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This is an in-demand occupation. In 2004 (the latest year available for such data), there were about 280,000 IT managers in the United States. And employment in computer and information systems management is expected to grow faster than the average for any other occupation through the year 2014, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
IT managers, in general, comprise a highly educated market, with the majority having at least a bachelor’s degree and many holding master’s degrees. As a result, average salaries are high. Median annual earnings in 2004 were $92,570, with software publishers paying the highest amount, $107,870, according to the Labor Bureau.
Demographics also point to a decidedly male market. CIO, one of the leading publications for this market, notes that its subscribers’ average age is 45, and 82 percent are men. Moreover, this market enjoys robust spending power. The average IT budget among its readers is $291 million, and 100 percent of subscribers are involved in IT purchases.
IT managers install and upgrade hardware and software; program and design systems; develop computer networks and the security needed to run them; and implement Internet and intranet sites. They also specify and/or buy hardware, software, consulting and programming services, telephony equipment, and myriad other goods and services. Job titles in this market include CIO, CTO, MIS director, project
manager, LAN/WAN manager, IS manager, application development manager, senior analyst and many others.
Kelsey Voss, circulation director of CIO Insight, a Ziff Davis Media magazine that covers the industry, notes that IT senior executives are a particularly busy group. Her research reveals that 38 percent of the publication’s readers say they have 50 or more IT projects planned within the next year. Capturing the attention of these harried managers may be tough.
Visionary Approaches Needed
Tim Babbitt, director of technology at Human Kinetics (HK), a Champaign, Ill.-based publisher of books and scholarly journals, says effective marketing messages for IT products and services should “be sensitive to my pain points, or where I am suffering the most today.” In particular, he looks for visionary approaches to solving IT problems.
For example, last year HK needed more servers, but its budget was limited. “We started using server virtualizations, which are computers that act as multiple servers.” He’d read about the service in trade publications and then followed up to get more data.
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