Technology Graduates Should Know

Top Three Trends that IT and Technology Graduates Should Know

Singapore is presently focused on the development and pervasive adoption of digital and smart technologies.

Trend #1

Cloud computing

According to Alibaba Cloud 2021, Singapore has become one of the top adopters of cloud computing in Southeast Asia, with almost nine in 10 tech decision-makers indicating their companies are already using cloudbased services.

Furthermore, Alibaba Cloud’s Cloud in Asia 2020 survey found that seven in 10 companies felt that a hybrid cloud approach was instrumental in their company’s recovery following the lockdown and subsequent recession. In other words, this means that the industry can expect more intense competition, more consolidation among cloud service providers, and lower prices for small business and enterprise users.

With cloud computing seen as an integral cog in Singapore’s Smart Nation plan, it’ll continue to be a central component in a majority of organisations in the coming years.

What this means for graduates

Since most jobs in the cloud have simply been taken up by employees already working in IT and technology, there hasn’t really been a huge demand for people with a cloud skill set. In addition, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that have adopted cloud computing no longer need internal IT departments, as most systems come with after sales services, making companies less reliant on their own departments to maintain and fix issues.

Still, this is the age of digital innovation, hence demand for graduates specialising in cloud computing is high. However, keep in mind that most roles require a profound knowledge of specific technologies, such as Open Stack or Amazon Web Services. Cloudcomputing candidates should also be adept in several programming languages and frameworks, such as Python and Java.

Because it’s almost impossible to learn them all, it’s fine to focus on a couple of popular skills, such as Amazon Web Services, for instance, as it’ll likely continue to be a major cloud player over the next few years. But keep in mind that with how dynamic the industry can be, it’s possible that new entrants might cause shifts in dominances within the cloud scene.

Trend #2

Big data

Over the past few years, it’s evident that data has become the new oil of the digital economy – and it’s not hard to see why. By mining their millions of users’ data and utilising them to gain advertising revenues, companies like Facebook and Google have found themselves dominating the digital sphere as a result.

They track the news clicked, any searches made and even how long cursors hover in a particular section of a webpage. Considering Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page and Sergey Brin are now billionaires, big data’s a lucrative business if a firm knows how to make full use of it.

But it’s not just about getting advertising money. With today’s digital culture generating massive amounts of data, companies also use it to gain insights into customer behaviour, learn more about their workforce, improve decision-making and drive growth.

What this means for graduates

More companies are delving into big data, even SMEs. In 2017, the Singapore government set aside $80m under the SMEs Go Digital Programme to help local businesses with more advanced needs – such as data analytics and AI.

In tandem with the government’s support, demand for such major datacentric roles have witnessed a sharp spike in the small country over the past few years, and will likely continue to increase together with wages for positions like data scientists and data analysts.

However, the focus on big data isn’t uniform across all sectors, with telecommunications, IT development, life science and banking services employing most data specialists.

Candidates keen on specialising in big data typically have backgrounds in computer science or mathematics. Despite that, though, it takes more than just skills in tracking and gathering large amounts of data; companies need their employees to have the business acumen to connect data with actions that will boost operations and profitability.

Trend #3

Cybersecurity

When Singapore went into lockdown in 2020 and remote working became the norm, the rate of cyberattacks quickly rose. As a new study by Barracuda reported, 51 per cent of businesses in Singapore said that they experienced at least one cybersecurity incident or data breach during the lockdown.

This highlights the urgency of cybersecurity measures as enterprises rush to adapt to the new normal, and the number of cyberattacks are predicted to rise as more organisations move online to better facilitate new working models.

Still, these cybersecurity incidents are only the latest in a long string of cases that occurred in Singapore over the years, with the most well-known a cyberattack in early 2017 that caused the personal details of about 850 national servicemen and Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) personnel to be leaked.

But alarmingly, even though 41 per cent of SMEs implemented digitisation initiatives to drive revenue in 2020, the high costs of cybersecurity mean that 48 per cent of companies in the city-state still don’t have up-to-date cybersecurity solutions or strategies, leaving them vulnerable to future attacks. Although the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) launched the Safer Cyberspace Masterplan 2020 to close the gap by offering SMEs free cyber health screenings, many opportunities in the sector can still be found as demand for cybersecurity specialists remains high.

Moreover, the government is pumping more than S$16m into the country’s cybersecurity R&D to strengthen the sector.

What this means for graduates

The government’s investments in this area mean that there’s a strong focus on the recruitment and training of skilled individuals who’re looking to pursue cybersecurity as a career option, especially within the public sector.

MINDEF, for example, has introduced a short-term contract scheme whereby they train full-time national servicemen who have an aptitude for cybersecurity to be cyber defenders in the regular service.

And with the law of supply and demand at work, IT and technology graduates, who start in the cybersecurity field, generally receive a starting salary that is 10 to 15 per cent higher than their peers from other faculties, according to IT security firm CyberArk.

For those looking to take up a cybersecurity-focused role, look out for the following key phrases in the job description: penetration testing, malware testing, threat intelligence, security monitoring, security risk and security compliance.