We
dwell in interesting times – times of revolution and constant change.
This is where technological prowess and evolution is taking us beyond
explored frontiers, breaking the shackles of the status quo. The coming
of the internet was a major revolution that the human race had to come
to terms with in the twenty-first century. It saw a lot of professions
across the globe become obsolete and paved the way for a new way of
doing things. The internet space is set to undergo yet another
revolution, some calling it Digital 2.0. This is the world of the
Internet of Things, where the World Wide Web will transform into a
phenomenon such as electricity – existing in our lives, and yet
invisible to the naked eye. Come the year 2020, and IoT is expected to
bring in $19 trillion worth of profits for companies worldwide.
IoT and changing jobs roles
Enterprises
are busy gearing up for this change and developing devices which are
intelligent enough to communicate with each other. This will engulf and
transform every aspect of life as we know it today, including jobs and
recruitment. Hence, it is immensely important that the workforce of the
present, and the future, is equipped with necessary skills to succumb to
this change. A recent report by HFS proclaims IT sector in India will
lose about 6.4 lakh jobs of menial and redundant nature by 2021, as IoT
gathers pace. The maximum job cuts will be seen in process based jobs,
and this does look like a grave situation for the country's $160 billion
ITeS industry. However, the same report also suggests a 56% increase in
high-end, skill-intensive jobs, which would ideally mean a migration of
jobs from the bottom of the skills pyramid, to the upper reaches.
Needless to say, the 15 lakh workforce which comes in each year needs to
match the new skill requirements, to be suitably employed. In coming
times IoT will become all pervasive leading to new job roles such as.
1. Chief Internet of Things Officer (CIoTO)
Companies
are likely to appoint Chief Internet of Things officer in the near
future. And in the light of the fact that 94% businesses are investing
in initiatives to prepare for IoT, this will happen sooner than later.
The CIoTO will design the company's IoT strategy, and drive technology
decisions that'll help the business embrace Digital 2.0. They'll
mastermind IoT products and initiatives and analyze and predict trends
based on data gathered from IoT devices. Effective communication and
sound tech knowledge will be paramount for this position.
2. Industrial data scientists
Touted
as the sexiest job of the decades to come, data scientists will find
themselves in great demand. An industrial data scientist will literally
assume the role of the man behind the machine, with the machine being
the analytical solutions for an enterprise. The skillet ideal for such a
job would be a sound footing in statistics and concepts of regression,
along with a prowess at handling myriad technological tools such as R,
SAS etc.
3. IoT Architect
Here's
how IBM defines an IoT Architect's job responsibilities – "an IoT
Architect is responsible for translating the client's business
requirements into specific system, application or process designs." In
short, an internet of things architect will be responsible for
architecting a strategy based on requirement analysis and communicate
the same to C-suite execs. This will require a sound knowledge in
design, the know-how of developing mobility solutions, and an analytical
bend of mind.
4. Robotics Coordinators and Managers
Once
IoT spreads its wings, the most common sight at industrial facilities
and workplaces will obviously be – smart machines and robots. These will
be well connected to a lot of sensors and other machines, and will have
robust working algorithms. However, there will always be a need for
people who can monitor the working of these robots and be of assistance
whenever there are error signals or malfunctions. Replacing faulty
robots and maintenance of existing ones will form the working day.
Robotics will be a sought after skill in the future.
5. IoT Software Engineer
Building
products, prototypes, and IoT systems, and testing and running lab
simulations will be a key responsibility of an IoT software engineer.
He/she will also evaluate the best approaches, and associated risks, to
produce development plans. Knowledge of MQTT, RabbitMQ, CoAP, Google
Pub/Sub, Cisco XMPP and Azure Event Hub need to be in the CV of an IoT
Software Engineer.
6. Security Experts
In
a world in which machines are densely connected with each other, there
will be an increased threat of security breaches and violations. Data
and information security experts will hence find ready usage in such a
setting. There will be a need for effective firewalling, gateway
security fencing and implementation of other preventive measures to
ensure a seamless and safe operation of connected devices.
The Skills of the Future
As
more and more jobs are created in the IoT sector, there'll be a steep
increase in the demand for professionals trained in specialized skills.
Here are some skills touted as must-have to land an IoT related job
Get Analytical
Every
IT professional, or otherwise, will need to become analytical. We are
talking about the world which will have its components generating loads
and loads of data every second and analyzing it to come to logical
conclusions is what shall be at the heart of every new age business.
With the 40% increase in internet connectivity of devices world over,
India's process oriented IT/ITeS job base needs to transform into an
analytical one, which is able to drive problem-solving.
Associative thinking and communication
When
complex automation and algorithms will drive information technology,
there will be a need for mediators who can act as a bridge between those
developing these solutions and the enterprises. The business analysts
of today's world stand the best chance of getting the job with a sound
base of upscaling. What will be needed is an analytical approach to
logical modeling of real world IoT scenarios and presenting them in an
abstract format.
A crucial
part of this upscaling needs to begin at the very onset of formal
technical education. There is a huge need to reiterate the very changing
demands of the IT industry of the future amongst students and job
aspirants. The need of the hour is to ensure skill-based courses are a
part of the curriculum and students are trained in industry-relevant
skills. We at NIIT believe in empowering novice IT professionals in a
way that they can seamlessly integrate into the IT industry of the
future, and contribute to it effectively. Our digiNxt programs train
graduates in future skills to help create job-ready talent pool for the
fast evolving global economy.
An article by:- Prakash Menon, President, Global Skills and Careers Group, NIIT Ltd