Network infrastructure and management is an active service industry that has grown rapidly over the last two decade. Be it business organisations, service industries, banking and financial sectors, educational institutions and even general households, computer networks and the Internet are the primary working platform and are all dependent on this sector and its expertise. Better known as computer infrastructure management (CIM), it field deals with planning, decision making, maintenance and troubleshooting activities related to computer networks.
Scope
“A large part of CIM is networking — a collection of computers and related electronic devices and accessories all connected together through common mediums like network cabling or wi-fi technology (wireless technology). While the country and the world literally running their daily life on computers, the amount of man power required to upkeep these networks going is humongous. network can be used to transmit voice, data and even video between users, who are part of the network,” S George Varghese, instructor, Indian Institute of Hardware Technology Delhi says.
Computer networking has various layers and types, but as far as corporate houses are concerned, the requirements are different. large network availabilities require coordinated service that covers the hardware, network and software requirements. Network system management is a part of network support service that help to integrate and manage multi platform distributed systems, networks and multi vendor services.
Computer infrastructure professionals are critical for the functioning of a typical software firm. It totally depends upon the experience of the network administrator as it opens up opportunities for him/her to further experiment in their career. As a matter of fact, there are ample examples where CIM professionals, after working in the industry for some time, have ventured out and started their own firm.
Skills Required
“In order to become a successful professional in this field, aspiring candidates must to have a good understanding of various hardware technologies surrounding computers and related electronic devices and accessories. Moreover, this field evolves on a daily basis and a six-month to one-year old technology might be considered obsolete. Hence, it becomes important for professionals to always be up to date with the working knowledge of the changing technologies,” RK Mittal, director, Mahan Institute of Technology says.
Job Prospects
In today’s world the need and dependency on technology is paramount. Due to the extensive manpower requirement this field becomes extremely lucrative for aspiring professionals. “Every office today has a dedicated technical support team who run and maintain the networking, computer management and internet usage in the organisation. As a result of which, IT professionals and system administrators are being hired by the business houses for smooth communication and operation. Also, there are several courses available for professionals to constantly keep updating their resume and increase their specialisations. This not only helps in enhancing their knowledge but also ensures constant promotions at their job front,” Mittal tells you.
Remuneration
Salary in computer infrastructure management starts from Rs3 lakh to Rs5 lakh per annum. These packages are often offered to freshers during their placements after the completion of their courses. However, with three to six years of experience, salary can go up to Rs7 lakh to Rs9 lakh per annum. As the number of years of experience multiplies, one can get better pay packages.
Where to Study
There are various universities and institutes in the country which offer courses in network administration, network infrastructure and management, PC assembling and hardware technology and many more such courses. Here is a list of a few institutions:
ManavBharti University, Solan
International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad
Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal
Amrita School of Engineering, Coimbatore
International Institute of Information Technology, Pune
Mahatma Basaweshwar Education Society’s College of Engineering, Maharashtra
ShaheedRajguru College of Applied Sciences For Woman, Delhi
KGiSl Institute Of Information Management, Coimbatore
Malla Reddy College of Engineering & Technology, Hyderabad
Schoolof Technology and Applied Sciences, Kochi