Expediting IT in the Wake of Ever-increasing Demands and Problematic Talent Shortages

Intelligent, Automated Infrastructure Means Increased Speed and Agility, and Better Customer Service with Less Hassle

Published February 2021

Expediting_IT

IT innovation comes in waves. Cloud IT disrupted the last decade, and server virtualization disrupted the decade before that. Looking forward, the next wave of disruption will likely center on intelligent infrastructure.

That’s partly because demands for IT services are increasing across data centers, the cloud, and the edge. But right now, the true bottleneck to effective IT relates to people: Even as IT demands are increasing, talent is becoming scarcer. For example, 32% of senior IT decision makers surveyed by ESG reported that they are experiencing problematic skill shortages in the area of IT architecture and planning,1 an increase of 9 points over the past five years (32% versus 23%).

Amidst this talent scarcity, digital business opportunities continue to fuel increased investment in data-centric initiatives, which add burdens on IT—namely, a greater demand for technical expertise. When a business has an urgent need for people with higher-order skills to do things such as support business applications, incorporate automation, and oversee data mining programs, it means that fewer talented people are available to look after more routine IT administrative tasks. Assuming that firms can find enough people, the talent scarcity often drives up the cost of labor. Left unchecked, that state of affairs will inhibit a modern digital business.