You’re probably asking yourself, “Where did this blond and bold Swedish dude come up with such a wacko title for a blog?” Well, it originated from a “doomsday” article I read about 10 At-Risk IT Jobs at baselinemag.com. First I have to say that the premise and conclusions in the article are real. Many IT jobs that paid top dollar and were in very high demand will probably be very hard to justify for any struggling organization. The cold reality of shrinking IT budgets, lack of investment dollars, and IT evolving towards an enabler for the business and not just a money-thirsty monster in a windowless basement, are the drivers for both the idea of the Advaiya Platform Vision and the cruel reduction of top-dollar IT jobs.

So how do I get out of this snag with a positive twist?

The Platform Vision might just be the best angle to start saving your career or how you plan to ensure that you add value to your business. First you might consider who you work for. A very charismatic and outspoken CIO that I used to work for mentioned and pointed out in every all-hands meeting that he held that we were not working for him, but for the shareholders. This is not only true in a large DOW listed corporation, but also for many small private firms. The small firm in many cases ultimately produces goods or services that are sold to a larger entity, but only as long as they provide added value. This might sound too trivial, but it is a key concept.

This is where thinking about IT in terms of a platform can guide you as the value you provide is closely related not only to increasing profit, but to how your skills can help to reduce cost and save money. Many of the jobs at risk in the article are only at risk when you see them as specialized skills applied to the technology silo of the product in question. But the risk can change if you look at your skills from a platform perspective. When you look at the graphical model of the Platform Vision, how many components are you familiar with? Do you have the business acumen or technology skills and experience to provide value through the entire platform?

If you are a business application developer, the platform approach is not only a good idea, but it is critical. The value you would provide would not only be related to one business application, but to the application spectrum aligned to the platform and also to interfaces between applications, users, and stakeholder communities. If you are in areas related to technical expertise and support, you will be able to extend your reach and influence by supporting not only traditional back-end IT areas, but also the platform’s front-end, mobility, communication, and collaboration capabilities.

When you are in any kind of technical project or middle-management position you need to tie you skills to both business and technology capabilities, and that is where a platform appraoch can be of exponential value to your job security. By aligning your skills with the platform, you will be able to guide business decision-makers in how they can use what the organization already owns, speed up user adoption, and utilize existing technology skills to accelerate Return on Investment (ROI) and reduce Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). The future is still looking brutal for many tech workers with automation and reduction in corporate headcount, but by anticipating and planning, you might just be driving the change instead of being a victim of the same.