Tech talk

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Inside:■■ How AI and machine learning are shaping the future?

■■ What's happening in cyber security?

■■ Women in IT

...and many more!

Edition 6

IT Resourcing

@Capita_ITR Capita IT Resourcing capitaitresourcing.co.uk

ContentswWhat IT skills are employers actively searching for now?

Top tech skills in high demand

Rise of the machines

How AI and machine learning are shaping the future?

Security patrol

What’s happening in cyber security?

C#, .NET and JavaScript: what’s in a name?

A few words about programming

The real-world uses for Virtual Reality

The impact of Virtual Reality on our everyday life

Feature: Women in IT

Bridging the gender gap in technology

Capita IT Resourcing is a leading UK IT and digital recruitment provider, well placed to deliver expert resource and market advice when and where you need it. We have years of experience in the recruitment of contract and permanent IT and digital talent, and our objective is to be a long term trusted partner for each and every one of our clients and candidates.

Edition 6

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In many ways, the first two quarters of 2018 have been so far ‘business as usual’, with salaries and project budgets staying reasonably static. It’s a similar story for skills in demand, with data analysts, DevOps, cyber security and penetration testing experts all remaining highly sought-after.

While we’ve seen huge media coverage of data analysis following the Cambridge Analytica/Facebook episode, the role of data in influencing commercial decisions continues to increase in importance. Businesses need data to plan future sales, marketing, purchasing and manufacturing strategies. Thus, the discovery, analysis and presentation of that data to stakeholders is vital to an organisation’s success. We’re seeing continued demand for data analysts, data scientists and DevOps experts, and we’re in the early stages of introducing a data specialism into our Novus graduate programme.

As we use apps and the internet for more and more aspects of our daily lives, the companies behind our financial institutions, favourite brands and retailers will need to ensure their systems are able to cope with the volume of use. What will be key is how the process of upgrading and integrating old and new systems is managed. We’re already having conversations with organisations in a multitude of sectors about how we can supply teams to ensure this process runs smoothly. Every case is unique and presents its own challenges, therefore, our main focus is on getting the right resource to meet these challenges.

Another trend we’re noticing is the move towards automation – not just in software testing but across the board from incident management to business process management.

It’s actually at the business-processing end of the spectrum where we expect to see the first major impact of automation, as individuals who would formerly have input change requests and similar tasks are being replaced by software.

Changes are also occurring in the way organisations seek out employees for roles that perhaps don’t require a degree or many years’ experience. The government’s apprenticeship levy is payable by any organisation with a salary bill of more than £3 million per year, and the money can be spent on training and assessment of apprentices. We’re seeing organisations requiring high-volume recruitment for lower skilled roles (perhaps call-centre work) increasingly considering apprenticeships. Moreover, certain businesses are looking at localising their workforce in light of political and cultural changes, and apprenticeships will help to upskill workers.

We're also noticing a demand for more women in IT roles, as businesses continue to work proactively to address gender disparity issues. Attracting female candidates to IT roles may happen through traditional advertising or careers fairs aimed at women. What's important are role models, and of course, we’ll only see more role models when there are more senior women in IT.

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"Businesses need data to plan future sales, marketing, purchasing and manufacturing strategies. Thus, the discovery, analysis and presentation of that data to stakeholders is vital to an organisation’s success."

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Certain skillsets are currently driving IT recruitment trends. For example, data science, partly owing to the rise of machine learning and partly because of the increasing value of data to organisations. A thorough knowledge of programming languages, such as Python and Java, is a must. Business analysts are also sought-after, as they can communicate professional conclusions to relevant stakeholders in a timely manner.

Every day it seems there’s a news story about a data breach, the fallout from the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica scandal is yet to be fully felt... and that’s before we even mention the GDPR. Data security administrators and cybersecurity experts remain in high demand, demonstrating problem-solving and critical-thinking abilities.

As the Cloud plays an increasing role in the way we use and store data, those with Cloud computing, DevOps and Software as a Service experience will undeniably find themselves in demand. Mobile app development is still crucial, too.

Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming part of our everyday life. There’s a need for managers who can look after working groups including AI

specialists and data science experts, plus those involved with the development of the products requiring such skills.

Behind the scenes, network and system administrators are vital, using their specialised knowledge of an organisation’s network to diagnose and troubleshoot problems.

On top of these, the key skills always required in IT are adaptability and flexibility, in order to learn about and utilise new technologies as they emerge, and work in a way that suits the project, whether this is autonomously, remotely or part of a site-based team.

What IT skills are employers actively searching for now?

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Artificial intelligence (systems that can learn to act autonomously) and machine learning (where computers use data to learn without being explicitly programmed) are rapidly becoming a part of the IT industry. As AI takes hold, there’ll be a demand for IT specialists with skills in algorithm and training methodology selection, data preparation, integration and model creation. Data scientists and developers will end up working together to build these systems.

Apps will also gain a degree of intelligence as they incorporate AI and machine learning. Of course, there’s a fear that they could replace people in the workplace, but actually what we may see is intelligent apps enhancing human activity, with machine learning automating data preparation.

The biggest immediate IT impact of AI and machine learning will most likely be felt in cyber security. Machine learning systems work alongside human security analysts, facilitating data processing and, as a result, clarifying decision-making

for humans. Certainly, visual representations of data are more straightforward to analyse than rows of numbers. Machine learning is at its best right now in identifying anomalies, which is the behaviour that might represent an attack on a network through malware or hackers, or spam communications.

But if machine learning can recognise threats, there’s a risk that it could be used by cyber criminals to launch attacks – perhaps even by tricking security systems. Of course, as machine learning evolves, it could in fact trick

the attackers, going on the defensive by fooling cyber criminals into searching for files that may appear real but aren’t. Learning from human behaviour is another potential pathway; machine learning could analyse previous human responses to attacks and assess their appropriateness.

Rise of the machines: how AI and machine learning are shaping the future?

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From an IT resourcing point of view, arguably the overriding concern in cyber security right now is the lack of cyber security specialists to fill open job requirements. Organisations without in-house cyber-security provision will of course look to providers such as Capita IT Resourcing to source the right talent to help them manage security policy and deal with incidents.

Incidents such as the Equifax data breach last year mean skilled cyber security practitioners are more in demand than ever before. In particular, those with data analytics, data science, AI, IoT connectivity and application security skills as well as up-to-date knowledge of regulatory guidelines.

Some analysts claim that the next step in ransomware will see further targeting of organisations (as seen with the NHS and WannaCry in 2017) or even “internet of things” devices such as smart homes or intelligent facilities management systems. It isn’t just software at risk, either: the hardware-attacking bugs Meltdown and Spectre affect laptops, desktops and even the Cloud.

Moreover, automation is going to have an influence on the cyber security sector, with

tools helping to streamline existing processes. Technologies including AI, deep learning and machine learning will play a role in detecting threats, whether these come from humans or bots. AI and machine learning software uses information gleaned from past events in order to recognise and combat potential cyber security attacks; however, hackers may also benefit from AI’s traits, particularly when it comes to uncovering passwords. Malware supported by AI could be the next weapon of the large- and small-scale hacker. Furthermore, the new generation of serverless apps could reduce costs, but may be vulnerable to attacks on their service and data-handling.

Security patrol: what's happening in cyber security

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Requirements for IT jobs always mention specific skills; often these include C#, .NET and JavaScript. But what are these?

In simple terms, C# is a programming language, whereas .NET is the framework on which the language is built. Microsoft created .NET (Network Enabled Technology), and .NET developers will use programming languages such as C#. In fact, .NET supports many programming languages, and defines the rules and associated libraries those languages will use. The .NET framework is the management tool for a shared library of code that developers can use so that they don’t have to write code from scratch every time. It also provides a runtime environment for applications.

JavaScript has been a huge part of web development since the days of Netscape, and remains one of the most common (and

fastest-growing) programming languages in the world, and is still sought-after by employers. All major web browsers support it and as internet users demand more interactive web pages, JavaScript is incredibly useful. JavaScript is being used to underpin web developments such as progressive web apps (mobile-optimised sites that can work offline), single page apps (scrollable without having to revisit menus) and material design (Google-developed interfaces to enhance user experience).

JavaScript libraries exist alongside frameworks; they’re not quite the same thing although sometimes their definitions overlap – they’re both code written by

developers. Basically, in the library you’ll find functions that an application can call on to perform a task. A framework, however, also provides specific structures showing how to present and order code.

So, when a vacancy calls for C# and .NET, it’s asking that applicants understand both the language and the environment in which it will be used. And as apps continue to evolve, it will be interesting to monitor new trends and see the JavaScript libraries companies, as well as developers, prefer.

C#, .NET and JavaScript - what's in a name?

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US magazine Forbes estimates that the virtual reality market will be worth US$30 billion by 2020. We’re already seeing virtual reality marketing: car manufacturers are offering customers the chance to experience driving their vehicle before purchasing, in a safer environment than the traditional road test. Estate agents are able to show buyers around houses remotely.

Marketers need to make sure that VR doesn’t become a gimmick. It’s also worth remembering that virtual reality is often a solo experience, and if it is to be adopted widely among consumers, then perhaps thought needs to be given to making its use a shared activity.

Virtual reality is becoming increasingly important in medicine, with VR headsets assisting those undergoing physical therapy (by turning exercise into a VR game), helping amputees with pain management (patients control a VR version of the missing limb) and post-brain-injury rehab (recreating everyday

tasks for patients to re-learn). It’s also becoming increasingly prevalent in medical training, giving students the chance to practice operations and learn new techniques.

In the tech industry, we’ll see VR assist with remote working and meetings. In the office, we may see VR headsets positioning documents in our peripheral vision, or letting us know about real-time changes to key data. Training and testing can take place in virtual environments, which can not only save costs when teaching staff new skills, but also give students the chance to practise their knowledge before going into a real-world situation.

Consumers will also be able to benefit from VR, which may have an effect on IT helpdesks. For example, if you can point a user to a virtual-reality walkthrough of a troubleshooting exercise, they can deal with their problem by themselves and may not require one-to-one personal assistance.

Of course, none of these developments will be able to come to fruition without skilled VR professionals. As well as IT experts, VR will impact industries from manufacturing to marketing, and those with skills in VR development and application will undoubtedly be in demand.

The real-world uses for Virtual Reality

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such as female appearance (for example, whether the candidate is wearing make-up or a wedding ring) may influence recruiters’ decision-making. Shifting the focus to a candidate’s skillset and factual information about their experience rather than perception based on name or gender is one way to address this, and CVs with names and genders removed may create unbiased shortlists. Other initiatives being adopted by the recruitment industry include improved maternity packages and relevant training programmes for those coming back to the workplace after having children.

Women may also be attracted to IT roles if they see other women doing those jobs. Positive role models can be hugely influential, especially if their achievements are showcased on social media

channels followed by girls and young women. Traditional views that girls may not want to take on tech roles and that computer specialists are men need to be challenged at all levels, from management to education. Getting successful women in IT out into the community to talk to schools and colleges can encourage girls to study science and tech subjects. The booking.com research underpinned this, with 90% of respondents citing lack of female leaders and role models as a barrier for women to progress their careers.

Recruiters can also help to drive change by talking to their clients about whether their corporate culture is attractive to women. If female employees and contractors feel that they’re working for an organisation that

values man and women equally and reassures diversity and inclusivity, they’re more likely to want to progress their career with that company. Creating clear career paths will certainly help with this. Furthermore, if a woman doesn’t feel confident enough to ask for a pay rise while her male colleagues do, this may exacerbate the gender pay gap.

Attracting women to IT roles and encouraging girls to study for relevant skills is crucial to ensure that the UK has the workforce it needs to thrive, as tech becomes an increasingly important part of all business. Recruiters can help to influence both job selection procedures and corporate culture so that women feel they belong in the tech industry and that their talent is valued.

Female empowerment is once again big news in the wake of the global hashtags of #metoo and #timesup – some may ask why women’s roles and status ever dropped off the social and cultural agenda. The IT industry is also waking up to addressing gender bias, and recruitment is a vital part of this process.

At the end of 2017, the global travel company booking.com conducted a survey of women in the tech industry, looking at how tech expertise is important in so many areas of an organisation, from HR and marketing to customer service. The research revealed that while women in tech were attracted to the industry’s flexible hours and freedom to innovate, encountering gender bias was sadly all too common, especially the higher up the corporate ladder you climb.

So how can recruiters attract women to “traditional” developer and engineer roles, as well as “non-tech” jobs using more IT expertise?

Perhaps one way to start is to examine job advertisements themselves. Modifying language to lose an aggressive edge – for example, swapping words such as “outstanding” and “synergy” for “extraordinary” and “alignment” – is one strategy that has been adopted by Vodafone, which (according to figures published in the FT) saw the firm recruit 7% more women during a three-month trial period in 2017.

Moreover, proactive recruiters are offering their staff training to spot unconscious bias,

Women in IT: Bridging the gender gap in technology

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