Wanted IT skills for the Internet of Things

The Internet of Things is one of the most revolutionary technology trends, and it’s expected to explode in the next years. We will witness machines talking to other machines, buildings talking to smartphones, machines talking to cars, and people talking to all of the above. Gartner Group forecasts that the additional market value of new services produced by the Internet of Things will exceed $1.9 trillion globally in the next 4 years. By 2020, the installed base of smart units linked to the IoT will total more than 26 billion items.

In fact, the IoT has already begun, but true mainstream penetration likely won’t be achieved until 2020. When that happens, you can expect things to change dramatically, and all developing economies will be impacted by the Internet of Things.

That means IT pros and prospective IT workers need to get ready now and learn the skills needed in a world where the IoT is dominant. It’s time to start thinking smart, prepare to innovate, and proactively assess how our skills set needs to be adapted.

If you are a student, it’s important to consider how your educational path can aid you in becoming employable in this new era. If you’re an executive or an employer, you need to acknowledge that you will have to adopt radical new learning approaches that impact your organization in exponential ways.

As the Internet of Things continues to expand, here are four of the most important IT skill sets that will be especially wanted:

• UI / UX Design – PC, smartphone and tablet screens are rectangles, but objects in IoT will come in every shape and size. Some will have very small screens, and others will have no visual display at all. Talented user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) designers will be a hot commodity as IoT providers strive to develop effective, user-friendly interfaces despite this shift in paradigm. Wanted skills for UI/UX designers in the IoT include Responsive Web Design (wherein visuals dynamically adjust to screen-size, platform and orientation) and Service Design (human-centered design approach that intuitively guides users through complex services).

• Artificial Intelligence Development – As of right now, IoT devices require user input and programmer code to function. In the future, that might not be the case thanks to advances in artificial intelligence (AI). IT pros that know AI and how it can be applied to IoT devices will be tremendously valued within organizations. The goal here is to automate as many things as possible and have devices that respond to human interactions without the need for more code.

• Information Security – Cyber security specialists will be even more wanted as the influx of IP-enabled devices increase the complexity and the potential exploits and privacy concerns of the Web. Will someone be able hack into your smart-fridge and gain access to your entire network? IT security pros skilled in vulnerability assessment, PKI (public key infrastructure) security, ethical hacking and wireless network security are already being scooped up to evaluate and mitigate risks like these. Knowledge of data ethics and privacy policy will further help you advance your information security career in the IoT.

• Collaboration – The flexibility of the IoT is one of the main reasons it is estimated to add so much value to the economy. IoT devices can be used in nearly every industry, whether through development, adoption, or a combination of both. This is why IT pros that know how to collaborate with people in different industries will suddenly find themselves in a more prominent position within the company.

The list of wanted skills in the Internet of Things will continue to grow as new business challenges and tech breakthroughs emerge. Starting to learn the skills needed in such a world can lead to a big boost to every IT career, and the result will be a more secure job outlook and more opportunities in the future.

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