SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION: Technology Career Advice
Washington, D.C., is Fertile Ground for Innovations
For those career seekers with software development backgrounds, Washington, D.C., is fertile ground for innovations in this sector. According to Anne Lipman, president & CEO of ALTEK Information Technology, business intelligence software is at the core of this innovation and growth. “Technology development is practical and meets business needs,” she said.
Lipman said data warehousing is another area in which cutting-edge software development is happening, and the demand for new development continues. “This area is hot and growing as large repository data needs to be held and stored and data must be accessible for dashboard and reporting.”
Other software evolutions are taking place with data manipulation applications, particularly in the area of personal health information (PHI). Lipman said online analytical processing (OLAP) is being developed and enhanced for the purposes of meeting government mandates on housing PHI and other medical information. “Think about how much medical and health information is stored on Veterans, for instance.”
Lipman, who places candidates in both government and commercial sectors, said, “The fastest area of growth we see is in our Healthcare division where we supply contract, contract to permanent and direct hire talent in support of Healthcare initiatives.”
In general, the D.C. metro area is a hot bed of large government projects that are required to adhere to all new legislation. The byproduct of achieving this compliance is continually improved and/or new software development, according to Lipman.
Eric Gundersen, president and co-founder of Development Seed, a D.C. tech development firm and mapping team, said that open source mapping tools are also part of the software development frontier in the area. “Data visualization is becoming key for a lot of organizations and the new open source tools under development are faster, easier to use, and make more beautiful maps than anything else out there. Just look at the recent launch of TileMill.com. People are featuring this new open source map design studio in several DC tech meetups, and we are seeing rapid adoption with the Department of Education launching their broadband mapping initiative using TileMill and NPR using it for their new Facebook i(heart)NPR campaign. It’s cool to see tools produced and consumed locally, because when you have this mixing of talent and need you are going to see rapid innovation.”
Nicole Hardin, vice president of search for HireStrategy, a D.C.-area full-service placement firm, said, “With the government participating in modernization projects, the private sector continues to invest in technology to speed efficiencies and gain competitive advantages. The demand for technology experts that can aid in the creation and implementation of this technology is at its height and will continue to grow. These market dynamics combined with the diminishing number of graduates in computer science, electrical engineering and mathematics is creating the perfect storm for an extremely competitive, candidate driven marketplace.”
Hardin said, “With the rates of graduation in science and math programs diminishing combined with the demand and consumption of technology by businesses and consumers, there appears to be a very long runway for those who invest in their technology skills.” According to Hardin, The D.C. metro area has in recent years grown to be a technology hub, and unlike the previous technology boom, the area tops the list as the place for innovative technology companies.
This special advertising section was written by Jennifer Leeper, a freelance writer, in conjunction with The Washington Post Custom Content Department. The production of this supplement did not involve The Washington Post news or editorial staff.
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