Half of U.S. I.T. Operations Jobs to Vanish

Ant writes "A MacCentral article says Gartner, Inc. researchers believe that as many as 50 percent of the IT operational jobs in the U.S. could disappear over the next two decades because of improvements in data center technologies. Donna Scott, a Gartner analyst, said IT workers face a situation similar to that in the manufacturing field, which has lost jobs over the past several decades as automation has improved. Similarly, standardization of IT infrastructure, applications and processes will lead to productivity improvements and a major shift in skill needs, she said."

Comments

Improvements in data center technologies?

[Nine Tenths of The W]

Is that a new way of saying outsourced to India?

Re:Improvements in data center technologies?

[Anonymous Coward]

In twenty years time, India will be considered too expensive. Maybe Afghanistan will be the hot new outsourcing destination by then...

Re:Improvements in data center technologies?

[AKnightCowboy]

No actually the goal would be to eliminate the need to even outsource at all, as you don't need that many people. It will eventually be achieved, just look at how farming and manufacturing has moved. Always towards higher efficiancy. Simply outsourcing isn't exactly efficient.

Besides, this is a GOOD thing. This will free up more of our time to devote to entertainment and learning. Granted, we will need a major cultural and economic shift towards a system where the state provides equal access to resources for all whether you are employed or not, but that is not a big deal. Imagine a world where the only people that have to work are those that WANT to work and the rest of us can sit and play games or read books or watch TV all day and not worry about where the food will come from or the housing will come from. It will be provided by the government.

Re:Improvements in data center technologies?

[Qui-Gon]

Are you French? or A Communist?

Re:Improvements in data center technologies?

[TheQuantumShift]

And that reminds me of one of my favorite dilbert cartoons...

"Today Asok the intern learns that life is not like 'Star Trek'."

I would like this sort of world myself, but unfortunately I think Paramount got it right... it's gonna take a couple hundred years.

Re:Improvements in data center technologies?

[VAXGeek]

"I am a COBOL programmer from the '80s"

No wonder no one can get a job! We have to compete with guys from the 80s!

Re:Improvements in data center technologies?

[Taladar]

You won't have to design it. It is already there. The Automation Tools are called shell script and the platform best suited for them is Unix.

Uk government

[Turn-X Alphonse]

If it's anything like the systems the UK government use then we'll be fine. We'll all become tech support staff!

Bugs

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't worry ... I'm busy adding countless bugs and security flaws....send more beer and I'll try harder.

Damn you Bourne!

[oliveaddict]

Damn, I am going to be replaced by my own shell script.

Wait....

[Stupidhead]

You mean to tell me that the .COM boom is finished?

Quoting Charles Wang on Gartner

[whatthef*ck]

"I want to choose my words carefully here, so I'm not misunderstood," he said. "They're a bunch of fucking idiots."

Re:Yeah, right. 2024 will be exactly like that.

[motherjoe]

Yeah, I am still waiting for my flying car and domestic robot to all my chores. :)

Re:Helpdesk

[Phleg]

Of course it can be automated. We just need to automate users first. Possibly with a small shell script.

Re:10 to 20 years

[eclectro]

It just means we will be doing other IT related stuff.

Like operating the point-of-sale terminal at the local Piggly Wiggly???

Re:Yeah, right. 2024 will be exactly like that.

[BurritoWarrior]

Not true. Just look at this:

Dear Mom,

I know you don't think I can see the future but I can. In 2004 we will all be selling the shit out of our basements on eBay, listening to huge music libraries on devices the size of a deck of cards and spending our work days trolling Slashdot.

Now please get me out of this place. I don't like the doctors and want to come home.

Love,
Your son the burrito
Dec. 14th, 1984.

Re:Historically..

[upsidedown_duck]

this is like a knitter knitting a loom that could, in turn, knit other sweaters or auto-generate looms or something along those lines.

Thus creating the pink goo phenomenon, where the world is consumed by pink warm fuzzy mufflers.

Re:10 to 20 years

[Brandybuck]

Tell that to people in the rust belt who lost their manufacturing jobs in the 70s and haven't found a replacement in 30 years.

Screw that! What about all the people who lost their jobs when the buggy whip industry when belly up? They still haven't found a replacement in 100 years.

Re:Helpdesk

[Yorrike]

while(!pr0n){
complain();
}

back to the toll booth

[AbsurdProverb]

They mean to render my A+ certification even more useless? NOOOOOOOO!

Self-scan needs some work

[Bozdune]

Slow, booming female voice: "Place your (pause) 'Comfort Shit hemorrhoid cream' (pause) on the belt."

Slow, booming female voice: "Please place your (pause) 'Comfort Shit hemorrhoid cream' (pause) on the belt."

Slow, booming female voice: "Please make sure that your (pause) 'Comfort Shit hemorrhoid cream' (pause) is on the belt."

Slow, booming female voice: "Please call the attendant to clear your (pause) 'Comfort Shit hemorrhoid cream' (pause) from the scanning area."

Right. It's gonna take some work, at least in my local Stop & Grope.