SALARY SURVEY 2013 - Robert Walters Singapore

TOKYOTOKYOINFORMATIONTECHNOLOGYTECHNOLOGYVENDOR&CONSULTINGTOKYOINFORMATIONTECHNOLOGY-TECHNOLOGYVENDOR&CONSULTINGINFORMATIONTECHNOLOGY-TECHNOLOGYVENDOR&CONSULTINGRobertWaltersGlobalSalarySurvey2013 316OurITvendorteamspecialisesinrecruitingforfirmsprovidingtechnologyproductsandsolutions.Weplaceprofessionalsonapermanentandcontractbasisacrossanumberoftechnology-relatedsectorsincludinghardware,software,consulting,telecommunicationsandmobile.MarketOverviewWewitnessedstrongdemandforvendorfirmsin2012asmanycompaniessoughttoreducecostsbyoutsourcingtheirtechnologyfunctions.BigdataprovidersrecruitedparticularlyactivelyasmoreofthesebusinessesenteredtheJapanesemarketinlinewithgrowingglobaluseoftheseservices.Bothestablishedglobalfirmsandsmallstart-upenterpriseslookedtogainmarketshareinthisunderdevelopedspace.Thesecompaniespredominantlyrecruitedpresalesprofessionalstopreparetheirproductsforthemarketandeducatepotentialclientsastotheirvalue.Moreestablishedbigdatacompaniestypicallysoughtsystemsengineerstodevelopandmaintaintheirexistingprocessesandinfrastructure.Followingthe2011earthquake,manybusinesseseitherreliedoncloudservicestorecovertheirdataorlookedtoimplementthesesystemstosafeguardthemselvesagainstfuturedisasters.Asaresult,cloudcomputingproviderswereactiveintherecruitmentmarket.Companieswerealsoinvestinginsoftwareasaservice(SaaS),specifically,customerrelationshipmanagement(CRM)software,becauseoftheextraconvenienceandimprovedefficiencyitoffered.Thisledtoincreasedjoblevelswithinthesebusinesses.BothcloudcomputingandSaaSserviceprovidersrecruitedprofessionalsincustomer-facingpositions,whichledtoincreaseddemandfor‘solution’consultantsinvolvedinthepresalesprocess.Systemsengineersspecialisedincloudserviceswerealsoindemandtodevelopandmaintaintheirserviceofferings.However,duetothemarketbeingcandidateshortinthisarea,employersoftenconsideredengineersfrominfrastructurebackgroundswiththeintentionofretrainingtheseprofessionalsincloudtechnologies.Therelativelyrecentemergenceofallthesetechnologiesmeantthatthesupplyofprofessionalsexperiencedinbigdata,cloudtechnologiesandSaaSwasextremelylimited.Solutionconsultantsinparticularwereinshortsupplygiventhetechnicalexpertiseandcustomerserviceabilityrequiredforthesepositions.Asaresult,companiesstruggledtofindexperiencedworkersin2012.Whilesomeindemandpre-salesengineersreceivedsalaryincreases,mosttechnologyvendorsalariesremainedconsistentwith2011levels.Individualsmovingrolesoftenreceivedamodestsalaryriseprovidingtheirnewpositionincorporatedadditionalresponsibilities.Duetoprofessionalsbecomingincreasinglyinterestedincloudandbigdataservices,firmsweretypicallypreparedtobidetheirtimetofindcandidatesthat‘tickedeverybox’ratherthanrushingtofilleachpositiontheywererecruitingfor.ContractUseofserviceprovidersgrewin2012ascompaniesfocusedonreducingcosts.Duetoashortageofprofessionalswithrelevantsectorexperienceseekingpermanentopenings,businessesinsteadsoughtcontractorswithmoregeneralindustryexperiencetoensureprojectswerecompletedonschedule.Competitionforbusinessamongstvendorfirmswasintense,whichledtomanyloweringtheirbidstowintechnologycontracts.Asaresult,contractorratesdecreased.Despitejoblevelsrisingforinfrastructureengineers,serversupportprofessionalsandnetworkadministrators,ratesfortheseprofessionalsfellby10-15%.Outlookfor2013Weexpectthejobsmarkettoremainconsistentin2013,meaningbigdataandcloudserviceproviderswillcontinuetohire.Demandislikelytopersistforpresalesprofessionalsandsystemsengineers,creatingslightupwardpressureonsalaries.Firmsmoreadvancedintheirsalescyclewillbeginfocusingonimplementingtheirtechnologyservices-asaresult,thesebusinessarelikelytorecruitforconsultants,projectsmanagersandsystemsengineersexperiencedintechnologyimplementation.Salesforceautomationisanothertechnologythatisanticipatedtogrowin2013.Companiesareexpectedtoincreasedemandforsmartphoneandtouchpanelsoftwaretoimprovetheefficiencyoftheirsalesprocess.Todeveloptheseautomationproducts,vendorfirmswillrecruitengineerswithexperienceinSaaS.WeexpectITprofessionalstobecomemoreopentoopportunitiesinvendorcompaniesduetofewerjobsbeingavailableinothersectors,suchasfinancialservices.Asaresult,contractorratesarelikelytostabilisein2013.