New IT skills needed with new tech

Forrester Research has some advice for businesses: If you are implementing or considering new technologies such as social networking and cloud computing platforms, you better have the right people with the right skills.

And if you don't have them inside the company, turn to experts who know what they are doing. 

"New technology trends, such as social computing, cloud-based platforms, and the demand for real-time data and knowledge, may change the skills mix required by IT," writes Marc Cecere, vice president and principal analyst for Forrester. "CIOs, with today's thinly spread resources, face a tough task preparing IT for new technology.

To deal with these issues, Cecere said CIOs need to:

• Focus on the highest priority skills required for the new technologies.
• Focus training on the right IT staff segment that can support, maintain and expand the use of new technology.
• Use partners to fill the gap by collaborating with consultants, outsourcers and research firms to supplement skills that are not available in-house as well as the project management and infrastructure gaps.

For more on new technologies:
- see this CIO.com article