Now in our second year, the survey reflects the views of over 1200 technology and digital experts across the UK. It gives a unique insight into the challenges and opportunities of the people who live and breathe technology. From CTOs to Software Developers, Enterprise Architects to digital entrepreneurs, this extensive report captures the opinions of people at the forefront of shaping what is next for our industry. Some of the trends include:
The Power of the Software Engineer
The quality of software has become paramount to the success or failure of technology businesses and because of this the increase in the importance of the Software Engineer’s role has been an important and notable trend over the last 12 months. A niche trend we’ve noticed in retail and ‘pureplay dot com’ businesses is that of the insourcing of the
engineering and development functions, looking forward this is something to watch for in the coming 12 months.
The Galaxy Gap
The phrase ‘men are from Mars and women are from Venus’ is all well and good but how do we address this ‘galaxy gap’ in our industry. From the three pieces of market research we’ve run in the last 18 months the figure continues to remain between ten and 15 per cent female. Solutions are generally viewed to lie in education; there is no doubt this is essential to changing the balance of the industry in the long term. There is, however a need for a major shift in
perception across the industry. We need pioneers and champions to fly the ‘women in tech’ flag and act as ambassadors of the technology industry.
We’re All Entrepreneurs (or we need to be)
An entrepreneur is defined as someone who is willing to launch (or help launch) a new venture and accept full responsibility for the outcome. This ‘spirit’, accountability and willingness, has quickly become a ‘normal’ requirement for hands on technology professionals. Having a team of willing, responsible individuals can make the difference between success and failure.
One thing is for sure, technology has never been more about people and given how extensive our sample is, we wouldn’t be surprised if our survey captured the views of one or two people who will go on to become the next Steve Jobs, Mike Lynch, Carly Fiorina or Mark Zuckerberg. Who knows?
