10 Tech Skill you should develop in next 5 years

If you want a job where you can train in a particular skill set and then never have to learn anything new, IT isn’t the field for you. But if you like to be constantly learning new things and developing new skills, you’re inthe right business. In the late 80s, NetWare and IPX/SPX administration were the skills to have. Today, it’sall about TCP/IP and the Internet.Let’s take a look at some of the skills you should be thinking about developing to keep on top of things in the tech world in the next five years.



#1: Voice over IP

Many companies and consumers are already using VoIP for telephone services due to cost and
convenience factors. According to aSearchVoIP.com articlein June 2007, sales of pure IP PBX systems for the first quarter of 2007 increased 76% over the first quarter of the previous year.
More and more companies are expected to go to VoIP, to either supplement or replace their traditional phone lines. And because VoIP runs on the TCP/IP network, IT administrators will in many cases be expected to take responsibility for VoIP implementation and ongoing administration.

#2: Unified communications

Along with the growing popularity of VoIP, the concept of unified communications — the convergence of different communications technologies, such as e-mail, voicemail, text messaging, and fax — looks to be the wave of the future. Users will expect to have access to all their communications from a single interface, such as their Inbox, and from a variety of devices: PCs, laptops, smart phones/PDAs, traditional phones, etc. Convergence makes networks more complex, and IT administrators will need to develop skills for managing converged networks to compete in tomorrow’s job market.

#3: Hybrid networks

The day of the all-Windows or all-UNIX network is already past, and networks are likely to grow more, rather than less hybridized in the future. As new versions of Linux, such as Ubuntu, become friendlier for end users, we’re likely to see some organizations deploying it on the desktop for certain users. However, it’s likely that other users will continue to use Windows because of application requirements and/or personal preferences, and there may very well be Macintosh users in the mix as well, especially in graphics environments. IT pros will no longer be able to get by with expertise in only one platform; you’ll need to be able to support and troubleshoot different operating systems.

#4: Wireless technology

Wireless networking is still in its infancy in the enterprise. Companies are (often grudgingly) establishing wireless LANs for the use of employees and visitors because it’s the most convenient way for portable computers to connect to the network, but many organizations are still wary of wireless (rightly so), particularly its security implications. But wireless isn’t going away, and the future promises faster and more secure wireless technologies. You’ll need to know about 802.11n, a new standard now in development. which will provide for a typical throughput of 74 Mbps with a theoretical maximum data rate of 248 Mbps and a longer range than current 802.11a/b/g standards (about 70 meters, or approximately 230 feet).

#5: Remote user support

The trend is toward more employees working off-site: executives taking their laptops on the road, telecommuters working from home at least a few days per week, personnel in the field connecting back to the LAN, and so forth. The IT staff will need to be able to support these remote users while maintaining the security of the internal network. It will be important to learn skills relating to different VPN technologies (including SSL VPN) and technologies for health monitoring and quarantining of remote clients to prevent those that don’t meet minimal criteria (antivirus installed and updated, firewall enabled, etc.) from connecting to the LAN and
putting the rest of the network at risk.

#6: Mobile user support

Cell phones, Blackberries, and other ultra-portable devices are becoming ubiquitous and will likely grow more sophisticated in the future. Employees will expect to get their corporate e-mail on their phones and in some cases (such as Windows Mobile devices), to use terminal services client software to connect these small devices to the company LAN. IT staff members will need to develop a plethora of skills to support mobile users, including expertise in configuration of mail servers and knowledge of security implications of the devices.

#7: Software as a service

Web 2.0, the next generation of the Internet, is all about SaaS, or Software as a Service. SaaS involves delivering applications over the Web, rather than installing those applications on individual users’ machines. Some IT pundits have warned that SaaS will do away with IT administrators’ jobs entirely, but the more likely scenario is that the job description will change to one with less focus on deployment and maintenance of applications and more emphasis on broader-based planning, convergence, etc. If SaaS takes off, the job market may also shift so that more jobs are concentrated in the application provider sector rather than in companies’ in-house IT departments. In that situation, IT pros who have the skills relating to service provision and multi-tenant architecture will have a head start when it comes togetting and staying employed.

#8: Virtualization

Virtualization has been around for a while, but now, with Microsoft heavily investing in the technology with its Windows hypervisor (Viridian), which will run on Windows Server 2008, VMWare offering VMWare Server for free, and Red Hat and SuSE planning to include Xen hypervisor technology in the next versions of their server products, we can expect the concept of virtual machines to go to a whole new level in the next few years. Managing a VM-based network environment is a skill that will be not just handy, but essential, as more and more companies look to virtualization to consolidate servers and save on hardware costs.

#9: IPv6

Widespread adoption of the next generation of the Internet Protocol (IPv6) hasn’t come about as quickly as originally predicted, in large part because technologies such as NAT prevented the depletion of available IP addresses from happening as soon as anticipated. However, with the number of hosts on the Internet growing steadily, the larger address space will eventually
be critical to further expansion. IPv6 also offers better security with IPsec, a part of the basic protocol suite. Perhaps the inevitability of the transition is best indicated by the fact that Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Mac OS X 10.3, and the latest versions of other operating systems have IPv6 enabled by default. With an entirely different address notation, called CIDR, and addresses written in hexadecimal instead of the familiar four octets of decimal numbers used by IPv4, there will be a learning curve for IT administrators. The time to tune up your IPv6 skills is now, before the transition becomes mandatory.

#10: Security

Smart IT pros have been developing their security skills for the last several years, but the future will bring new security challenges and new security mechanism s. Technologies such as VoIP and mobile computing bring new security issues and challenges. Authentication methods are evolving from a password-based model to multifactor models and biometrics are likely to become more important in the future. As threats become more sophisticated, shifting from teenage hackers defacing Web sites “just for fun” to well financed corporate espionage agents and cyberterrorists bent on bringing down the country’s vital infrastructure by attacking the networks that run it, security skills must keep up.In addition to proactive m easures, IT pros will need to know more about computer forensics and be able to track what is happening and has happened on their networks.

Future Technologies

Apple’s Open & Shut Case



The MacBook Touch is awesome enough as it is but that isn’t stopping Jobs’ jobbers from making a good thing better. Witness this concept MacBook that employs one of Apple’s more interesting patents: a transparent, multitouch display that acts as a control surface on both sides! Today we have to open our laptops/notebooks/netbooks if we want to get down to business. Tomorrow, maybe not – and that would be very good business indeed.

VAIO Zoom! Biff Bang Pow!


Thin is in, to the point where you can barely see the screen from the side. This SONY VAIO Zoom notebook concept by Eno Setiawan takes things one step further: you can barely see the screen from the front – at least, when the power’s off. The secret lies in holographic technology that even extends to the mouse buttons. So, is a transparent laptop screen a good idea? Oh yeah… just keep it away from Kramer.


Toshiba’s Desktop Deathstar


Lord Vader, your server is ready. This Deathstar-like desktop media server crystallizes Toshiba’s vision of how TV and cellphones will interact in a seamless multimedia future.


Everything’s automatic: once the cellphone is in range, the server prompts it to download its media files to the server
which in turn “beams” the files to a wireless HD 1080p TV – and then destroys Alderan.


O Good, A Dell Concept!


Owners demand a lot from their computers, but do they want sustainability? Dell thinks so, and they’ve rolled out the well-rounded O Project PC to prove it. Luis Luna’s organic design features an integrated living plant pod that absorbs CO2 during the course of its daily life. When the PC’s life has ended, the cornstarch & bamboo polymer-based case can either be recycled or used as a non-computing plant pot to add a dash of tech savvy to your home decor scheme.


Russian To The Future With KOOB+


Slim, lightweight, compact, modular… all of the above apply to Artem Sazonov’s KOOB+” concept computer. Sazonov has taken the idea of modularity to the max – one or more KOOB+ component can be taken elsewhere and plugged into a different machine as needed. If you like plug & play functionality, you’ll love the KOOB+.


iMac Stays Ahead Of The Curve


Nuno Teixeira really knows his way a round computers, making him a natural choice to design the iView iMac concept. The intriguing iView is curved to complement the human eye and features a second screen on the back – presumably for those with eyes in back of their heads. Twin webcams pay tribute to the persistence of memory as this somewhat surrealistic concept computer owes much to Dali’s famed fluid forms.


Less Is More… More Or Less


I’d like to say HP’s minimalist LiM concept desktop computer was designed by Les Moore but that would be too perfect – it’s actually the brainchild of Jeffrey S. Engelhardt, a guy who believes desktop computers have a future in an increasingly mobile, server-oriented world. Even so, by offering “Less Is More” to tomorrow’s tech-savvy savants HP hopes to retain a lucrative slice of the retail pie. Though the LIM is a stand-alone CPU, HP foresees offering some cool matching peripherals like a transparent 19″ OLED touch screen, a wireless keyboard and a virtual trackpad to replace the mouse.


Microsoft’s Mystery Machine


Not much info’s out there on the above ultra-wrapped screen but supposedly it’s a concept computer from Microsoft. Considering the thickness of the screen we’ll assume the computer-y bits are housed inside.


There are already curved screens out there, notably by Alien ware (above), but this one both out-curves and out-cools it by a long shot. Let’s hope this screen-comp-combo surfaces soon… and, has as little relationship as possible with Microsoft Surface.


Cario Up The Highway



What’s the worst place to mount a notebook computer screen? If you guessed “smack dab in the middle of your steering wheel”, you get two points and a full body cast. Even when connected in HUD mode this seems like a poorly thought out idea. The Cairo itself, on the other hand, is exceedingly well thought out. Designed for use in cars and trucks, the Cario allows you to adjust vehicle settings like climate control and music besides any other standard computing. If it can be made to work safely, you win, if not, Darwin does.


The BMW Of Computers



Coming from an outfit named BMW Group Design works USA, you’d expect the dials to be turned to 11 when it came to designing a true gamer’s gaming computer. And so it is – the “Level 10″ PC tower concept for Thermaltake.


A massive vertical heatsink, individually enclosed components and not a stray wire to be seen… one wonders why they didn’t call it the “Level 11″.


The Power Flower Tower


A minimalist computer powered by a fuel cell? We’ve got one for you – or rather, somebody would if this concept goes into production. One of the top five finalists in the Design ReGeneration competition, the Power Flower features a miniature fuel cell hidden atop a clear water reservoir, giving the design a light, aesthetically pleasing look that doesn’t resemble any computer you’ve seen before.


The New Mac Mini?



This inorganic Apple concept computer was designed by Sait Alanyali, who seems to have fallen in love with his straight edge. Alanyali’s put a lot of thought into the design, which provides functionality in a variety of positions. Temperature is, as with any smaller computer, a paramount concern. In Alanyali’s words, “Cool air to the sides, hot air from the legs.” Always a safe policy in any circumstance.

Cookbook Meets Computer



Niche markets will be the focus of specialized computers as tech components get cheaper and the public acclimatizes itself to anything and everything being somehow computerized. Example: the Kitchen Sync computer concept.





Designed by Noah Ballmer and winner of an International Housewares Association award, the Kitchen Sync seamlessly combines the functions of a comp and a cookbook. Those who’ve accidentally spilled chicken stock all over their pricey laptop will lap this right up!


The Poop On The E-Ball




It’s not often a concept design leaves me speechless but this is one of those times. I give you… the E-Ball! Somewhat reminiscent of a roly-poly R2D2, the E-Ball is undeniably impressive: how about a laser keyboard that beams out like ol’ R2 relaying a message from Obi-wan? Plus, who needs a monitor when you can project images onto either a nearby wall or a sheet of paper.




All very cool and futuristic… and then the whole presentation is overshadowed by spelling “sheet” with an “i” instead of the two e’s. Aw, crap. As a geek version of Ferris Bueller might say, “Technology moves pretty fast. You don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” Thankfully, computer engineers won’t stop offering up their visions of future computing and for that, we may be thankful!