Google Glass breaks into business
While Google Glass is currently being viewed as a consumer technology, IT shops and mobile workers are likely already champing at the bit to be able to use a hands-free technology to do their jobs.
"The same way that tablets followed smartphones into the enterprise on the backs of employees bearing the cost, Google Glass will also flow the same way," said Chris Hazelton, research director for Mobile & Wireless at 451 Research. "This will also drive acceptance. So, you may see tools that will directly manage Google Glass."
Because Google Glass runs on the Android OS, mobile device management (MDM) vendors who already can manage Android smartphones and tablets see an opportunity to place a device client and apps store on the glasses that will allow IT departments to push tools to employees when they come to Google Glass. Read more...
Data center boom sparks environmental disputes in U.S.
Rolling into Redmond, Oregon, as part of a Facebook-led tour of its new data center in nearby Prineville was like stepping into an episode of "Leave it to Beaver." Airport employees greeted people warmly and even TSA agents sent folks off with a cheery, "Have a good day!"
Facebook will tell you it's been an economic gift to this rural area of central Oregon. Some people who make their homes here are quick to agree.
"They are bringing jobs. We love Facebook," exclaimed Sandy Pupo, a 61-year-old resident who works part time in an airport gift shop.
But Prineville's enthusiasm could be due to it being such a new player in the Northwest data center game. About five hours away, across the border in Washington, some residents of another rural Northwestern U.S. town don't feel as happy about data centers. Read more...
Largest IT employment gains in four years reported
The nation's employment outlook for IT professionals has suddenly surged, gaining 18,200 jobs, the largest monthly increase since 2008, according to tech employment-research firm Foote Partners.
In July, 4,900 new IT jobs were added in two job segments, telecommunications, and separately "data processing, hosting and related services," Foote Partners said today. Also added were 13,300 other jobs in sectors called "management and technical consulting services" and "computer systems design/related services." The firm says these last two categories, with a combined total of 242,000 jobs added in the past 24 months, have seen solid growth even in the midst of the nation's general economic malaise. Read more...
IT job seekers face hot yet finicky market
The IT job market is either hot or lackluster, but mostly it is difficult for anyone who is seeking a job or hiring. There are plenty of companies searching for employees, but jobs are nonetheless elusive for many. It's a job market of contradictions.
Employers aren't making it easier for job seekers, and may be suffering from expectation inflation. Some employers want superstars, with resumes as rich as the high school student who not only quarterbacked the football team, but led the math club to a state tournament, played Lady Macbeth on stage and hit a 4.0 GPA.
And then there Crown Equipment, a manufacturing company that makes fork lifts and other types of systems used to move materials around. It has about 16 IT job openings in product development and business operations. The problem Crown faces in attracting candidates is its location. It's in New Bremen, Ohio, (Pop. 3,000). Thankfully, St. Marys is about 8 miles down the road, and Dayton, only 60 miles away.
"[New Bremen is] a great place to raise a family but if you want to go to Taco Bell you have to drive to St. Marys," said Jim Gaskell, director of global Insite products at Crown.
Insite is a name of a product line that helps customers track their forklifts and personnel, make better use of their equipment, and provide overall operational intelligence. Crown host the system in the cloud, and customers, if they chose to, can deploy independent of their internal IT. Read more...
Apple to add 3,600 jobs at new $304M Texas campus
Apple Inc. is investing $304 million in a new campus and more than doubling its workforce in the Texas capital, boosted by a $21 million incentive from a state fund designed to attract high-tech companies, Gov. Rick Perry said Friday.
The investment from the Texas Enterprise Fund comes in exchange for a promise that Apple will add more than 3,600 employees at its new facility in Austin over the next decade, including customer support, sales and accounting staff, Perry said.
"Investments like this further Texas' potential to become the nation's next high-tech hub," the governor said in a statement.
Already the world's most valuable company, Apple's market capitalization topped $500 billion this month and remains above that mark — rarefied air that only a few firms, including rival Microsoft and Exxon Mobil Corp, have ever exceeded. Read more...
FBI reveals 1991 probe of Steve Jobs
The FBI today made public a background investigation of Steve Jobs in 1991, when he was being considered by the George H. W. Bush administration for a spot on the President's Export Council.
The council is a group that advises the President on international trade. Current members include the CEOs of such U.S. firms as Boeing, UPS, Verizon, Walt Disney and Xerox.
In 1991, Jobs was the CEO of NeXT, the computer company he founded after being forced out of Apple. Subsequently, Jobs returned to Apple, which he co-founded in 1976, where he remained until his death last October at age 56. Read more...
Can you keep your IT staff in 2012?
IT staff retention is shaping up to be one of the biggest challenges facing CIOs in 2012.
Three trends are bringing this issue to the forefront:
- Corporate IT hiring is on the rise, tempting IT professionals with higher pay and opportunities for advancement if they switch companies.
- Younger techies change jobs frequently, averaging only a year or two in a position before switching
- Baby Boomers are reaching retirement age, with an average of 10,000 U.S. citizens turning 65 on a daily basis for the next 18 years.
IT staff turnover is "probably my most significant issue right now and has been for the past 12 to 15 months," says Louis Trebino, CIO and senior vice president at the Harry Fox Agency (HFA), a New York City-based provider of rights management, licensing and royalty services for the music industry. Read more...
Nokia Siemens to slash 17,000 jobs worldwide
Struggling network infrastructure vendor Nokia Siemens Networks is planning to cut 17,000 jobs worldwide, as it aims to cut ¬1 billion (US$1.35 billion) from its annual costs by the end of 2013, the company said Wednesday.
About 23 percent of the company's 74,000 employees will be laid off. The 4 1/2-year-old joint venture between Nokia and Siemens has been struggling to compete with Swedish Ericsson and Chinese vendor Huawei. Parent company Nokia's ongoing problems have made Nokia Siemens' situation even more difficult. Read more...
Sorry, tablets, laptops still dominate the enterprise
Bruce Smith is feeling some tablet pressure. As director of computing services for Cummins Inc., Smith helps the company's 40,000 employees get the right computers for their jobs.
For a majority of those employees, it's a desktop PC. For mobile professionals, it's a laptop. Select employees, such as engineers, get both a laptop and a workstation capable of high-capacity computing.
Now there's a new possibility on the horizon. Smith says lately he's been getting more and more requests from workers throughout the organization, from executives to HR, to deviate from the standard selection and bring tablets into the mix at the Columbus, Ind.-based company, which designs, manufactures, distributes and services engines and related technologies.
So far he has said no. Read more...
Healthcare industry leads market in IT hiring
Flush with federal funds and under the gun of federal regulatory deadlines, the healthcare industry is leading the market in IT jobs creation, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics job placement services.
The bureau indicated that IT jobs in healthcare are expected to grow by 20% annually through 2018, "much faster than average." There are currently 176,090 healthcare IT jobs, according to the agency.
Since November 2009, healthcare IT positions have increased 67%, according to online job search engine SimplyHired.com, which lists 7,200 open healthcare IT positions out of 4.9 million jobs on its website.
Leading the pack from a percentage of increase perspective are CIO and CTO positions, according to Dion Lim, CEO of SimplyHired.com. Since 2009, CIO positions in the healthcare field have increased 101% (more than 200 current job listings) and chief technology officer positions have increased 127% (about 100 job listings). Read more...
Update: Cisco to cut 6,500 jobs in cost-cutting blitz
Cisco Systems will cut about 6,500 jobs as part of an effort to focus its business and reduce operating expenses by $1 billion per year, the company announced Monday.
The layoffs will eliminate about 9 percent of Cisco's regular, full-time workforce. In the ranks of vice president and above, Cisco said it will cut 15 percent of employees.
The cuts will be made across all functions in the company. Of the 6,500 employees, 2,100 will take early retirement under a voluntary program Cisco announced in April. Read more...
What it’s like to work at Facebook
Facebook generates $2bn in revenue, is valued at $50bnand has a global ‘customer’ base of 600m people. It’s fair to say it’s a pretty big company.
And to service a company of this size, you need a lot of people – 2,000 in Facebook’s case. But what’s life in Facebook like for those that drive the business towards world domination? For a little perspective, here’s a quick peek at another digital behemoth.
Much has been written about Google as an employer over the years. Tales of giant slides, all-you-can-eat buffet canteens and even a giant replica T-Rex skeleton have often been told, as life in the Googleplex is portrayed as the ultimate working environment. Read more...
Nokia axes 7,000 jobs to slash costs
Nokia will axe 7,000 jobs and outsource its legacy Symbian software to slash 1 billion euros ($1.46 billion) of costs as it struggles to compete in the fierce smartphone market.
Nokia, the world's largest phone maker by volume, on Wednesday detailed an overhaul of its phone business following its decision to start using Microsoft software instead of its own Symbian platform.
The move includes laying off 4,000 staff and transferring another 3,000 to services firm Accenture - a total 12 percent of its phone unit workforce.
Accenture will take over Nokia's legacy Symbian software activities and support future smartphones, including those running on Microsoft's Windows platform. Read more...