Tech firms seek workers

Leaders focused on need to maintain security of companies’ IT systems

Many Phoenix area tech companies are on a roll, while companies in various other industries are beefing up their own technology staffs.

Metro Phoenix is a far cry from Silicon Valley, with few big technology companies headquartered here and comparatively modest venture capital and breakthroughs in innovation.

But tech continues to expand its presence, with more hiring and additional companies setting up shop here.

Some firms, like Bishop Fox, a cybersecurity consulting company, started here and are growing. Others, like Acronis, a global data-protection business, began as startups elsewhere but are setting up offices here. And many of the Phoenix metro area’s few large semiconductor-focused companies are on a roll, while companies in various other industries — from health care to retail — are beefing up their own technology staffs as a necessary cost of doing business.

Put it all together and hiring in technology is robust, with vacancies that can be difficult for companies to fill, even while offering generous salaries and perks.

These skills are in demand

Job candidates with three to five years of experience in network security, systems administration, web development, software engineering and other areas often can expect pay offers of $100,000 to $130,000, said Kathleen French, Phoenix market manager for Robert Half Technology, a job-placement company.

That’s in addition to benefits such as health-insurance coverage and perks ranging from work-at-home options to fun Fridays with beer and wine stocked in the company refrigerator.

“Even people with a year (of work experience) under their belts and ambition” are in demand, French said.

Job growth in the Phoenix metro area rose 1.7 percent over the past 12 months through October, according to the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity. Employment in the professional/scientific/ technical services subcategory jumped 4.8 percent.

Even those figures likely mask the true growth in tech hiring because companies in virtually all other industries need more help, too.

“It cuts across all industries, and health care is huge,” French said.

Tech hiring in the Phoenix metro area should remain strong in 2018, according to a Robert Half Technology survey of roughly 100 chief information officers in the Valley, with 22 percent of respondents planning to add full-time staff over the first half of 2018, up 8 percentage points from a year earlier.

“The first few months of the year are typically some of the busiest for tech hiring, as budgets have been approved, projects are getting off the ground and companies need to fill open roles,” French said.

Robert Half Technology ranks Phoenix 11th among metro areas where tech hiring is expected to rise the most during the first half of 2018. San Diego was first, followed by Atlanta and New York.

Metro Phoenix CIOs who participated in the survey said it continues to be difficult finding skilled IT professionals. Top specialties in demand include network administration, telecommunications support and desktop support.

Security a key concern

Asked to name their top priority for the next six months, 28 percent of Phoenix-area CIOs cited the need to maintain security of IT systems and safeguard company information.

Other priorities include technology innovation/investing in new technologies, innovation/help in growing businesses, upgrading existing systems for improved efficiency and staff retention.

The safeguarding of critical systems helps to explain the growth of Bishop Fox, a security-consulting firm that now counts around 100 employees, with roughly half in Arizona and the rest in other states. The Tempe-based company is looking to hire more consultants — many of them basically hackers who probe client websites, apps and other systems for vulnerabilities, then report their findings and recommend fixes.

Clients include large corporations in health, finance, technology and other fields, said Francis Brown, who cofounded Bishop Fox in 2005. The spread of the internet of things, artificial intelligence, drones and other systems will hasten the need for strong defenses, he added.

“When we started the company 12