IBM Helps Next Generation IT Workforce Build Critical Enterprise Software Skills

ORLANDO, Fla., June 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced it is working with Syracuse University to help college students build computing skills to manage traditional and new systems in large global enterprises.

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As business value creation increasingly shifts to software, the skills needed to tackle disruptive technologies like cloud and mobile computing, particularly for enterprise-class, large industrial systems, have become critical. Lack of employee skills in software technologies is cited as the top barrier that prevents organizations from leveraging software for a competitive advantage, according to initial findings in IBM's Institute for Business Value 2012 Global Study on Software Delivery.*

Syracuse University's Global Enterprise Technology (GET) curriculum is an interdisciplinary program focused on preparing students for successful careers in large-scale, technology-driven global operating environments.  IBM and a consortium of partners provide technology platforms and multiple systems experience for the GET students. IBM's Rational Developer for System z (RDz) and zEnterprise Systems help students build applications on multiple systems platforms including z/OS, AIX, Linux and Windows.

"Our students need to build relevant skills to address the sheer growth of computing and Big Data," said David Dischiave, assistant professor and the director of the graduate Information Management Program in the School of Information Studies (iSchool) at Syracuse University.  "These courses and the IBM technology platform help prepare students to build large global data centers, allow them to work across multiple systems, and ultimately gain employment in large global enterprises."

Close to 500 students have participated in the Global Enterprise Technology minor since its inception.  Syracuse University's iSchool is the No. 1 school for information systems study, as ranked by U.S. News and World Report, and serves as a model for other iSchools that are emerging around the globe.

According to IBM's 2012 Global CEO Study, including input from more than 1,700 Chief Executive Officers from 64 countries and 18 industries, a majority (71 percent) of global CEOs regard technology as the number one factor to impact an organization's future over the next three years – considered to be an even bigger change agent than shifting economic and market conditions. 

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