What will IT look like in 10 years?

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RobertKaucher

This is why I am specializing in databases and starting to go in the direction of development. No matter where the database is someone needs to be able to build and optimize it.

Bl8ckr0uter

Developers jobs will change (from PC to mostly web and android/ios/device development). I think knowing device development will be critical in the coming years. That's why I want to learn Java and Android development.

The network will become extremely important. I think wireless, especially M2M networks will be extremely hot. IPV6 will be a standard practice. I think less people will host their gear and less IT jobs will be for "companies". I think consulting and service provider work will grow significantly. Oh and you better learn mandarin.

RobertKaucher

Bl8ckr0uter wrote: »

Developers jobs will change (from PC to mostly web and android/ios/device development). I think knowing device development will be critical in the coming years. That's why I want to learn Java and Android development.

The network will become extremely important. I think wireless, especially M2M networks will be extremely hot. IPV6 will be a standard practice. I think less people will host their gear and less IT jobs will be for "companies". I think consulting and service provider work will grow significantly. Oh and you better learn mandarin.

I agree, but I think what constitutes a device is going to change drastically and we are going to have more flexible choices of "cloud based" OSes- either way, everthing needs to get its data from some place.

NOC-Ninja

Hybrid is the future of IT. Guys that can support voice, wireless, servers and networks at the same time. Probably multiple certs in different fields. Its going to be tough for the new guys in 10 yrs from now.

Wireless is also the future but there's only a few CCIE wireless. I heard less than 30. The tough part is the cisco wireless gears are very expensive. A friend of mine is trying to get the CCIE wireless. I already told him that we will swap gears after I pass my IE and he pass his IE wireless.

Bl8ckr0uter

RobertKaucher wrote: »

I agree, but I think what constitutes a device is going to change drastically and we are going to have more flexible choices of "cloud based" OSes- either way, everthing needs to get its data from some place.

That's a good point. I really think that when IPV6 really gets going and wireless takes off we are going to see internet connected washers that can plat angry birds

NOC-Ninja wrote: »

Wireless is also the future but there's only a few CCIE wireless. I heard less than 30. The tough part is the cisco wireless gears are very expensive. A friend of mine is trying to get the CCIE wireless. I already told him that we will swap gears after I pass my IE and he pass his IE wireless.

I honestly don't see Cisco as a viable solution because of that. Have you messed around with ubiquiti gear? The price is nice

When reading the linked thread, it is very apparent that people don't know how complex wireless really is at a carrier level or enterprise level. You can't simply plug in a linksys and bounce.

NOC-Ninja

Bl8ckr0uter wrote: »

That's a good point. I really think that when IPV6 really gets going and wireless takes off we are going to see internet connected washers that can plat angry birds

I honestly don't see Cisco as a viable solution because of that. Have you messed around with ubiquiti gear? The price is nice

When reading the linked thread, it is very apparent that people don't know how complex wireless really is at a carrier level or enterprise level. You can't simply plug in a linksys and bounce.

Im aware that the price of cisco is much more expensive compare to everyone out there. However, they dominate the network share for a reason.

I'm on a cisco shop so I havent touch ubiquite but i heard about them. I agree that enterprise level is totally different from SOHA.

Turgon

Bl8ckr0uter wrote: »

That's a good point. I really think that when IPV6 really gets going and wireless takes off we are going to see internet connected washers that can plat angry birds

I honestly don't see Cisco as a viable solution because of that. Have you messed around with ubiquiti gear? The price is nice

When reading the linked thread, it is very apparent that people don't know how complex wireless really is at a carrier level or enterprise level. You can't simply plug in a linksys and bounce.

Cisco is struggling on many levels. Wireless, Service Provider, Storage and Voice are all struggling in the face of superior products, cheaper products..sometimes both.

Xcluziv

Probably will look something like this after integrating everything and going to the cloooooouuudddd

Bl8ckr0uter

Turgon wrote: »

Cisco is struggling on many levels. Wireless, Service Provider, Storage and Voice are all struggling in the face of superior products, cheaper products..sometimes both.

I agree and you have to wonder how long they can survive. I think that single vendor networks are going away and best of breed and standards based networking are the next move. Cisco is going to have to make some changes.

Turgon

There will be more provisioning services as IT becomes more of a commodity. The IT department will be reduced to a management function. We will see more development, helpdesk, infrastructure,support paid for from service providers. The trend will continue as more smaller companies get munched up.

They will then be forced to relinquish their IT and follow centralised corporate IT policy. The money in PC/Support 1-2-3 line support will reduce to a vanishing point. Security will increasingly be bought in by companies as opposed to done in house.

Not exactly sure where the technology will be but more virtualization. If I knew that I would be investing today!

Turgon

Bl8ckr0uter wrote: »

I agree and you have to wonder how long they can survive. I think that single vendor networks are going away and best of breed and standards based networking are the next move. Cisco is going to have to make some changes.

I think it's too late for Cisco to be honest. In decline. Best of breed and standards based is what everyone should have been doing the last 10 years. I guess a lot of folks got carried away with the Cisco brainwashing.

Bl8ckr0uter

I think that's a bit bleek (especially coming from a aspiring CCIE lol) but probably true. JNCIA is going to become the new CCNA IMO. I have been thinking about taking it but since we are a pure cisco r/s shop, it would be pointless.

I think in order for cisco to make it through the next 10 years, they have to be aggressive about innovation AND pricing. I mean seriously.

Turgon

Bl8ckr0uter wrote: »

I think that's a bit bleek (especially coming from a aspiring CCIE lol) but probably true. JNCIA is going to become the new CCNA IMO. I have been thinking about taking it but since we are a pure cisco r/s shop, it would be pointless.

I think in order for cisco to make it through the next 10 years, they have to be aggressive about innovation AND pricing. I mean seriously.

hehehe..you mean a bit bleak surely?;)

The CCIE simply gilt edges my experience to be honest. I like Cisco and it's products have enabled me to make a good living. But at the end of the day you design the right solution to meet your requirements. Far too many people have got locked into vendor centric design philosophy. Today many businesses are looking to alternative options and they will want skilled integrators to get them there.

It was one of the reasons I did CNE after MCSE. Each vendor promotes their own way of doing things, but at least you can compare.

Bl8ckr0uter

Turgon wrote: »

hehehe..you mean a bit bleak surely?

Do you know I have consistantly misspelled that word since this guy came out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memphis_Bleek
　

Turgon wrote: »

The CCIE simply gilt edges my experience to be honest. I like Cisco and it's products have enabled me to make a good living. But at the end of the day you design the right solution to meet your requirements. Far too many people have got locked into vendor centric design philosophy. Today many businesses are looking to alternative options and they will want skilled integrators to get them there.
It was one of the reasons I did CNE after MCSE. Each vendor promotes their own way of doing things, but at least you can compare.

See you say that but I just don't see it. I look at Open Source/Linux/Unix jobs in my state and they are hardly around. MS jobs are all over the place. The same goes with Juniper vs Cisco or Xen/Hyper V vs Vmware. I just don't see people wanting alternatives.

Turgon

Bl8ckr0uter wrote: »

Do you know I have consistantly misspelled that word since this guy came out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memphis_Bleek
　

See you say that but I just don't see it. I look at Open Source/Linux/Unix jobs in my state and they are hardly around. MS jobs are all over the place. The same goes with Juniper vs Cisco or Xen/Hyper V vs Vmware. I just don't see people wanting alternatives.

Work for some other companies. We just spent millions on alternatives

krad

It would be much more progressive and technology will much more handy and a bit of complicated. New devices will be invented and develop.

the_Grinch

I definitely see virtualization taking off even more then it has thus far. Our customers have been migrating servers left and right to the virtual enviroment (Citrix, Hyper-V, and VMWare). I will probably go down the Microsoft route, but will be jumping in Linux just as much. I want to hedge my bets a little so that when the music stops (one way or the other) I get a seat at the party. I am interested to see how the security field changes, as I do see a lot of people coming on board with our MSP and out goes anyone doing security for them. My ultimate goal is to move into exploit development/web app exploitation, seems those two areas should be viable for awhile...(I hope!)

Turgon

the_Grinch wrote: »

I definitely see virtualization taking off even more then it has thus far. Our customers have been migrating servers left and right to the virtual enviroment (Citrix, Hyper-V, and VMWare). I will probably go down the Microsoft route, but will be jumping in Linux just as much. I want to hedge my bets a little so that when the music stops (one way or the other) I get a seat at the party. I am interested to see how the security field changes, as I do see a lot of people coming on board with our MSP and out goes anyone doing security for them. My ultimate goal is to move into exploit development/web app exploitation, seems those two areas should be viable for awhile...(I hope!)

Security will be on the radar for cost savings. In fact it already is. With so many hippies flooding into the genre clutching their shiny new certificate the costs to companies are escalating and raising a flag. As a consequence a growing army of solutions providers are investing in ways to rationalise your inhouse security solutions and reliance on inhouse security staff. You have been warned.

instant000

The easiest way for me to look at this is to compare what IT looked like around 2000, to what IT looked like around 2010.

I don't have honest perspective on what it looked like in 1990, as I was in the eighth grade, and I was only three years old in 1980, so can't help much there, either.

What I have seen from 2000 to 2010:
1. More services done/provided from off-site
2. Monitors shrunk (in girth, not screen size)
3. More employees get laptops
4. Rise of handheld mobile
5. ERP lawsuits (had to throw that one in, LOL)

Now, what is readily apparent is that you will still need these skills into the future:
1. networking (you have to connect to other things)
2. database (everyone wants their data)
3. security (ACTUAL security in action, not just in policy/paperwork)

So, what will IT look like in 2020:
1. After years of practice with the off-site/on-site thing companies manage to find a mix that makes sense
2. With the rise of solid state drives, the demise of disk platters.
3. Data growth continues at an exponential rate
4. TB thumb drives
5. Mark Hurd leads HP again, after Oracle buys them out (you know, you're just waiting for this to happen)
6. Lay people will be able to recognize the same way you can have general practictioner and specialty doctors, you actually have the same for IT people. (is this just wishful thinking?)

Turgon

instant000 wrote: »

The easiest way for me to look at this is to compare what IT looked like around 2000, to what IT looked like around 2010.

I don't have honest perspective on what it looked like in 1990, as I was in the eighth grade, and I was only three years old in 1980, so can't help much there, either.

What I have seen from 2000 to 2010:
1. More services done/provided from off-site
2. Monitors shrunk (in girth, not screen size)
3. More employees get laptops
4. Rise of handheld mobile
5. ERP lawsuits (had to throw that one in, LOL)

Now, what is readily apparent is that you will still need these skills into the future:
1. networking (you have to connect to other things)
2. database (everyone wants their data)
3. security (ACTUAL security in action, not just in policy/paperwork)

So, what will IT look like in 2020:
1. After years of practice with the off-site/on-site thing companies manage to find a mix that makes sense
2. With the rise of solid state drives, the demise of disk platters.
3. Data growth continues at an exponential rate
4. TB thumb drives
5. Mark Hurd leads HP again, after Oracle buys them out (you know, you're just waiting for this to happen)
6. Lay people will be able to recognize the same way you can have general practictioner and specialty doctors, you actually have the same for IT people. (is this just wishful thinking?)

Networking is an interesting one. I think it will become more mobile and much more cloudy. Here in the UK we have public pay as you go wireless access points. Not so hot for working from home but at least available from the office in my house. It will get better. No need for flat rate broadband installation at home. Take the leap of imagination and extend that to companies. Essentially a VPN enabled connection to a place where everything you could need resides. No need for extensive wiring and switch fabric in offices anymore. Just access to a WAP and the service provider throws in the laptops you need with standard packages of software available on demand for the end user.

Alternatively a simple MPLS CE brought to your office with a wireless point attached. Office overhead costs drastically reduced. Fun.

My advice, keep your eye on what outsourcing companies are doing. If you cant beat them, join them. I did.

Chivalry1

Very interesting post. So here is my 2 cents.....

As our IT corporate environments are moving more towards a cloud based infrastructure, the growing need of security professionals will continue to grow. The necessity for Security professionals to Audit and manage those systems to ensure Federal regulations will continue to be in place; especially as more privacy laws and lawsuits increase.

Overall I don't think an elimination of IT jobs will occur. Your IT specialist will simply move to the new Cloud provider for employment. However this will make it harder for the newbie on the block to obtain work in a specific IT concentration.

From a end user perceptive...systems will become smaller. This is the decade of the elimination of the "common" desktop. In my opinion, a new experience is on the horizon and it all started with Apple and there IPAD. Simply the way we interact with computing has changed. {Gestures, ETC} The desktop will be replaced by thin clients/monitor. (Take your pick Citrix, VMWare, Microsoft VDI, etc..) Thin Clients will connect to Wireless Access Points.

"And that's all I got to say about that....." (In my Forrest Gump voice)

Forsaken_GA

Doesn't matter how many years pass. Users and less capable technicians will still break stuff, and companies will still pay me large amounts of money to clean up the mess, and maybe make it a little better.

plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose

the_Grinch

This is the one part of IT that I love to hate. Changes happen so quickly that it becomes harder and harder to stay ahead of the curve. In attempting to plan a future in the industry, where does one really turn? Do you go for the MBA and pray that it doesn't hole you into a management only position? Are we all looking at basically becoming consultants if you don't work for a service provider? Going through school they always liked to say that security wouldn't be outsourced, but I work for an MSP and see that is untrue (for the most part). Plus being a jack of all trades is nice, but you do get to a point where you want to deal with just one concentration.

I am attempting to plan ahead, but it seems that the tunnel is just too dark at this point. I would like to get a Masters, but in what? MBA, Information Science, Computer Science? I'm not looking for immediate pay off, but if I'm going to devote the time, effort, and cash I also don't want it to be something that becomes useless. I know we have a lot of people here with lots of years in the industry, what are the general thoughts for us newbies? Might need a new thread for it...

instant000

Chivalry1 wrote: »

From a end user perceptive...systems will become smaller. This is the decade of the elimination of the "common" desktop. In my opinion, a new experience is on the horizon and it all started with Apple and there IPAD. Simply the way we interact with computing has changed. {Gestures, ETC} The desktop will be replaced by thin clients/monitor. (Take your pick Citrix, VMWare, Microsoft VDI, etc..) Thin Clients will connect to Wireless Access Points.

"And that's all I got to say about that....." (In my Forrest Gump voice)

Hah, going full circle, by going back where computing started ... you know, massive computing rooms and all the workers basically had diskless workstations? The only difference I see this time around is that the main computing might not be on-site.

As I studied in school (as I honestly did not live it) the old style computing was based upon getting resource shares on some massive horsepower equipment (relatively speaking) in your main computing room ... and we're just going back to that model again.

It's funny how we went from mainframes, then to the PC revolution, and now we're headed back to putting all the computing in the server room again.

As you mentioned, the gains you can see in technologies like HDX from Citrix make it possible to even emulate some CAD-like graphics in remote sessions.

The one thing I disagree with (today) is with all this traffic going across wireless, but we've already seen many fold increases in wireless bandwidth in the last few years .. . from B, to G, and now to N, so who's to say what that's like 10 years from now? Besides, it may turn more cost-effective to add another AP to a self-aware mesh than it does to run the lines.

I already have reports from people that they ALREADY run their offices on all wireless, so maybe I'm still trapped in the early 2000's.

instant000

the_Grinch wrote: »

This is the one part of IT that I love to hate. Changes happen so quickly that it becomes harder and harder to stay ahead of the curve. In attempting to plan a future in the industry, where does one really turn? Do you go for the MBA and pray that it doesn't hole you into a management only position? Are we all looking at basically becoming consultants if you don't work for a service provider? Going through school they always liked to say that security wouldn't be outsourced, but I work for an MSP and see that is untrue (for the most part). Plus being a jack of all trades is nice, but you do get to a point where you want to deal with just one concentration.

I am attempting to plan ahead, but it seems that the tunnel is just too dark at this point. I would like to get a Masters, but in what? MBA, Information Science, Computer Science? I'm not looking for immediate pay off, but if I'm going to devote the time, effort, and cash I also don't want it to be something that becomes useless. I know we have a lot of people here with lots of years in the industry, what are the general thoughts for us newbies? Might need a new thread for it...

Doesn't matter.

If you're still in IT ten years from now, you'd have ten years more experience than you have today, and seeing technology go through its changes you can appreciate what you had, and also what its become.

My best advice is to look around and see if you see anybody who's been in the business for any significant period of time, and, usually, the specialists tend to do better. You can't hurt yourself by learning something very well, though, for example, I wouldn't recommend being an expert in disk platters right now (wait, that might pay off, when people need to recover their data in the future

) .... but being an expert in storage technology can't hurt you, as data will always grow. being an expert in networks can't hurt you, as people will always need networks ... no matter how intelligent the equipment gets, they still need help.

We would think that people would know how to turn their TV on and change channels, but I know someone working tech support for AT&T U-Verse, and they get calls about helping people operate their remote controls ... I think I'll be just fine for the next twenty years or so ...

ssampier

My Crystal Ball is on the fritz, but here a few broad guesses based on current trends

1. Things move more toward the cloud, reducing the need for on-site workers. This creates more demand for very fast and very reliable Internet access. Of course employment at cloud providers are booming. Data breaches and online threats continue.
2. NJ is the first state to mandate a state license exam for Network Security personnel.
3. Amazon develops the CloudNine standard and spins a separate division apart from the retailer.
4. Less social networking. Social networking has lost its catchet among consumers. Most people used 3D Internet for entertainment among friends instead.
5. Few desktops and laptops are sold. Many people receive these free* when they buy Internet access. Most people use smart phones connected to their large monitor at work or home.

Working from home no longer has any stigma as gas prices are over $7/gal in most of the U.S. Food is also more expensive as gasoline is still mostly corn ethanol based.

*free being relative, considering that all Internet access is metered by the TB per month

Turgon

ssampier wrote: »

My Crystal Ball is on the fritz, but here a few broad guesses based on current trends

1. Things move more toward the cloud, reducing the need for on-site workers. This creates more demand for very fast and very reliable Internet access. Of course employment at cloud providers are booming. Data breaches and online threats continue.
2. NJ is the first state to mandate a state license exam for Network Security personnel.
3. Amazon develops the CloudNine standard and spins a separate division apart from the retailer.
4. Less social networking. Social networking has lost its catchet among consumers. Most people used 3D Internet for entertainment among friends instead.
5. Few desktops and laptops are sold. Many people receive these free* when they buy Internet access. Most people use smart phones connected to their large monitor at work or home.

Working from home no longer has any stigma as gas prices are over $7/gal in most of the U.S. Food is also more expensive as gasoline is still mostly corn ethanol based.

*free being relative, considering that all Internet access is metered by the TB per month

No 5 is interesting and along the lines of my earlier post. A lot of IT provision will be reduced to a pipe either directly presented at the customer site or available by wireless. There will be a lot of choice and I see providers offering end user devices to sweeten the deal. They may team up with global edge device manufacturers to accomplish this. We will see inhouse onsite IT provisioning greatly reduced from an equipment point of view. Expect some smashing deals on ebay the over the next 10 years as companies jettison their PC real estate in favour of SP solutions.

UnixGuy

krad wrote: »

It would be much more progressive and technology will much more handy and a bit of complicated. New devices will be invented and develop.

+1

I agree, data centers are getting bigger and more complicated, so one has to be competent enough to handle big setups and new technology

UnixGuy

Forsaken_GA wrote: »

Doesn't matter how many years pass. Users and less capable technicians will still break stuff, and companies will still pay me large amounts of money to clean up the mess, and maybe make it a little better.

plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose

This sums it all up.

Turgon

UnixGuy wrote: »

+1

I agree, data centers are getting bigger and more complicated, so one has to be competent enough to handle big setups and new technology

The organisation has to be competant as opposed to the indivdual. With standardization and virtualization a lot of scalar problems keeping things holding together will become less reliant on as many operational specialists.