say they are prepping for a future in which the Internet is the foundation for entertainment, education and nearly everything else. After two free computer science classes offered online by Stanford attracted more than 100,000 students, one of the instructors started a company called Udacity to offer similar free lessons. Treehouse, a site that promises to teach Web design, picked up financing from Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn, and other notable early investors. The New York Times One Billion Smart Devices Will Ship in 2012: The universe of smart connected devices -- including PCs, media tablets and smartphones -- saw shipments of more than 916 million units in 2011, according to IDC. Looking ahead, unit shipments for these devices should top 1.1 billion worldwide in 2012. and 1.84 billion by 2016. That’s a compound annual growth rate of 15.4 percent over the five-year period. IDC Rutgers Teams with IBM for Supercomputer: New Jersey’s Rutgers University has launched a high-performance computing center focused on the application of “big data” analytics in life sciences, finance and other industries. The center will use supercomputing equipment and software provided by IBM in the project’s first phase. Rutgers anticipates future expansion will lead to the university having one of the world’s most powerful academic supercomputers. The IBM Blue Gene supercomputer will be the only one available to commercial users in the state. Newswise Sony Reorganizes to Get Its Groove Back: Sony has unveiled a new business structure, called "One Sony," to streamline its decision making process. Under the new plan, the separate professional and consumer product and service groups will disappear. The company will place digital imaging, gaming, and mobile devices as the three cornerstones of its electronics business. Sony has also identified medical technology as one of its strengths and is establishing a new medical business unit to supply more equipment. Sony's home entertainment business, including the struggling TV division, are being put under the direct supervision of CEO Kazuo Hirai. Dice News There Are Fewer Green Jobs Than You Think: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of 2010 there were 2.3 million private-sector workers producing environmentally friendly goods or services. Another 860,000 public sector employees worked in those fields. In total, they represented 2.4 percent of the U.S. workforce, a little less than half the size of today's construction sector. It has become clear how small the cutting-edge end of the green economy really is, even post-stimulus. The Atlantic