Planning to switch careers or looking for a job in the information technology sector? Consider ‘Big Data’ that is likely to create a huge demand for skilled professionals.

According to global research firm Gartner, by 2015 nearly 4.4 million new jobs will be created globally by the ‘Big Data’ demand and only one-third of them will be filled. India, along with China, could be one of the biggest suppliers of manpower for the ‘Big Data’ industry, said Naveen Mishra, Principal Analyst, Gartner.

This is one of the Top Predictions for 2013: Balancing Economics, Risk, Opportunity & Innovation that Gartner released in Chennai today.

‘Big Data’ spending is expected to exceed $130 billion by 2015, generating jobs. Companies and professionals should seek to acquire relevant skills to deal with high-volume, real-time data, he told newspersons.

Every day 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are created — so much that 90 per cent of the data in the world today have been created in the last two years alone. This data come from everywhere: sensors used to gather climate information, posts to social media sites, digital pictures and videos, purchase transaction records, and cell phone GPS signals to name a few. Specialists are required to analyse these ‘Big Data’ in a company to either take corrective actions or predict future trends.

Advanced information management/analytical skills and business expertise are growing in importance, said Mishra.

Training not in place

However, one major hurdle in India to provide the required number of skilled professionals is that training institutes have not yet started looking at ‘Big Data’ as a potential business, said Partha Iyengar, Regional Research Director, India, Gartner. Usually, the institutes pick up the demand pattern for a particular skill set and start providing people in that area in five to six months. However, in the case of ‘Big Data,’ this has not happened, he said.

Mishra said that in 2013, global IT spending will increase by 4.2 per cent. However, when measured in constant dollars it is 3.9 per cent. The macroeconomic environment, while not positive, continues to be within the scope of Gartner’s forecast assumptions.

Uncertainties surrounding prospects for an upturn in global economic growth are the major retardants to IT growth. However, much of this uncertainty is nearing resolution, and as it does, we look for accelerated spending growth in 2013 compared to 2012, he said.

Onsite hiring to rise

Mishra says that by 2016, Indian offshore IT service providers will nearly triple their onsite hiring due to the increasing protectionism adopted by many countries, especially in Western Europe. While protectionism is a major issue in the US, it has gained momentum in countries such as Germany, France and Spain – considered as emerging markets, he said.

IT hiring in major Western markets will come predominantly from Asian-headquartered companies enjoying double-digit growth, he said.

>raja.simhan@thehindu.co.in

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW