Virtualization eats the world: top 8 IT requirements that weren't even around 5 years ago

Many of the new initiatives seen in the IT space -- much of which is built on virtualization and cloud approaches, have only emerged in the past five years. Yet, these are among the hottest skills sought by employers. 

In a new post at Wired, FusionStorm's Tony Balistrieri outlines the 8 key skills sought by employers of IT professionals these days. The key takeaway here is that organizations really need a flexibility and willingness to learn new skills as technologies continue to evolve: "The market is no longer looking for 'networking,' or 'server' or 'storage' specialists," he points out. Don't misunderstand -- these skills are all important -- but organizations need people who can apply these areas into the bigger picture, he adds.

The top technology areas that fit into this bigger picture consist of the following:

1. Software-defined networking (SDN): "It’s no longer sufficient to just be an expert at networking topologies, but you must have experience with virtualization and control panel methods," says Balistrieri.
2. Software defined storage (SDS): "New SDS platforms allow for simpler management of the data growth while also optimizing traditional storage and taking advantage of underutilized storage," says Balistrieri.
3. Virtualization: The root of software-defined anything.
4. Converged infrastructure: This is where organizations are seeing "the combining of server, storage, networking, virtualization, and automation software into a single platform," he relates.
5. Bring your own devices (BYOD): Finding ways to accommodate all those new devices.
6. IT as a Service: Delivering processing, storage, security and other tech capabilities through a vortualized service layer.
7. Platform as a Service: Delivery of databases, middleware, messaging application development and testing through a virtualized service layer. 
8. Cloud: Delivery of business and IT applications either through internal shared services or from outside providers on a pay-as-you-go basis.