Working in Information Technology

Business Sectors

Source: Target IT 2006, GTI Publishing

Author: Richard Maher, Head of Products, MoneySupermarket.com Financial Group Ltd.

Essentially, the sector is about developing products and services to offer to online customers. Financial services and online retail are a significant part of the industry and businesses seek to gain market share by providing unique content and services.

Financial services businesses see the Internet as an ideal service and marketing medium for their customers or potential customers. As a nation we are finding less and less time to carry out personal tasks, such as banking, and the Internet is a medium that is available around the clock. All major UK banks offer online banking where balances can be checked, payments made etc. While the Internet doesn't replace existing operations, it can help drive operational costs down - for example, marketing material can be produced for a fraction of the cost of glossy brochures.

Similarly, retail businesses can offer much lower costs to customers by having an online facility. Without the overheads of shops and associated staffing costs, their operating costs are much reduced and the savings can be passed on to the consumer. Many supermarkets these days offer online ordering and home delivery.

New developments

The advent of the Internet itself has obviously been the single biggest driver in this business sector. Since connections to the Internet are now much faster and easier to use, the Internet is now in most UK homes. One of the most significant developments in the sector today is security. Many consumers are still nervous about submitting personal information over the Internet and don't take the step forward from simple browsing to actually conducting a transaction online.

But as security and education about the issue increases, the number of consumers conducting business online should rise.

Skills required

There are a wide range of IT skills required but the core skills include programming, business analysis, quality assurance, servers, networks, desktops, applications and product support. As well as technical skills, a passion for the sector is a must - the Internet changes rapidly and to keep abreast of change you need to see you job as a real hobby. An understanding of how traditional businesses operate is also important, as usually what doesn't succeed offline won't succeed online. Other main qualities sought are dedication, willingness to learn, ambition, loyalty and adaptability.

Starting out

A plethora of opportunities exist in this sector, many of which require specific on-the-job experience. Many businesses look for some commercial experience, which is usually gained on a year out. It's not the end of the world if graduates don't have this but they need to be prepared to expect questions at interview.

Usually, there are also a few entry-level roles such as junior programmer, junior

• Working in a challenging and fast-paced environment where projects can deliver results very quickly.
• The world gets to see your work as the internet is available to everyone.
• Many businesses are growing rapidly, so career prospects are great.

Worst

• Occasional long hours.
• Times when something you have worked on for some time is either significantly changed or scraped due to a change in strategy.

Don't bother if...

...you don't like change - the nature of the Internet means businesses and strategies don't remain in one place or fixed for very long.

Computer Studies,

Software Engineering,

Business Mathematics,

Information Systems,

Information Technology and Multimedia Computing

As you would expect, the school has had a high speed Internet connection since the late 1980's and our skills, experience and expertise in developing systems for this medium have grown at a breathtaking speed. We provide an undergraduate course in Internet Computing which is targeted specifically at students wishing to work in this sector.

Our Knowledge Transfer Schemes and Enterprise links with actual local businesses give us first hand knowledge of how the Internet Business sector will develop in the future as well as giving us practical experience in developing Internet solutions to real-world business problems.

All of our undergraduate degrees include a year-out programme giving our graduates the elusive commercial experience which prospective employers seek.

For those graduates wishing to cross-train into the Internet Business sector we also provide Post Graduate programmes in Web Computing, Internet Computing and Computer Network Security.