csctechtalk

we are seeing significant client action being taken in several segments: big data business models, mobile business models, modernizing & migrating workloads out to the cloud, and integrating SaaS / XaaS back into the enterprise

cybersecurity, devops, orchestration, integration, and social media / collaboration capabilities are all key enablers in these segments

also, an integrated operational support system + business support system (OSS / BSS) is essential in making capabilities at all layers available "as a Service"

There's a big need for communication/translation skills - being able to understand the technology BUT relate it in business terms to the customer

Be interested to hear if people are seeing much demand for NoSQL databases with clients

The tools Theyaa used identify these as well. Communication, project management, leadership all show up as key skills in many areas

biggest skill imho is decision making in uncertain unstructured environments; being fluent in data, social media, and communication

using online tools is another great skill

I don't know the answer, but it would have to be something related to collaboration and communication -- right?

yes - sifting through the "noise" and extracting insights for decision support is getting more important as data traffic grows exponentially - plus associated industry knowledge for context (the "double-deep" principle)

@scronizer I think communicating with clients and translating vague business needs into a detailed and accurate yet concise technical spec is a rare and valuable skill.

also - SOLUTION ARCHITECTURE that can tie all of these "Outside-In" and legacy enterprise capabilities together to get results

@HenryHelgen Yes ... A clear spec is a memorialization of clear thinking.

Personally, I do this on LinkedIn as part of my profile there. I'm not sure I'm willing to duplicate that effort internally when you can see my skills/experience outside of the company.

In some ways LinkedIn becomes a portable inventory of some of my skills and experience. It would be nice if that could be integrated with an internal CSC portfolio that I only needed to update once.

Both employer and employee would seem to benefit from skills transparency.

@shartlen Makes sense. I think a lot of people do the same. And I'm not sure that many would be comfortable giving the employer API access to their LinkedIn profile.

Some people have been weary of this because your inventory of skills my reflect your long career but not your current interests.

@rickwilhelm Agreed. But there's also lots of room for misuse. I wonder if that fear is enough to halt progress?

Yes as long as it's a 2 way street and I know the skills I have to develop to stay on top of things.That sort of 2 way sharing can go a long way in reducing turnover, and thus boosting morale and improving culture, through retraining rather than replacing

I already maintain that information, in great detail, on LinkedIn. GRM's skills list is a bit dated, and may not be used as extensively as it could be.

@mtrusty3 CSC could use Linkedin as a skill inventory - what is the motivation for employees to use an internal tool in addition to LinkedIn. Internal job postings could also be put on LinkedIn and LinkedIn's jobmatching feature used

Agreed; I wouldn't relinquish that type of access to any company/employer.

But we always had GRM didn't we. Why did people choose to ignore GRM?

Sharing my skills with my employer benefits both parties, allows my employer to better place me in the right path, on the right projects. And, allows me to help my employer better understand my professional needs to progress!

GRM is very difficult to use if you are not a regular user. High entry barrier so people do not use it. Skills in GRM are not the hot skills. Uncertainty as to whether it is actually used to support peoples carreer.

We can use the same idea as LinkedIn in our GPARS, and the employees + manager working together for a specific time period would be able to endorse each other's skills with each GPARS iteration.

GHR Skills are seriously out of data and getting skills added is quite frustrating.

... with the same problem LI has: my good friend would vouch for me on all those funny skills.

I don't think we need another tool. We just need to get more efficient and effective at using some of the ones we already have.

Systems are often behind reality, especially when we are talking leading edge - is there a way to make the resource management processes and systems more agile that we can adopt?

but i think that increasingly sourcing inside the enterprise is mirroring sourcing outside the enterprise - lots of interaction via social media - for me, LinkedIn is almost as important for internal sourcing as it is for external sourcing

The RMs have been very helpful and responsive, but I've had to do the legwork to get my name and resume in front of them.

Sometimes half the battle is raising your profile (and getting noticed in the right way!) With all the transformation activities underway it's a good chance to jump in and use your skills more appropriately, and build your network

fwiw... Lots of work going on to improve the effectiveness of resource management. Still work-in-progress... but plenty of attention.

Paul, Rick - I've made a lot of new friends in the last two weeks. :-)

The key to porject success and skills development getting to the right motivated people to the right project and tapping into the cummunity

right, or for that matter, the whole stack of our BDaaS offering?

@eddie_satterly is working on a sandbox for BDPaaS

contact Eddie Satterly our Big Data CTO for the latest on what will be made available to CSC technologists with regard to BDPaaS

That would be a great opportunity for CSC employees to match theory with practice!

Don't know what CSC have but Hortonworks have an Hadoop Sandbox you can download for free that I plan to try

The idea is to take the skillsoft training and then have an area to practice outside our clients' networks.

Clients and individuals may not have the licensed or expensive technology available.

As before... contact @eddie_satterly He's certainly like-minded!

Have you looked at LinkedIn groups? There are lots out there. I've joined virtual and face-to-face learning and networking groups via LinkedIn.

@shartlen Thx, I'll have to try that. I like the chat sessions associated with Coursera, but you have to take the class to get the full impact.

Also Google+ is turning into a very nice techie community. Try looking at communities and groups out there; lots of good stuff happening there.

I think that the most difficult part of the MOOCs is actually to connect to "class mates" who work like you and are engaged. Especially with chat sessions, fora, and group work I find this the biggest challenge

@shartlen CSC's @solidkhare (AnuragK) is active on the #LinkedIn #Jira community. He's brought back a ton of learning (and contributed too)

@sorenhelsted Maybe these kinds of groups should be something we should start/build.

I mentioned MIT above (They are in edX with Harvard). I believe they provide a section where fellow students could participate, and allow non-paying ones to participate with the paid (to get credits) students.