Strategic Technologies for 2011

Which strategic technologies will have a significant impact on your organization (and your career) over the next three years? Gaining experience with these technologies can position you for future opportunities.

Gartner, the world's leading information technology research and advisory company, has identified 10 technologies that should be on your radar screen today. Here are the top three:

Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is Internet-based computing which frequently takes the form of web-based tools or applications that users can access and use through a web browser, as if it were a program installed locally on their own computer.

Cloud computing service providers include companies such as Salesforce, Amazon and Google.

Mobile Applications & Media Tablets

Mobile application development is the process by which applications are developed for handheld devices such as mobile phones and, increasingly, media tablets, such as the iPad.

Gartner estimates that by the end of 2010, 1.2 billion people will carry commerce-enabled mobile devices.

Social Communications & Collaboration

A social network service is an online service, platform or site that focuses on building social relations among people who share interests and/or activities.

Most of us are familiar with services such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. However, Gartner identified four sub-categories as follows:

• social networking
• social collaboration
• social publishing
• social feedback

CMS Networking Opportunities

You can best remember these three strategic technologies with the acronym CMS:

• Cloud
• Mobile
• Social

Access a Gartner press release to reveal the complete list of Top 10 Strategic Technologies for 2011.

Cloud

If you live in the Boston area you can attend the inaugural gathering of the Cloud Innovation Showcase on Wednesday, November 10. You can also join the CloudInno Group on LinkedIn.

Mobile

If you live in the Boston area you can join Mayor Tom Menino as he introduces Citizens Connect 2.0 on Monday, November 8. This Mobile Monday Boston Event is open to anyone interested in developing mobile apps which connect the people of Boston with city government.

Social

If you live in the Boston area you can join Social Media Club Boston for their next event, Social Nation Tweetup on Thursday, November 4. You can also join the Social Media Club Group on LinkedIn.

All three Boston CMS (Cloud, Mobile, Social) Networking events are FREE!

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Startup Watch | October 2010

The fall appears to be a good time to unleash your inner entrepreneur.

Startup Weekend

Startup Weekend events are being hosted in more than 50 cities across the United States and Canada, and an equal number of international cities.

For details about an event near you access the Startup Weekend website for a list of participating cities. Boston Startup Weekend will be held November 12 through 14 and will focus on mobile technologies.

Cloud Innovation Showcase

In addition, a new event arrives in Boston on Wednesday, November 10 called the Cloud Innovation Showcase.

Modeled after the popular Web Innovators Group, the event focuses on cloud-related startups, as well as, organizations adopting cloud computing. Access a press release for additional details.

The conference will be held at The Charles Hotel, Harvard Square, Cambridge. Registration is required for this FREE event which features keynote speaker Raymie Strata, Chief Technology Officer at Yahoo!

Startup Watch for October

Mass High Tech highlights startup companies each week in a series called "Five You Should Follow."

Here are 18 startup companies in the greater Boston area that Mass High Tech suggests you keep your eye on:

[NOTE: Hover over company name to view a tooltip summary of that company's value proposition.]

» AdelaVoice Corp. | Boston

» BirthData Pro, LLC | Scituate

» Close-Haul Communications, Inc. | Boston

» CoupMe Worldwide, LLC | Needham

» FYItag, Inc. | Andover

» Goozzy | Newton

» Graphene Laboratories, Inc. | Reading

» ImageRights International, Inc. | Cambridge

» JoyTunes Ltd. | Boston

» Jumper Networks, Inc. | White Horse Beach

» Ligon Discovery, Inc. | Cambridge

» My Digital Afterlife, LLC | Quincy

» SmashFly Technologies, LLC | Stow

» Sonian, Inc. | Needham

» Symmetric Computing, Inc. | Boston

» VideoAResume, LLC | Sharon

» Viridity Software, Inc. | Burlington

» Wikibon | Marlborough

Five new startups are listed every Tuesday at Mass High Tech -- The Journal of New England Technology. Access Startup News for details. If your company was founded within the last three years, and would like to be considered for the Watch List, contact the Startup Watch editor.

Access previous Startup Watch lists:

• Startup Watch | September 2010
• Startup Watch | August 2010
• Startup Watch | July 2010
• Startup Watch | June 2010
• Startup Watch | May 2010

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Boston Market | October 2010

One in five employers expect to hire full-time staff during the next three months. One in four plan to hire contract or temporary workers. If you live in the Northeast the percentages are likely higher.

Professions in Demand

Information Technology (IT) professionals are three times more likely to be in demand than creative/design professionals.

Here are the positions for which employers are most likely to hire contract or temporary staff for the remainder of 2010:

• IT | 27 percent
• Administrative | 25 percent
• Engineering | 12 percent
• Finance and Accounting | 12 percent
• Sales and Marketing | 10 percent
• Creative/Design | 9 percent

Size of Companies Hiring

Large companies are more likely than small companies to hang a Help Wanted sign during the fourth quarter:

~ employers with more than 250 employees | 26 percent are hiring
~ employers with 51 to 250 employees | 24 percent are hiring
~ employers with 50 or less employees | 13 percent are hiring

These findings were obtained from a survey that included more than 2,400 hiring managers and human resource professionals and more than 3,100 workers. A press release is available from CareerBuilder. A Flash player version of the survey results is also available.

Boston Market October

The list of Top 20 Web Technologies in Boston has been updated for October and is presented in the right-hand column.

The biggest monthly movers on the upside include Microsoft technologies:

~ ASP.NET | up 32%
~ C# up | 26%
~ SQL Server | up 12%

Other technologies also saw double digit monthly gains:

~ Python | up 23%
~ PHP | up 17%
~ Web Services | up 13%
~ Ajax | up 11%

Year-End Rally

Clearly, programming skills are in demand. If you are looking for work, here is a two-part strategy for participating in a successful year-end jobs rally:

• develop and highlight your information technology (IT) skills
• target companies with 50 or more employees
  

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Startup Watch | September 2010‏

Entrepreneurship is crucial to job creation. In a Newsweek article entitled The Real Jobs Machine, Robert J. Samuelson discusses the experience of Morris Panner, founder of Boston-based OpenAir and current CEO of TownFlier.

According to StartUpHire.com there are currently more than 800 job openings at startup companies in the Boston metro area.

Mass High Tech highlights startup companies each week in a series called "Five You Should Follow."

Startup Watch for September

Here are 14 startup companies in the greater Boston area that Mass High Tech suggests you keep your eye on:

[NOTE: Hover over company name to view a tooltip summary of that company's value proposition.]

» Anagraph Medical Solutions, Inc. | Cambridge

» Athleague, Inc. | Boston

» Catabasis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | Cambridge

» ConnectScholar, Inc. | Swampscott

» Eleven Learning | Cambridge

» Episend, Inc. | Watertown

» FashionStake | Boston

» HanGenix | Chelmsford

» Metamark Genetics, Inc. | Cambridge

» My Life List, LLC | Swampscott

» netBlazr, Inc. | Newton

» Qwobl, Inc. | Cambridge

» ResearchGATE Corp. | Cambridge

» TDC, LLC | Brookline

Five new startups are listed every Tuesday at Mass High Tech -- The Journal of New England Technology. Access Startup News for details. If your company was founded within the last three years, and would like to be considered for the Watch List, contact the Startup Watch editor.

Access previous Startup Watch lists:

• Startup Watch | August 2010
• Startup Watch | July 2010
• Startup Watch | June 2010
• Startup Watch | May 2010

[ NOTE: If you are interested in learning more about entrepreneurship in Boston, check out the BREW Calendar of Events. ]

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