In Hollywood, getting the right talent on a project can mean the difference between a blockbuster and a bomb. In the world of wireless e-commerce, it's pretty much the same story. Finding the right talent experienced in WAP and other new wireless technologies is key. But it's not easy.
Just ask Eric Illowsky, executive vice president at entertainment portal Hollywood.com. Five months ago, as part of a plan to launch wireless phone access to his site, Illowsky started sifting through some 30 rÃÆ'Æ'Ã,Ã,©sumÃÆ'Æ'Ã,Ã,©s in search of Wireless Application Protocol experts.
"We couldn't find anybody," said Illowsky. "We got rÃÆ'Æ'Ã,Ã,©sumÃÆ'Æ'Ã,Ã,©s from highly technological people who could learn." But, he said, training them on wireless technologies would take extra time and money.
Instead, Hollywood.com decided two months ago to outsource the development of its wireless site. Illowsky turned to WAP service provider Giant Bear.com. Hollywood.com launched the wireless site in April.
Like Hollywood.com, many e-businesses attempting to go wireless are having trouble casting the right talent. As a result, some are forced to look to outsourcing. But, experts say, those opting to bring in wireless talent should be prepared to lower their expectations, settling for candidates with histories of adapting to new technologies rather than insisting on people with years of wireless experience.
As development of wireless data and Internet services has skyrocketed in the last year, increasing demand is creating an "extremely tight" labour market for wireless IT professionals, said John Healy, national business development manager for Kelly Information Technology Services.
That tight market has forced one wireless Web technology company to fine-tune recruiting strategies for each of the geographic areas in which it operates.
Quios, a provider of wireless and Internet messaging services, has had success in its European locations finding IT employees with experience in SMS (Short Message Service). Many job candidates from European wireless carriers are anxious to join dot-com startups such as Quios, said Marc Vanlerberghe, the company's CEO and president.
Not so in the United States, where SMS is almost nonexistent and wireless Internet services have just begun to explode. Here, Quios has chosen to train new hires in the technologies and protocols of wireless, such as WAP and Wireless Markup Language.
The important thing, Vanlerberghe said, is that candidates for wireless training have experience in designing user interfaces for the traditional Web or engineering skills with HTML and the ability to learn new skills quickly.
Vanlerberghe said it takes about one month to turn such candidates into productive wireless Web developers.
On the bright side for dot-coms such as Quios, many IT employees are seeking to move into wireless Internet projects because of the appeal of working with hot technology, Kelly Services' Healy said. That trend has helped Quios land more job candidates. Last year, for example, only 20 percent of the candidates to whom the dot-com offered jobs accepted. Currently, the rate is 90 percent.
"We're in an industry where everyone realises that wireless is the next big thing, and if you're an engineer in the Internet industry, you're looking for the next big thing," Vanlerberghe said. "Going to the next e-tailer isn't that attractive."
