Receive the latest technology news and information.

	Computerworld Daily News (First Look and Wrap-Up)
	Computerworld Blogs Newsletter
	The Weekly Top 10
	Cloud Computing

View all newsletters

E-mail Address:

Industry:

Job Title:

Company Size:

Country:

State:

I would like to receive offers via e-mail from Computerworld partners.

Hardware: The Shape of Things to Come

How your career can thrive in the data center market

Amy Helen Johnson Today’s Top Stories

or Other Hardware Stories

November 18, 2002 (Computerworld) -- Today's data center manager had better know as much about managing a budget as about troubleshooting a network failure. So says Jill Eckhaus, president of AFCOM, an Orange, Calif.-based professional organization for data center executives. "Data center managers are turning much more into business people, with a strong blend of business and technology," she says.

That's the result of a trend within the past seven years to align IT with the company's core business, she says. If job seekers can't demonstrate a mix of business and technical skills, they had better spend time in the classroom filling the gaps. Top data center managers are well paid, but finding a position is tough during this recession.

AFCOM has 49 openings posted on its job board. However, employers are being picky and looking for people who are utility players, says Eckhaus. "One of the things we noticed in the job postings is that they are for people who have skills across multiple platforms," she says.

Employee Spotlight
• Name: Marv Hamann
• Title: Director of computer operations
• Employer: Supervalu Inc., an Eden Prairie, Minn.-based wholesaler and distributor of food and general merchandise to grocery and discount stores

• 30-second resume: Hamann went to college with the goal of becoming an accountant. The financial skills he learned there have been useful to him in senior data center positions that involve budgeting responsibilities, he says. Hamann has worked in operations for 30 years, holding jobs at all levels of the data center: operator, supervisor and manager.

As his career progressed, Hamann says he sought out companies with larger data centers, then multiple data centers. Before joining Supervalu eight years ago as its data center manager, he had worked at the three companies in the Minneapolis metropolitan area with the largest data centers. Five years ago, Supervalu promoted him to director of computer operations.

• Skills boost: At his level, Hamann takes management training rather than technical courses, and he attends at least one every year. He also gets trained on internal issues, such as Supervalu's performance review and disciplinary processes.

That doesn't mean Hamann isn't up to date on current technology. But his knowledge encompasses the big picture, not command sequences for particular applications. "One of the key things," he says, "is being able to understand, from a capability standpoint, what each different platform can bring to the organization." That way, when someone proposes a new function for Supervalu's computer systems, Hamann understands the impact it will have on the entire environment and can slot the application into the best platform.

In addition to management skills, the general capabilities that are most important for any data center manager are organizational skills; the ability to define, implement and streamline processes; and problem-solving skills, he says. If you came up through the ranks, Hamann says, you've already learned the last one.

"Data processing managers are all firefighters from days gone by," he says. Hamann has also learned through hard experience. He once had to do a full-blown disaster recovery of a data center. Hamann has also moved a couple of data centers. He isn't eager to repeat either experience.

Skills
Unlike rank-and-file employees, data center managers need a college degree. They also need technical experience in a variety of systems. Employers want to see a work history that includes operations management and supervisory experience; this is a hard time to make the jump into a first management job.

Enterprise data center skills are in high demand, says Eckhaus. Knowledge of disaster recovery, backup systems, storage management, automation processes, continuous availability and Cobol is valuable, she says.

Training
A data center manager can get the desirable blend of technical and business skills through experience and a patchwork of certifications in areas such as networking and presentation. But there's a new training program targeting senior data center employees that offers an integrated course of study in both skill sets. The Institute for Data Center Professionals in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., is starting a three-level certification program for computer operations managers. The courses combine technical training with training in organizational skills such as financial planning and communications. At the higher levels, the center provides training in skills such as designing data centers.

Salary
According to Computerworld's 2002 Salary Survey, the average total compensation (including bonuses) for a data center manager is $94,354. Average pay for a computer operations manager is $76,799.

A financial services firm in Newark, N.J., is seeking a data center manager with more than 10 years' experience; base salary is $100,000. A manufacturer in Milwaukee needs a manager of computer operations with experience in Unix, MVS and Windows NT; base salary is $80,000.

Johnson is a Computerworld contributing writer.