By Julie Bort
Network World, 07/23/01
In the words of the great playwright Tennessee
Williams, "We have to distrust each other. It's our only
defense against betrayal." Indeed, defending your company
from bad guys is currently your biggest worry, finds Network
World's second-annual Top Concerns survey.
To find out what's bugging you, we asked 100 network
executives from large companies to rate their concerns using a
scale of 1 to 10, with 10 equaling "most concerned."
With the help of market research firm Research Concepts, we queried
on four broad categories: technology, employee management, career
and industry. Then, we looked into 45 specific topics, ranging
from acquiring skills to implementing XML.
Of all concerns, "making sure the network was hackerproof"
topped this year's list, with a mean of 8.13. The more general "security
issues" topic landed second, at 7.84. Such worry is rooted in a double whammy,
respondents told us. Network executives must protect customer and company
data while staying abreast of changing technologies and threats.
"Hacker-related problems are where most of the damage is
done. Someone can break into our system and not only copy data, but also destroy
or endanger our system," one respondent explained. Another said: "We deal
with a lot of proprietary information. We've heard a lot of horror stories.
We don't want to be another statistic."
This
year, technology increased a notch on the overall concern scale,
bringing it on par with employee management worries, which had
been No. 1 in 2000. Forty-two percent of respondents named technology
as the overall area that concerned them most, while another 42%,
the same figure as last year, named management. In 2000, 38% named
technology. Several readers told us that technology migration,
particularly to Windows 2000, was causing the increased angst.
"Without a doubt, my greatest job concern revolves around
Windows 2000 and switching to or implementing the new platform. There are
major education and security ideas to be understood; there's the need to
educate users on the new features. I will be the one to answer all their questions,"one
respondent described.
|
If today's stormy economy comes with a silver lining, it's
the collective sigh of relief from IT. Business managers have learned that
Internet infrastructures implemented at breakneck speeds will not magically
generate growth. Consequently, sanity has begun to return to the IT project
workload.
Click
here for more.
|
|
Likewise, 10% named career as the general area
that most concerned them, while 6% said it was the network industry.
Interestingly, in this age of layoffs, concern lessened over career
this year, but rose over the state of the network industry. In
2000, 15% named career most concerning and 3% named the industry.
This shift has less to do with rocky vendor financials than
with the speed of industry change, respondents said. "Keeping up and getting
ready for Windows XP and Active Directory, XML and the next wave of technology
is my biggest concern," one participant summarized.
Third on your list of cares in 2001 is the item that ranked
first last year: "finding and retaining qualified employees." The softening
economy has loosened the job market, easing this headache, but not eliminating
it, as indicated by the 7.72 concern rating. Still, that rating is significantly
lower than last year's 8.36.
Recruiting distress has shifted from filling empty offices
to making do with less. "My biggest concern revolves around staff shortages.
I don't have enough people to do the work. I am not being allowed to fill
vacancies. It's like a Catch-22," one respondent explained.
That also explains the correspondingly high concern ratings
for all things training-related. "Acquiring skills in new and emerging technologies"
rated a 7.70. Close behind, at 7.68, loomed "keeping employees trained."
"Maintaining skills in established technologies" followed at 7.42.
As one executive put it: "I don't want to get out
of date at my critical level. People at my level tend to be complacent about
keeping up with technology. I need to keep current with industry trends and
developments."
Interestingly,
you were less distressed this year than last year on all items,
save six (see the Six on the rise
chart, below). Even then, only one - "supporting wireless
devices" — registered a significant jump, to 5.35 this
year from 4.83 last year. However, "developing applications
for mobile devices" earned only a 4.00 rating, the lowest
of all concerns.
Nearly all items relating to outsourcing were low on the list,
too, with the exception of the outsourcing firm's security. That item ranked
in the moderate-worry zone with a 6.15. But the general "outsourcing/outtasking"
issue rated 4.86, compared to 5.26 last year; finding outsourcers to handle
tasks rated 4.76, similar to 2000's 4.70; "implementing and managing application
service provider services" went from 4.22 in 2000 to 4.18.
All in all, returning to balance is your mantra.
You want to keep the Web technology you've implemented
well-guarded, stay staffed, increase your technical skills, train
your employees — and still make it home for dinner.
Ease your concerns with training
How training could be the cure for your insecurities.
Security
breaking news page
Stay up to date on threats to your net.
Security
research page
Resources on everything from hackers to intrusion-detection.
Network World
on Security newsletter
Stay up to date on security challenges
and solutions.
Network World
on Management Strategies newsletter
Advice, best practices,
news and information on improving your management skills.
Network
World Career Advisor newsletter
Pay as close attention to
your career as you do to your network.
IT Careers
Your one-stop shop for job listings, and management and career
news.
Apply for your free subscription to Network World. Click here.
Request a reprint or permission to use this article.
