Mason Diegel observed the frustrating pursuit of talent first hand while he was the CIO of Mitsubishi Silicon.
However, instead of getting caught up in the downside of the market, Diegel decided to take some action and recently formed ITupside.com.
The Portland-based site for independent contractors and IT companies concentrates on the ‘upside’ of the market.
According to Diegel, the goal of ITupside.com is to be a one-stop shop for independent contractors. “We will provide everything from 401k and medical benefits to a virtual office and reception services. Basically, we will be offering a virtual IT workforce,” says Diegel.
A recent report issued by the National Software Alliance projects that over the next six years the U.S. will need 137,000 new software workers annually to meet projected growth in software jobs.
This demand is driving the gap between supply and demand for IT talent and encouraging the growth of the independent IT contractor workforce.
Although there are various other dotcoms that have entered this lucrative market in recent months, Diegel believes that his company is unique because of its focus on industry-specific independent IT contractors.
“The talent an IT manager needs to find is often not only a skill-set matching their project schedule, it is also industry-specific knowledge,” says Diegel.
After performing a search, a company’s hiring manager receives a list of candidates ranked by percentage of match to the criteria (which includes both skill-sets and industry specific experience). Companies can then checkmark the candidates they are interested in interviewing.
Diegel plans to introduce videoconferencing to streamline the interviewing process.
The revenue model for ITupside.com is simple. Companies that decide to hire an ITupside.com candidate pay a one time fee/per project of $500. The independent contractor receives a percentage of this.
Diegel believes that the number of independent contractors will continue to increase from year to year as the need for IT talent increases, and companies shift from hiring full-time staff to hiring contractors to fulfill their needs on a project by project basis.
Although the Diegel vision of a virtual IT workforce can be implemented worldwide, for the beginning stages his company is targeting Seattle, Denver, Portland and Dallas.
The company will soon be announcing several partnerships with staff augmentation companies.
