It’s no secret that a skills gap continues to plague the IT industry. According to a recent Gartner study, talent availability is cited as a leading factor inhibiting adoption among all six technology domains included in the survey – from compute infrastructure and platform services, to network, security, digital workplace, IT automation, and storage and database.
As organizations begin to recover from the pandemic with an increasing demand for digital transformation, lack of in-house IT skills will become the biggest obstacle.
Talent shortage has become the most significant barrier to cloud adoption
A recent Forrester survey found that 67% of enterprise infrastructure decision makers in North America and Europe had adopted internal and hosted private cloud models while 64% had implemented public cloud. Cloud migration, adoption and management requires different set of skills that can’t be built overnight.
In its "2021-2023 Emerging Technology Roadmap" based on surveying 437 global firms, Gartner found that IT executives see the talent shortage as the most significant barrier. Another Gartner report points out that more than 50% of organizations in 2022 are expected to fail to meet their company cloud adoption goals because of a lack of in-house skills and experience.
Cybersecurity skill shortage: demand overwhelms supply
Often, as organizations look to strengthen their cybersecurity defense, the first road block is a lack of expertise. It’s estimated that the cybersecurity workforce needs to grow by 145% to meet increasing demand[1].
With increased data distribution across the network, it is beyond the capabilities of many organizations to properly secure it. Multiple products from multiple vendors may be required to secure an attack surface, including on-premise, cloud, mobility, and IoT environments. Many organizations simply can’t afford the additional controls required to secure this new attack surface, and those that can, may quickly realize they lack the in-house staff and skill sets to properly manage them.
[1] ”Strategies for Building and Growing Strong Cybersecurity Teams: (ISC)2 Cybersecurity Workforce Study, 2019” International Information System Security Certification Consortium, Inc. (ISC)2, 2019
Managed Services can help you bridge the IT skills gap
When in-house teams are not fully equipped to deal with the pace of change and the ever-increasing technology innovation that come with it, it is no surprise that many are increasingly turning to managed service providers for cost-effective skill sets and services. With an experienced Managed Service partner, your organization will benefit from:
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Access to wide-ranging IT skill sets without incurring the operational hiring / staffing overhead. An expert MSP stays current with technology innovations and is able to offer professional recommendations on which technologies and upgrades your business should consider.
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Peace of mind knowing your IT environment is secure and supported 24x7 beyond simple monitoring and device management. For example, a Managed Security Operations Centre (SOC) is a team of specialists who are trained and certified in cybersecurity best practices, tools, and techniques. They understand the different types of cybersecurity attacks, compliance requirements, threat trends, and target vulnerabilities.
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Simple and predictable financial models no matter how your business and IT needs are changing. With Managed Services, you can choose the right level of services that allows you to easily manage and prioritize your IT strategies for future growth.
Blair Technology Solutions is at the forefront of this security-first digital transformation movement. Our award-winning Managed Service offerings can help you build a proactive IT strategy. Our proven methodology and expertise will ensure your focus remains on your current and future business objectives.
