A new survey from Computerworld indicates the most in-demand IT skills for 2012.

Computerworld polled 353 IT executives about their technology and hiring plans for 2012 in its annual IT forecast survey. The results provide valuable insight into which IT skills and expertise are likely to be the most sought-after in 2012. Companies will make significant investments in their IT workforces to bolster business in the year ahead; nearly 29% of respondents plan to take on new IT staffers through Summer 2012 – a whopping 45% increase in IT hiring expectations over last year's poll. The survey also reveals that companies will seek to gain a competitive advantage through technological innovation, not just “keeping the lights on,” as they plan next year’s IT hiring.

Here are the top IT skills in demand for 2012:

The new IT Salary Guide from technical staffing leader Robert Half Technology indicates the IT professionals who will enjoy the biggest pay raises in 2013.

The information technology job market will experience a 5.3% uptick in starting IT salaries in 2013, dwarfing the 2.9% average raise for all American workers. A clear skills gap in high-demand positions is the driving factor in IT salary hikes; cutting-edge fields like mobile app development, wireless networking and big data analytics currently have more job openings than qualified professionals to fill them.

Android and iOS application developers will score the biggest raise from 2012 to 2013, with a 9% increase in starting salaries, followed closely by network engineers and data scientists.

Here are the 10 IT job roles getting the biggest pay hikes in 2013:

In a tough job market, it pays to be strategic, and to look for positions in industries with the best opportunities for career growth and upward mobility. ITCareerFinder examined tech job growth rates from the leading unbiased employment sources, including the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, to identify the fastest growing IT careers for 2012 and beyond.

Here are the top five fastest growing IT career paths:

Earlier this week, Global Knowledge and TechRepublic published their highly anticipated 2012 IT Salary and Skills Report. Over 9,500 IT professionals completed this year's salary survey and questionnaire. Explore this infographic for the 2012 salary report's key findings, including wage comparisons by IT certification, job function, education, industry and geographic region.