Top 10 Digital Jobs in Demand 2020

Current happenings in 2020 has affected the Digital Industry in ways most people would not be able to predict. The disruptions to the industry have come as a surprise, but not necessarily an unwelcome surprise. The important thing to note is that more business and country leaders worldwide see the value of Digital Transformation.

Thus far, we have seen demand for Digital solutions grow at an accelerated pace, albeit with some shifts in areas of focus. This shift in technology focus can be clearly seen in the current recruitment landscape of companies both in IT and Non-IT industries, as projects “ and companies - experience shifts in priorities.

From what we could gather of our experiences, here are the top 10 IT jobs in demand for 2020:

1.       Cloud Infrastructure

When previously the majority of employees worked in the office, it makes sense that everything is stored in the in-house server, providing easy access to information and applications. Now, remote working is the ˜New Normal' and its benefits are undeniable. As most companies consider taking up remote working in the long-run, the need for information to be accessible everywhere becomes crucial. Cloud technology suddenly becomes the central technology to be adopted in most organisations.

Keep in mind, Cloud computing is not a new concept, and its adoption has been steadily increasing in the past decade, especially in large organisations. Social media companies are some of the first adopters of Cloud technology, providing their sites on the cloud to be accessible to their users, especially in the advent of the large increase of mobile phone users worldwide. However, the pandemic has seen a rush in cloud adoption faster than we've seen before, leading to a jump in recruitment for positions related to cloud.

2.       IT Support & Helpdesk

The rise in demand for IT Support & Helpdesk can also be directly attributed to the new remote working lifestyle. As more people move out of their office to adopt a remote working lifestyle, their need for IT support grows.

As digitisation goes through a boom as a direct result of the happenings in 2020, most companies' current IT support & helpdesk teams experience massive burnouts as a result of a higher need for support. The outcome has resulted in an increase of IT Support and Helpdesk recruitment and hiring to fulfil this gap.

3.       Cybersecurity

Also as a consequence of remote working and higher adoption of digitalisation, the need to protect company information and data becomes a priority. Moving out of in-house servers, data would need much stronger encryption and security to prevent them falling into the wrong hands.

We have seen an increase of the news reporting a surge in Hacking activity during the lockdown. The pandemic has seen hackers multiplying, together with activities like stealing valuable data from systems, like passwords and application codes.

For organisations, the current state has brought about a scramble to strengthen their Virtual Private Networks (VPN), and other cybersecurity infrastructures. The risk of valuable data and information being stolen is real, and as hackers get more sophisticated, so must our protection.

4.       Data Science & Analytics

As most companies go through recovery mode, the pressure is on leaders to find the best solutions to move their organisations forward in the tough times. These are unprecedented times, and more and more leaders are turning towards data to make the best decisions for their company. The data analysis for accurate predictions has quickly become the next big thing for leaders to rely on, as the climate calls for higher certainty on what is going to happen in the next week, month or even year.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) is currently using data science and analytics to keep track of the current pandemic worldwide, and to publish accurate reports of the world's health status. We see this trend continuing and will steadily rise as the benefits of data science and analytics become more evident.

5.       IOT

Internet of Things (IOT) was a booming technology even before the pandemic, and has reported to reach more than 50% of companies worldwide. Interest in IOT has not slowed down even amidst the events of 2020. Higher adoption and utilisation of IOT in industries like Manufacturing, Transportation and Utilities has led to an increase in the demand of professionals for IOT applications.

From what we have seen previously, the uptake of IOT has been higher in the Industrial sector. However, as 2020 moves along, we will see higher adoption of consumer IOT. This simply will be the result of the population spending more time at home, enhanced by the arrival of 5G technology.

6.       Robotics/Automation

Automation - or in another term - the technology of robotics, has gained popularity in recent years as more businesses realise its value in speeding up multiple processes and minimising errors. The use of Automation has seen an increase in demand for both hardware and applications-based projects, and nowadays, there is scarcely an aspect of modern life that has not been affected by it.

Combined with AI & Machine-learning, our forecast is that Automation will continue to gain in popularity in the years to come. The potential cost-savings that is evident by adopting Automation has been proven to be significant in the long-run. This is definitely a technology to watch out for.

7.       Digital Content Writing

As the adoption of technologies become extensive, there has also emerged a demand for translations of technical jargons and complicated technical processes for the population who do not have the background. More and more companies are in the search for people who can understand technology and, more importantly, explain and write content that is easy to digest.

The demand for content writers has also been affected by the relatively drastic increase of social media usage. Sites like YouTube, Facebook and Instagram have high marketing potential, and more companies are taking advantage of the high-traffic in these sites. The need for content writers becomes ten-fold for businesses in the e-Commerce sector, and as more businesses get online during the lockdown phases, we see the demand getting higher past 2020 as well.

8.       UX Designers

An amazing user experience could be the one big differentiator of a company from its competitors. A confusing user experience, on the other hand, could be enough to drive away valuable customers.  As the majority of application users are giving feedback to improve user interfaces, we see more companies noticing the effectiveness of a great online user experience.

Large companies understand the value of UX dedicated departments for UX research and designing, and they are increasing investments in these areas to ensure the best experience for their customers. After all, if you have an amazing product, it would be painful to lose out just because no one understands how to navigate your application.

9.       Mobile Application Development

More than 10 years into the introduction of smartphones, there is still a shortage of mobile application developers. This is not because there are less developers, but it is more because of an increase in demand that moves faster than the supply of people who have the expertise to develop these Applications.

As we record higher mobile users worldwide, and thus higher demand in mobile content, at least in the future, we do not foresee the demand for mobile app developers decreasing. In fact, as other technologies rise and fall with the need of the season, Mobile App Development will probably stand the test of time. We also have no doubt that the current increase of digital adoption has largely affected the increase in Mobile App Development as companies race to get online.

10.   Java & Python

Java and Python are the two highest in demand for programming language proficiencies. These two languages have seen an increase in demand in-line with the adoption of technologies listed above.

Java is the language used more commonly for e-commerce websites. By nature, Java is relatively secure, and is the preferred programming language in building applications for banking and insurance industries.

Python, on the other hand, is a multiple platforms language which is simpler in nature and, as a result, more flexible. Although widely used in website development, Python is also the preferred programming language for Big Data, AI and Machine Learning.

It is interesting to see technological trends emerging out of the global events of 2020.

The biggest thing we have learned is when a large world-changing event takes place that forces all of us to rethink the way we do most things; technology takes centre stage as the agent of these changes. In a way, technology seems to give people back some control on the uncertainty of the future. Instead of a large shift in what technology trends comes in-demand, the change is more in how the current and upcoming technology is used to give us results.

As agents of Digital Adoption, we understand the power of technology to change lives, and we are more than happy to play a big part in implementing the best tech for our clients to move forward.

Contact information

Durai Raj

Recruitment Manager

durairaj@right-pitch.com

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