Three research reports recently published by Computerworld have all confirmed Get Somebody Now's claim that success in IT will in future come less from technical skills and more on business ability.

Key skills include an intimate understanding of business architecture and processes, the ability to build relationships with internal and external customers, and to deliver genuine value through IT. The push for these kinds of competencies is coming from changes in consumer behavior, an increase in corporate mergers and acquisitions, outsourcing, the proliferation of mobile devices and growth in stored data'.

"For my money, the hot jobs in 2010 will be these enabler jobs: business enterprise architects, business technologists, systems analysts and project managers," says David Foote, CEO and chief research officer of Foote Partners LLC, in an article by Stacy Collett. "There is much more emphasis on the business domain and on project management skills than on the technical skills," says Kate Kaiser, an associate professor at Marquette University in Milwaukee. "It's not that you don't need technical skills, but there's much more of a need for the business skills, the more rounded skills," she notes.

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CertCities.com has released its top 10 of the hottest certifications in IT for 2006. The list is designed to signal future trends in IT and give professionals an idea on where they should focus their training efforts in the coming year.

The Red Hat Certified Engineer ticket comes in at number 1, 'yet another sign that Linux is becoming a real player'. In a confirmation of Get Somebody Now's statement that management skills are becoming an essential part of an IT professional's personal portfolio (see GSN's piece on employment trends in IT), the Project Management Institute's Project Management Professional Certificate makes it to fourth spot.

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For related articles on What Makes A Successful IT Contractor register now

You need to consider yourself as being an IT small business. You can join a recruitment agency that supplies IT contractors and consultants to clients, but you can’t expect them to do your selling and promotion for you.

Firstly, you need to know exactly what you have to offer, what specific skills and experience can actually make you significant money as an independent contractor or consultant. Perhaps there are some gaps; you may need to plug those with some courses or training.

Secondly, you need to know who you are going to sell your services to. It doesn’t make sense to target everyone. This is where researching the market comes in. This will enable to find out where the best opportunities are and perhaps where there is less competition.

If you believe you have the talent, skills and experience to be an IT contractor or consultant, you should go for it.

But if your experience is limited it might be worth working for someone else for a while so that you equip yourself to better compete in the freelance market.