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Information Technology (IT) is an evolving field requiring talented candidates from many different fields. If you are interested in employment or a career in IT you can start your hunt for a job today. The number one factor in determining your success as an IT professional is your passion for the work you do. Today's IT field is building onto its foundation with higher education and integrating training for future jobs not yet available. You choose which direction you take in establishing a career, but our steps are the most common methods in getting a job in today's recession.

Research Career Options

There are many IT careers available for you right now. Companies use IT professionals to setup their computer networks, maintenance and repair, and security. You can find information pertaining to each career option by studying for an A+ IT Technician certification to show competency in the field. Many business owners are not trustworthy of individuals without their certifications because IT management is a vital aspect to their business.

You can search for many IT careers online and research different positions such as Network Administration, IT Technician, Security Management Specialists, and more. What is there for you to hide? The opportunities are out there, available, and need talented individuals. Career research should incorporate answers needed by aspiring IT professionals:
Am I interested in this field?
What is the perfect path for me?
Do I have the aptitude to evolve with this field?
What steps do I need to take to accomplish my goals in the IT field?
If you can answer each question with â??yes’, you are on your way to finding a certification path just for you.

Follow Certification Paths

IT certifications are a necessity in getting a job; employers want confidence in their IT professionals in order to secure their data. You can acquire your certification by enrolling in a formal education in community colleges, four-year universities, and technical schools whom offer Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE). You will also need the basic certifications to get your foot in the door – A+ Essentials, A+ IT Technician, and MCSE. You can then expand your body of knowledge by acquiring a Security+, Network+, and Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP) Certification (Now called the Microsoft 365 Administrator Expert Certification)

Each certification opens another door in establishing your career. Businesses owners will find positions available in their firms if you have a wide body of knowledge to assist in solidifying their IT department. Any interested in hiring you will also search for your work experience as an indicator of your skills. Before you can apply for a position, you have to gain experience by working a few months or completing a few projects for local businesses in your city.

Gain Experience

Getting experience in IT work is relatively easy because every business needs a computer to operate effectively. Before you can get a job, you may have to complete some assignments free. Pro bono work speaks volumes if the employer is pleased with your work ethics. Consider contacting local businesses offering your services in return for references.

Some may not answer your request, but many will be interested in what you have to offer. While working with the company, document changes you have implemented in their business. Your reference can vouch for your skills and talent when prospective employers check your background. During the internship, try to focus on learning or tweaking your learning curve by working on different aspects of IT such as networking, repair, and security.

Work Your Professional Network

After acquiring your certifications, contact members in your professional network for prospective contacts. This is an easy way to land a job in a short time because your network can help you find unpublished career opportunities within their organizations. Use your network wisely by forwarding your resume, cover letter, and proof of credentials from your schools.

Another way to showcase your skills is by creating an e-portfolio that includes your resume, published articles, and projects related to the IT field. Many employers complete their background checks by cross-referencing your information available online. Show a sense of creativity by implementing a self-marketing plan to find many positions available on and offline. After a few contacts work in your favor, you will be on your way to enjoying an IT career in your chosen field.

Converts scientific, engineering, and other technical problem formulations to format processable by computer…

Converts scientific, engineering, and other technical problem formulations to format processable by computer: Resolves symbolic formulations, prepares flow charts and block diagrams, and encodes resultant equations for processing by applying extensive knowledge of branch of science, engineering, or advanced mathematics, such as differential equations or numerical analysis, and understanding of capabilities and limitations of computer. Confers with other engineering and technical personnel to resolve problems of intent, inaccuracy, or feasibility of computer processing. Enters program into computer system. Reviews results of computer runs with interested personnel to determine necessity for modifications or reruns. Develops new subroutines or expands program to simplify statement, programming, or coding of future problems. May direct and coordinate activities of COMPUTER PROGRAMMERS (profess. & kin.) 030.162-010 working as part of project team.

The growing popularity of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is having a significant impact on data security and regulations compliance. Most companies are concerned — and rightly so — about the legal and security issues raised when company data is located outside their firewall. This article will explain:

What you must include in your legal contracts to protect your company against Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) compliance violations

What SAS 70 Audit Types I and II are, and how they help ensure that companies protect your data

How to guard yourself against the “1,000 social security numbers on a lost laptop” problem
SaaS Is Here to Stay

Software-as-a-Service is increasingly popular, and for good reason. Its advantages include a greatly reduced time-to-deployment, low upfront costs (for less approval-process drag), and much less need for scarce IT staff involvement. This results in lower business risk by eliminating “bet-the-company” deployment steamrollers, unpredictable cost spikes, and upgrade or maintenance nightmares. For these and other reasons, major industry analysts predict that 25% of business software will be delivered under the SaaS model by 2011.

The upside to SaaS is tremendous. But the business rewards that SaaS brings are not completely without risk. As companies think about bad things that can happen to their data, they often consider these threats: “phishing,” or social engineering targeting the SaaS vendor; insufficient uptime and/or scalability of the solution; unplanned maintenance outages; theft of data by SaaS vendor employees; and external system attacks.

SaaS is not necessarily more risky than implementing your own in-house solutions. In fact, it is often much less so when you account for opportunity costs, reduced business agility, and ongoing maintenance. Nevertheless, it is reckless to ignore or overlook a SaaS vendor’s operational and business risk potential. So what can you do to ensure that your company can reap the rewards of SaaS while tightly managing the risks?

First, realistically and systematically assess the risks. What kind of company data will be contained in this particular SaaS system? Then, match the level of risk management to the level of data sensitivity or importance.

SaaS and SOX

Publicly traded companies have a particular concern about SaaS — namely, its impact on Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) regulatory requirements. The SOX act holds signing officers responsible for the fairness and completeness of their company’s financial statements. They are also held responsible for the state of the company’s internal controls and must report any deficiencies. An internal control is a process designed to reasonably assure that objectives can be met in the following categories: financial reporting reliability, operational effectiveness and efficiency, and compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

If SaaS solution data touch the company’s financial statements, the company is responsible for the controls on that software service. This is a daunting prospect for IT executives and staff, whose jobs are on the line where IT controls are concerned. Evaluating and assuring your own controls is one thing — but how can you be sure about your SaaS vendor’s controls?

SAS 70 Audits

Asking your SaaS vendor for a copy of their SAS 70 audit report is a good place to start alleviating concerns. SAS 70 stands for Statement on Accounting Standards (number) 70, professional guidance issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). The SAS 70 audit report documents and attests to the adequacy and completeness of the SaaS vendor’s internal controls for their service. If your company is subject to SOX requirements, you should require all your SaaS vendors to provide a SAS 70 audit report.

This report is designed to be included in your own audits of controls. Because it is an “auditor-to-auditor” report, it can obviate your own physical audit of the SaaS vendor, saving you time and money.

Even if you are not subject to SOX, you may still find the SAS 70 audit report valuable, since it details exactly what your SaaS vendor is doing to protect your company data. There are two types of audits: the SAS 70 Type I and the SAS 70 Type II. The Type I audit assesses whether the SaaS vendor’s internal controls are fairly and completely described, and whether they have been adequately designed to meet their objectives. The Type II audit does the same, but also goes a step further to test the controls in operation.

The Type II is more rigorous and usually preferred; however, many companies begin first with a Type I audit and follow on with a subsequent Type II audit. The additional assurance of a Type II is good to have if you need it; indeed, your own auditors may insist on it. Understand, however, that SAS 70 audits are somewhat new in the SaaS vendor world. Ask yourself: exactly how sensitive is the data in this SaaS system? Do we have the ability to configure the system to control and approve the data it contains? Is the vendor demonstrably on schedule toward the type of audit we need? The answers will help you decide which type of audit report (I or II) you will absolutely need today and later on.

Mobile Devices and SaaS

SaaS raises the specter of company data outside your firewall and your direct control. You have processes for your company laptops, PDAs, smartphones, and other mobile devices. But don’t forget that working with your SaaS vendor may mean asking them to put your data on their own devices. For example, you may choose to hire vendor staff for initial setup and configuration services. Or, you may place a technical support call to your SaaS vendor, who needs your data to help them reproduce the problem on a test site.

Are you emailing files? If so, should they be encrypted? What devices are used by the vendor? How much of your data would they have on that device? When, and for how long? How are they protecting the device’s data? How will it be removed? Will they need access to your system when the problem is solved? The answers to these questions will inform the policies and procedures you’ll want to put in place between you and the vendor.

As a customer, you have responsibility, too. Are you configuring your software service to contain sensitive information without assessing whether it is truly needed? For example, are you putting social security numbers into the system only because it has a blank entry field for that item? Putting unneeded sensitive data into a system adds unnecessary risk.

What You Must Include in Your Contracts

If your company is subject to Sarbanes-Oxley, your SaaS vendor contracts must require periodic audits of security and data protection controls. Using SAS 70 audit reports is an excellent alternative to auditing the vendor yourself. But simply having the report is no magic bullet. You must read it and understand whether the vendor’s controls are adequate in your estimation. Most importantly, your auditors must accept the report.

To protect your data, you may wish to consider the following for any software or managed service contract:
Uptime percentage guarantees (some companies are putting “clawbacks” into their contracts, specifying discounts for uptime shortfalls)

Advance system maintenance notifications specifying whom to notify and how far in advance

Outage notifications that include full problem description and a resolution/escalation plan.

Documented disaster recovery and business continuity plans

Data backup procedures, including schedules for incremental and full backups

Restore procedures for lost data

Network access protection policies and procedures

Technical support services and procedures

Code fix and upgrade procedures

Procedures for returning or destroying data (some exceptions may be made for secured application backups)

Regulatory considerations for certain data types (for example, health information)

Restricting ownership of company data to the company

Restricting vendor from de-encrypting or viewing company data except when absolutely necessary

Company data on vendor’s mobile devices must be protected in transit and at rest

Code escrow provisions

Workforce and physical security procedures to prevent unauthorized access or data theft

Device and media controls and policies to protect data

Data transmission security policies and procedures

System and security monitoring tool usage
The issues raised when software applications are delivered as a service are not new, as many companies must allow data to reside or travel outside their premises for various reasons. SaaS vendors are now working proactively with their customers to assure data protection, and the customers are reaping the business benefits. Make an assessment of your
contracts and polices to make sure you can comfortably welcome SaaS into your organization.

The task of an SAP systems analyst is to deal with business based software that functions on the NetWeaver program. SAP stands for the abbreviated version of Systems Applications and Products. The task of an SAP job is to function with data systems as well as business functions that are used by the different companies all over the world, and make use of the systems analyst, thousands of whom are required for the job.

The SAP software application provides enterprise resource planning or ERP for the companies to integrate all of their operations through a single platform. The responsibilities of a SAP systems analyst involves procuring a system for the company, looking after the installation of the system as well as training the managers of the company for using the programs.

The first step in an SAP job is to start with an appropriate education for being a SAP systems analyst. The companies that look for hiring the SAP system analyst look for a bachelor’s degree in the following fields:

• Industrial engineering
• Computer systems
• Business management

You must be a major in computer science and also go for elective courses that span various subjects to give you a general overall education. Some of these courses consist of database maintenance and finance. The SAP systems analyst should also brush up on the SAP computer software that is utilized in a variety of industries for data processing methods and applications. If you have already explored the areas of the program of your choice, you can focus better on your job search after completing college.

The SAP system analyst must be skilled to mediate or translate facts between the developers of information technology and the business management. The systems analyst takes on dealing with the business requirements that come up from the management, translate them into terms from which software can be developed and hand the requirements over to the developers. The SAP systems analyst is also known as the business process expert or BPX in a SAP environment. A good background in project management with skills in communication and problem solving are some of the highlights of the profession.

Managing your choices well is an important step in becoming an analyst in an SAP job. Other than training yourself in SAP XI classes and NetWeaver, you can learn all about sales, marketing and business administration. This is because when you are working within a corporate framework, the functions and responsibilities of the systems analyst tends to overlap with other departments of the organization.

Professional certifications are a great way to add to your credentials. A master certification in SAP systems is a good idea to complement your bachelor’s degree. It helps you gain an added boost in obtaining an SAP job. You may also apply in special SAP websites.

You can apply for the position of an SAP system analyst in a large organization that offers ample scope for professional growth and diversity. A lot of companies design their in house SAP modules and fire information systems agencies or for that matter consultants for performing the role of a SAP systems analyst. This is why a degree in post graduation is required along with your master’s degree. You may even require having 10 years of experience in information technology for obtaining particular positions in this field.

An SAP job requires highly developed skills and if you have these, the career prospects are excellent. With technology advancing everyday, the horizons for a systems analyst is expanding at the same time. In a good SAP career, the SAP systems analyst must work in ongoing education seminars and train them to stay updated of the latest changes in information technology and SAP advancements. Attending conferences and trade shows at least twice a year is mandatory.

The salaries of a SAP systems analyst can range from $75,000 to $96,000 annually. The systems analyst can be on a salary or can work for themselves.

A SAP or Systems Applications and Products systems analyst provides companies with a central database that interacts with various applications of business software. SAP in fact develops this system further for including within its realm web based products like CRM or customer relationship management and SCM or supply chain management. These are tools that interact with the primary database and help in effective database functioning.

1. Manage projects of infinite complexity by focusing on what you cannot control; mitigate project risk by identifying and managing these resources

Complex projects require interaction and deliverables by many internal and external vendors and departments. You may have very little real leverage with some of these organizations, especially if you are a consultant. While tasks on the critical path matter, it matters more whether you have direct influence over the performance of the team or the individual providing each deliverable.

If you can withhold payment on a vendor that reports within your organizational chain, you control the resource. If you have spent time building personal relationships with other IT departments, you have more leverage, since you can “cash in some chips” and ask for a favor. But you can’t influence the internal programmer analysts you do not know who report to a different profit center, and you could derail the plans if they do not deliver on schedule.

Don’t focus on the 50 most important tasks on the critical path. If 42 tasks are assigned to people in your sphere of influence, focus on the eight tasks that must be done by entities where you have very little leverage. Of these, what are the two or three things that if they do not get done, will cause a “show stopper”?

Then, you can manage multiple projects by not getting bogged down in the details. You can track people in charge of those details, and only intervene if requested, or if you perceive the responsibilities are not being done. You might need to ask management to redirect or reassign tasks, or you may resort to an alternative approach.

A relatively simple task you cannot influence can delay a project, especially if there are few people with domain expertise in the organization to be able to successfully complete the work. For items outside your sphere of control, go down the chain of command to people who really know the details. For example, if you need to have 10 high-speed phone lines installed, the head of the IT telecom unit may say “no problem”. However, if the technician who has to visit over the weekend to oversee the phone company tells you that in the past, 20% of the phone lines haven’t worked, you can then plan for that risk. You might ask, “How long can we use a slow speed ISDN line as backup until they can correct any nonfunctioning high speed T1 backup lines that are in the original plan?” Do we need to consult the legal or compliance departments on this issue?

Spend 60% of your time focused on the items you can not control, 20% on responding to questions and issues, and only 20% on actively managing the project (meetings and memos).

2. Manage expectations up and down the management chain; communicate early with stakeholders at the first hint a key milestone may be missed

As the project rolls on, you will reap the benefits of having developed relationships before the project’s official start date.

When unexpected complications or roadblocks arise &mdash do not assume anything; go back to the business goals and original project sponsors, rather than getting mired in a one-track IT perspective. For example, if internal management reporting data is going to be affected, there may be legal or regulatory implications beyond the accounting or financial groups’ reactions. On the other hand, you might be surprised that the business unit is willing to compromise on some deliverables to keep a project on track, if you can assure them that these items could be completed in “phase two”. Only through open communication can you determine the best overall course of action.

3. To be a respected leader, honor people’s time

In planning meetings and status conference calls, stage the agenda so that not all groups and parties have to be present at all times. Today’s project teams consist of heterogeneous groups of insiders and outsiders, from multiple functions such as IT, marketing, business, operations, and work at a variety of levels from division heads to analysts. So being organized and modular is essential to their perception of your professionalism.

You may start the call with 100 people who all have to be involved for the initial 20 minute overview, so everyone understands the same business context. But after that, only core groups have to be involved. If you let everyone know when they have to be engaged and can attend to their “real” work at other times, they will not be checking their Blackberries and emails when you really need them.

Have each party on the phone only when required. In some cases, there may be a weekly call, but if some groups do not need to participate for a given session, give them permission to skip it.

If you are interested in applying these ideas to your current projects, please contact Rafael Pabon at www.shermanhillgroup.com/shgroup1/contact_us.htm.

About the Author

Rafael Pabon combines information technology and Internet expertise with extensive experience in sales, marketing, and strategic management to help companies reach higher levels of scale, scope and profitability. His background encompasses designing knowledge management systems for Fortune 500 companies, managing outsourcing programs for financial firms, and implementing innovative financial, customer support, compliance and sales systems.

Mr. Pabon’s clients include Morgan Stanley, Thomson Financial, JPMorgan Chase, Advanta Growth Capital LP and Dover Corporation. Recent engagements include a four-year technology and operational outsourcing project for an investment bank, development of technical infrastructure to fulfill SEC regulatory requirements at a brokerage firm, and performing due diligence for an early-stage fund. As CTO of Loan Quorum.com, he oversaw the design and development of an international trading system for syndicated loans. Previously, he marketed fixed income and derivative products at Barra International, a global financial software and consulting firm, where he launched the New York branch. Prior to that, Mr. Pabon honed his technical and management skills in JP Morgan’s Strategic Programs Management Group, IBM’s Development and Sales & Marketing divisions and Kodak’s Graphics Imaging Systems. Mr. Pabon holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, with concentrations in investment analysis and business strategy, and a BSE from Princeton University in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.