Internet of Things a key domain for those looking for career in IT

There is enough scope for someone with apt skills to make it big in IoT domain, say experts

If you are looking to make a career in IT this year, Internet of Things (IoT) is definitely a key domain you can look at.

Going by the estimates shared by Sanjay Kaul, Managing Director, Service Provider Business, Cisco India & SAARC, five years from now, IoT is a potentially a $500-600 billion industry. It will be an important revenue stream for all stakeholders.

“We see a massive opportunity in IoT. Right now, I think we are in the mobilisation phase. I would say 2017-18 would be execution and 2019, you would see solid revenues pouring in and giving rise to a lot of job opportunities.”

Prabhu Ramachandran, director of WebNMS division at ZOHO Corporation, says, “Most organisations have IoT as a practice now and are looking at hiring people to kick off their projects. But there is a lack of expertise in the workforce, because the domain is new and the real world adoption of IoT is not as much as we expect it to be. Companies are setting up IoT as a practice and there is a clear need for resources. It starts from the hardware domain and goes up to software and cloud infrastructure. It's an overall field where everyone right from electronics domain, to computer science to mechanical can find a place. But there is a lag in between demand and supply of talent.”

There are jobs but not as many employable professionals. However, there is enough scope for someone with apt skills to make it big.

Are you ideal for an IoT job?

There are actually a host of skills that can land one a job in IoT. IoT is a multidisciplinary domain which entails electronics, IT and operations of the adopted industry. Areas such as software development, data management and analytics are likely to see strong growth as IoT adoption gains traction. Manu Kumar V, practice head-IoT, HCL Services Ltd, explains the prerequisites of getting an IoT-related job.

“An experience in doing multidisciplinary engineering projects with knowledge of at least two or three domains would come in handy. Apart from this, functional knowledge of big data is important as it’s a major force likely to drive the Internet of Things. Information security along with knowledge of data ethics and privacy policy would be increasingly sought-after as concerns over the potential exploits and privacy concerns of the web rises. The versatility of IoT makes collaboration skills knowing how to collaborate with people in different industries a key requisite for IoT pros.”

Insisting the hands-on experience of IoT, Ramachandran shared, “Someone willing to get into IoT should try developing a solution that can solve a problem. They may not create something big but can create something small to solve a real world problem. Once they really make a project in IoT, they will become employable. Watching videos on YouTube and reading literature may not help so much.”

Where are the jobs?

It is a known fact that IoT is a niche technology, and industries are still experimenting. In fact, startups are truly experimenting in this domain. Manu Kumar V asserts, “There are lot of startups dabbling in IoT which lack an in-depth knowledge of solution adoption and commercials that could be accepted at user ends. But I think the automotive industry is witnessing good traction in IoT followed by the healthcare sector. The increasing adoption of IoT is bound to have an impact on the job scenario in India. In India, IoT can be the key to ensure superior consumer engagement and enhanced quality of life, whether it is in retail, utilities, healthcare or in the government sector.”

Source: TechGig.com