Some IT skills see pay hikes during downturn
Budget dollars may be tight for most companies, but that doesn't mean enterprise IT departments can do without the technology skills, talent and certifications they need to better navigate a down economy.
Stories by Denise Dubie
Security pros seek talent, feel budget pain
More than 70% of information security professionals reported that they lost budget dollars in the past six months, but more than half said they think the worst is over.
Oracle-Sun: Apps, systems management coup for customers
Oracle's US$7.4 billion bid for Sun might win customer favor, industry watchers say, as the sum of the two companies' management technology portfolios will provide much greater value than the stand-alone parts.
HP automates management of VMware, virtualisation systems
HP Wednesday announced updates to its business service automation suite designed to help customers cut the cost of managing virtualisation and improve service quality.
High-tech job cuts soar in Q1
The U.S. technology sector suffered 84,217 job cuts in the first quarter, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, which reported the figure is a 27% increase over the previous quarter and the largest total since the end of 2002.
DIY tips: How to cut costs and get more from your IT gear
With project budgets shrinking, network professionals are spending less time planning new purchases and more time trying to cut costs and squeeze more value out of existing IT resources.
Gartner: IT spending drop-off worse than after dot.com bust
Global IT spending is expected to decline nearly 4% in 2009 over the previous year as industry watchers confirm the current recession will see more losses than the dot-com bust in 2001, Gartner reports.
IBM layoffs incite backlash
IBM's news that it will shed some 5,000 North American jobs and potentially send more positions overseas has stirred up some bad sentiment toward Big Blue as the U.S. economy continues to languish.
Could IBM be Sun's savior?
The high-tech rumor mill churned at high speed Wednesday as industry watchers debated the good, the bad and the ugly about a potential pairing of IBM and Sun, if Big Blue does indeed acquire its long-time rival.
Could Cisco and BMC become more than partners?
As Cisco makes an aggressive play for data center market share with its California blade server, industry watchers speculate whether the vendor might also consider acquiring one of the big four management software makers to strike a potentially bigger blow to competitors HP and IBM.
Network skills in demand, pay well in down economy
IT executives polled separately by IT staffing and consultancy firm Robert Half Technology and staffing firm Bluewolf revealed that the need for specific IT skills doesn't lessen because the economy is bad. Robert Half Technology surveyed 1,400 CIOs about their hiring plans for the second quarter (8 percent intend to add staff) and discovered the skills considered most in demand right now.
HP cuts pay, benefits after poor financials
HP chairman and CEO Mark Hurd this week said the vendor would reduce base pay and some benefits across the company in the wake of disappointing earnings and in an attempt to stave off mass layoffs.
Down economy fuels IT outsourcing
Companies flocked to IT outsourcing vendors as the recession unfolded last year and industry watchers expect more of the same as companies seek to slash fixed costs and deliver services with smaller staffs.
IBM leads IT out of the data center
IBM plans to help customers broaden IT's reach beyond the data center and into managing physical environments, cloud services and virtual resources with one set of tools that improves efficiencies, reduces costs and cuts back on manual labor.
Acquisition unites risk and compliance competitors
Archer Technologies announced it had acquired for an undisclosed sum Brabeion Software, a maker of IT governance, risk and compliance software.