Though cloud computing and virtualisation could help companies to reduce their IT spending, the emergent technologies won't necessarily mean that IT workers should feel their positions are under the gun, at least according to one expert.

Speaking on trends development in IT solutions over the past decade or so, a senior figure from Dell Computers said IT workers shouldn't be worried about the rise of the cloud, as talented IT technicians will still be in high demand as adoption of the technology continues to soar.

However, Tim Griffin, Global Vice President for Services and Solutions at Dell, acknowledged that such shifts in technology trends tend to cause unease amongst some pixel pushers.

"This has been a problem for the IT profession for years," he said. "We’ve been through the [rumours] managed services were going to put everyone out of a job, but not everyone jumped onto the managed services bandwagon and I don’t [think] you’ll see everyone else jumping onto cloud."

Businesses would always have "a place for the IT technician" and though the cloud may grow in popularity, some services at certain firms would likely remain in-house.

"An awful lot of what companies need out of their dedicated IT resources never actually gets done because they’re tied up with the relatively mundane 'keeping the lights on' versus the more strategic projects that are enabling the future of the business," he said.

"My personal view is that you’re going to be seeing a hybrid model where people are going to [be] mixing on-premise and cloud, whether it’s software or IT."

Written by Jason Morton
 

Cloud won’t mean fewer IT jobs, says Dell exec