Business of Software

The Business of Software
Everything about the business of software, from the smallest shareware operation to Microsoft. A part of Joel on Software.
Buisness Skills key to success in IT
johntitenic@gmail.com
Business skills are essential for today's IT workers, according to exclusive new research from silicon.com. In our 2006 Skills Survey the overwhelming majority of respondents (83 per cent) said business skills are key to succeeding in IT. However, when asked to pick which is more important - business or technical skills - just over 60 per cent of respondents said both types of expertise are equally important to performing well. Only 20 per cent were willing to say business skills are more important than tech expertise, while 19 per cent said the opposite. The business skills most in need are - for the fourth year in a row - project management and leadership. Knowledge of an individual's employment sector and foreign languages also came high on the list, while budget planning is in least demand. The eighth annual silicon.com Skills Survey also revealed that - for the fourth year running - programming languages such as Java and C variants are the technical skills in shortest supply. Other skills in demand are web services such as .NET and J2EE; systems storage and network management; and enterprise resource planning applications including SAP and Oracle. Linux expertise, however, has become much more common - only five per cent of respondents said it's now in short supply compared to 15 per cent in last year's Skills Survey. The big question was whether there is a skills shortage and respondents were divided. Fifty-seven per cent agreed there is but 19 per cent said there isn't, with the rest saying they are 'neutral' on the topic. When it comes to filling IT positions two-thirds said they are able to find candidates for their job openings, much the same response as in previous years. The results are based on responses from 1,198 individuals.Article by Sylvia CarrThoughts?
~EricFriday, May 12, 2006

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Business skills are great assuming you already have the technical skills nailed down cold.If you can't do the technical part, then there's no need to hire you for your business skills, right?
Sassy Friday, May 12, 2006

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I am wondering what with business skill might be ment:operational business skills - how wall mart runs for examplesoft skills - how to talk with suitsgut skills - with what new idea the suite will come up tomorrowAnyone has an idea
Jürgen Friday, May 12, 2006

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I think business skills are important, but only the basic ones - the more about business you know the less you fit into the corporate drone lifestyle ;)I would advocate domain knowledge (from that sector) as being far more important than a "business wit".Besides, a person which is skilled in technology and learns quickly will be also quick to grasp other areas of the business - which is basicaly a large internetconnected system - just another one to add to the ones we deal with each day.
Marcin Brzezinski Friday, May 12, 2006

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You can make the most elegant, technically precise widget the world has ever seen, but if it doesn't match real-world business requirements it'll fail.I think business skills are the "key to success" in any technology field (unless you're doing abstract research) if "success" is defined as creating something many people truly need or want.
Tom RathFriday, May 12, 2006

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Sassy:I think that's implied; that you have the IT background. The article is really a survey and I was curious if folks agreed with it or not.Jurgen:You question is answered in the article:"The business skills most in need are - for the fourth year in a row - project management and leadership."Marcin Brzezinski:I think this is implied in the article. I think the article, without seeing the survey, implies that a hiring manager is looking to hire someone familiar with the buisness he is in. For example, I was hired by a pharmecutical company as Director of IT in a past life. The company was looking for someone who knew IT but also understood the pharma side of the business and how it operated. So I agree with your point but I think/assume this is, well, understood from the article already. Good point none the less!
~EricFriday, May 12, 2006

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Tom, I agree with you.However, where do you place marketing skills? Do you think marketing skills are equally as important?The article states project managers but I wonder if they also consider the role of sales & marketing in comparison.
~EricFriday, May 12, 2006

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>Do you think marketing skills are equally as important?I think marketing skills are the A-#1-primo most important business skill there is. If you haven't defined your market, you're just blindly hoping that what you're building will appeal to someone.Eric Sink's essays do a great job of pointing out to CS folks what the function of marketing is. It's a shame that most people think sales and advertising is all there is to "marketing". It's like someone ignorant of CS lumping systems analysis into QA and saying they're the same thing as coding because they all deal with computers.You're coding blindly if you haven't done some up-front analysis and design; and you're designing blindly if you haven't done marketing.
Tom RathFriday, May 12, 2006

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Both skills are important. Your microISV won't be so successful without both skills: business skill and technical skill. No matter how smart you are in developing software, you won't be success without business skill. At the same time, no matter how good your business skill is, you won't be success without technical skill.The good news is: you don't have to master both of the skills. But someone in your microISV needs to master each skill. You just have to have basic knowledge of both skills.Conclusion: Team work is the key to the success of your microISV. Steve Jobs and Wozniak is one of the examples.
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