Quantity is not the only answer.

1999-04-22

IDC are predicting a shortfall of 600,000 networking professionals across Western Europe by 2002.  This figure is based on an expected requirement for 1.6 million network staff, given current trends. Phew. This is scary stuff. It gets worse: if the situation is not rectified, say IDC, we could be in for a European slump as businesses fail to leverage their growing success and existing assets due to inadequate infrastructure. Dark days are ahead, it would appear. Or would it?

There exist a couple of factors which, together, might augur a less bleak future. The first lies in the past, it is something we have always know. Motherhood, if I may. The second is a direct result of providing global connectivity, in which network professionals have already played a significant role.

So to the first point. IDC rightly say that training and development needs are becoming acute. However it is well known in networking circles, as in others, that real experience has far greater value than the classroom learning by rote that is becoming commonplace for vendor-sponsored certification programmes. The ability to answer a multiple choice questionnaire, a networking engineer does not make. Street knowledge and management experience tells us that some individuals, qualified or otherwise, are worth their weight in gold-plated terminators. We know who they are – they come in, they diagnose, they tweak and go away again, leaving us to wonder why so many features of networking equipment remain undocumented. Identify these people within your organisation. Treat them well, pay them well and keep their skills current. Involve them in infrastructure design decisions and strategic rollout programmes. Or leave them in the workshop, but don’t be surprised when your network management policy is jettisoned because people are too busy fighting fires.

The second point is newer and requires a little more thought. There has been, indeed there is being, an explosion in connectivity caused by the convergence and standardisation of communications technologies - we call this internetworking. The internet is bringing with it a raft of new options and opportunities to businesses. For example, applications outsourcing enables smaller businesses to take advantage of enterprise applications with minimal administration overhead. Secondly, telecommuting is happening more slowly than predicted, but it is globalising: it is now possible to outsource services (from managed call centres to point secretarial work) to companies and individuals literally on the other side of the globe.  Such outsourcing of both systems and services is implicitly cutting the requirement for local infrastructure, hence the need for engineering support can be reduced leaving businesses to concentrate on their core offering.

Smart businesses will be worrying about the future, inevitable skills shortage in network staff. Training and development programmes are essential, but so is looking after incumbent staff. The smartest businesses of all will be looking to profit from all the opportunities presented by the internet revolution. Good luck to them.

(First published 22 April 1999)