Programming is the world's "new way of working" says Gartner's Gregor Petri in a new blog post, so why is it so difficult to get people interested in the field?

The financial services vertical could be big business for solution providers, especially in security, where nascent regulatory regimes and constantly changing threats create an environment rich with opportunities for companies with the guts and the know-how to dig in.

There's big interest in big data IT, according to a new report from Capgemini Consulting, with spending on big data projects expected to reach $114 billion in 2018.

But solution providers who see opportunity in the market for big data technology and services should beware: Big data is complicated and only a little more than a quarter of IT executives surveyed by Capgemini described their big data initiatives as "successful."

CIO magazine issued its annual survey in January, revealing a significant IT skills shortage.

Organizations will pay a premium to attract and retain data scientists capable of managing big data analytics and business intelligence projects, security and risk management professionals and software developers.

Beacon Systems Inc. and ManTech International Corp. have come to terms on a mentor-protege agreement under which the multi-billion dollar ManTech will provide senior-level mentoring to foster Beacon's growth and development.