Being an IT recruiter is an interesting profession. It involves in-depth knowledge of cutting edge technology without actually using it in day-to-day life. We work with candidates and clients who have phenomenal skills and requirements and the recruiter’s job is to have enough knowledge of multiple platforms and positions to not look like an idiot. I’m not saying that that doesn’t sometimes happen but we put in a lot of effort to minimise occurrences! So regular discussions in the office about new technological developments are essential to avoid those ‘Sorry, what’s that?’ conversations. I asked the team what trends were shaping the technology landscape in 2014 and to give some future predictions!

Time to ditch your wallet?

Still in formative stages and focused primarily on US college campuses, Clinkle is pushing the, what seems like, inevitable technology in mobile payments. The balance between security and convenience is a tricky one but making transactions seems to be lagging behind this increasingly consumer friendly world. Contactless payments for a morning coffee have made me truly resent having to (remember and) enter my PIN. At Clement May we reckon the way we pay is going to change in 2014 and businesses are going to have to keep up with the increasing demands of impatient consumers.

Battling big brother

After revelations about the NSA hit the headlines, the fear of big brother is everywhere. The public reaction has been noticeable with the rise of Swiss-owned app, Threema, an ultra-secure pretender to Whatsapp’s messenging crown. Privacy is big news and the era of relaxed communication methods is over. In the world of executive recruitment for high-end IT roles we pride ourselves in the discretion of our communication – we need to know our promises of privacy can be backed-up by our technology choices. We’ll be paying more for privacy by the end of the year.

Big data, big news?

Yes, I know it’s not new for 2014 but the famous algorithms of Netflix, Amazon and Ebay are going to filter down. The world’s going crazy for analytics as the solution to business success and there’s no doubt comprehensive analysis of data can enlighten and challenge practice. We predict user friendly, sophisticated consumer analytics are not far off but the challenge will be finding the expertise to unravel the stats to inform strategic decisions – data is meaningless without a savvy interpreter. Big data’s here to stay but the dominance of statistic-based strategy will also be challenged very soon – what else is on the horizon?

We don’t have the answers but I can assure you boredom is not a feature of IT recruitment. We learn every day and keeping up can be a struggle. The future is an exciting place and technology won’t wait for recruiters!