When most people think of Greater Des Moines, they don’t think of a hot information technology (IT) scene.

That’s the consensus of a report scheduled to be released by Alliance Technologies Inc. on April 14, which outlines the condition of Des Moines’ IT and technology industry.

Using its network of 100 employees serving about 800 customers, Alliance’s report is designed to give a “conceptual” look at what is happening in the industry, using on-the-ground insight. This is the first year Alliance has released the report to the public, but the company has done it for a number of years internally. What the company found is that Des Moines should be an attractive place for IT specialists, but the perception is different.

“We have a lot of jobs and a very strong IT community in Central Iowa,” said Alliance CEO Mike Lang. “The lifestyle that goes along with that is very strong, but it’s just not known in the marketplace.”

Alliance estimates that the local IT sector grew an estimated 5 percent overall in 2010, with nearly 500 new jobs. The problem is that there are additional jobs unfilled that require workers who have five to 10 years of experience.

That stems from the lack of a well-known IT employer in the area, Lang said. Silicon Valley has Google Inc., Apple Inc. and numerous others. Austin, Texas, has Dell Inc. and “a whole slew of start-ups.” Des Moines doesn’t have a large company strictly focused on IT. That leads to a perception that Des Moines is not an attractive place for IT or other technology-related jobs, and prompts professionals in that field to look elsewhere.

In addition to the need to change job seekers’ perceptions of Central Iowa, the traditional IT job description is outdated. No longer is the profession just for people who can crank out code; it now requires soft skills that could be more attractive to people looking to get into the field, Lang said.

“The good ones that can really be creative and really help an organization thrive and grow have these soft skills, (including) strong communication and effective leadership,” he said. “We need people that can work with end users, develop specifications, communicate the specs to the programmers as well as do the programming and developing and testing.”

Beyond the IT industry report, Alliance looked at technology trends among companies it works with. Highlights include:

• Virtualization technologies: Alliance saw a 20 percent increase in virtual desktop infrastructure, which allows users to access their private desktop from a centralized server, meaning it can be accessed anywhere. It allows individual computers and laptops to save storage space and companies to save money, Lang said.

• Hosted services: For small businesses, a similar concept of using “cloud computing” is starting to gain traction. The cloud model allows a business to run its services through an outsourced data center, meaning no applications are run through the company’s server.

• Security: Alliance has had two instances where customers have lost money through online virus software. “You are going to start seeing it more and more,” Lang said.