BI Jobs On The Rise

More and more, we've seen reports from consultants and trainers that BI hiring is on an upswing, and this month the readers of Business Intelligence Pipeline backed up those reports with their own anecdotal evidence that the job market is better than it's been in a long time.

More than half the respondents to our last poll -- 55 percent -- report that their organization will add BI staff this year. This is even more remarkable given that we ran the poll in late May and early June, when the year is already almost half over. Another 17 percent said their businesses might add BI staff, while only a little more than a quarter said they won't.

BI hiring is picking up on the vendor side in addition to the user side, according to some software makers. "The business is growing," Peter McBride, manager for workforce planning and staff at Cognos, told Business Intelligence Pipeline. "Market demand is increasing."

Cognos is adding to both its sales and services staff and its research & development group. So far the company has been able to fill its needs with "very top-notch talent," McBride says. A recent job fair in Ottawa attracted 1,800 candidates for Cognos' 650-strong BI R&D team.