[December 12, 2017] |
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IT 2018: Shifts in Budgets, Initiatives and Executive-Level Influence Signify Lasting Changes for IT Departments
TEKsystems (News - Alert)®, a leading provider of IT
staffing solutions and IT
services, today released the major findings from its annual IT
Forecast research. Overall results indicate that confidence in
satisfying and supporting core IT has diminished due in part to a strain
on declining IT budgets and initiatives now progressing beyond
implementation into production mode. Results also reveal a diminishing
strategic role for senior IT managerial positions in today's reshaped IT
department, where responsibilities are focused less on new initiatives
and more around core IT activities related to maintaining existing
implementations, including a focus on security and data access/integrity.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here:
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171212005917/en/
TEKsystems' IT Forecast 2018 Infographic: Technology Exploration (Graphic: Business Wire)
More than 1,000 IT leaders (i.e., chief information officers, IT vice
presidents, IT directors, IT hiring managers) were polled in October
2017 on a range of key issues, including IT staffing and budgets, skill
needs and expected organizational challenges in 2018. See the full
results here.
Key highlights from the survey include:
Expectations for Slower IT Budget Growth and Increases in Overall
Staff Salaries Putting Pressure on IT to do More with Less
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Q: How do you expect your organization's IT budget to change
compared to the prior year?
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2016
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2017
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2018
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Increase
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37%
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49%
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40%
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Stay the same
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51%
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39%
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44%
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Decrease
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12%
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12%
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16%
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Q: Compared to the current year, how much do you expect your
overall IT staff's salaries to change in the coming year?
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2017
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2018
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Increase
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36%
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58%
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Stay the same
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63%
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40%
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Decrease
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1%
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2%
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Q: How do you expect your IT staff's salaries to change in the
coming year versus the current year for the following skill sets and
technologies? (percent expecting increases)
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Skills/technologies
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2016
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2017
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2018
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Security
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50%
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45%
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42%
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Software engineers / Developers / DevOps
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50%
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49%
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40%
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Data analytics
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44%
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41%
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35%
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Cloud
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52%
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43%
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35%
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Architects
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47%
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42%
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31%
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Project management
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39%
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42%
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30%
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Networking
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46%
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41%
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27%
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Business / Systems analysts
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45%
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39%
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26%
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Mobile
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45%
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40%
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26%
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Help desk / Tech support
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38%
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35%
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21%
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TEKsystems' Take: It's clear that 2018 will not be the year of
increased IT budgets - those expecting IT budget increases are close
to the lowest levels seen in the previous five years. However, in the
face of declining budget expectations for 2018, a high number of IT
leaders-58 percent-also indicate that they expect overall IT staff
salaries to increase in the coming year. Many of those increases are
likely to be marginal due to cost-of-living allowances. Apart from
marginal increases, it is also possible that IT managers considering
new initiatives in the coming year are anticipating the need to pay
increased salaries to individuals possessing high-demand skill sets
related to specific initiatives. TEKsystems notes that overall, a
declining number of IT leaders are indicating that they expect to
increase salaries for key roles in 2018. This may be explained by the
fact that while fewer are expecting to increase their hiring of
full-time staff for the coming year (those expecting to increase
full-time hires for 2018 declined by 7 points to 38 percent), there is
a 6 percent uptick in the number of IT leaders expecting to increase
outsourcing in 2018.
Ability to Satisfy Organizational Demands for Core IT and Lines of
Business Diminishes; Confidence in New Initiatives Remains Unchanged
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Q: How confident are you in your IT department's ability to
satisfy and support each of the following types of demands?
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Core IT
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Line of business
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New initiatives
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2016
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2017
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2018
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2016
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2017
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2018
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2016
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2017
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2018
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Confident
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75%
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86%
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76%
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60%
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76%
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72%
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54%
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59%
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59%
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Neutral
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16%
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9%
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15%
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30%
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17%
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18%
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24%
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26%
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26%
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Unconfident
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9%
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5%
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9%
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10%
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7%
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10%
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22%
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15%
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15%
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TEKsystems' Take: Although high, confidence in satisfying core
IT demands dropped 10 percent from 2017 levels, and confidence in
satisfying new initiatives has not improved from 2017. This relates to
budget expectations: As fewer IT leaders are expecting an increased
budget in 2018, their ability to satisfy demands will come into
question due to fewer resources at their disposal-this even in the
face of expected increases in overall IT staff salaries. Organizations
must examine this closely as the ability to simultaneously support
core IT activities and new initiatives will have a significant impact
on the business. These new initiatives, including Internet of Things
(IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality / virtual
reality (AR/VR) and Blockchain, could weigh heavily on future success
and partially determine whether they will disrupt-or be disrupted.
IT Lagging on Development / Implementation of Several Key
Initiatives; Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality / Virtual
Reality and Blockchain Overhyped
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Q: At what stage is your organization with regard to the
following initiatives in 2018? [select only one]
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Nothing planned for foreseeable future
(0-12 months)
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Interested / planning stage (expect to take action within next
12-24 months)
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Implementation Phase (Pilot, Advanced Pilot, Evaluation /
Refinement)
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Security
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10%
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13%
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77%
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Cloud computing
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18%
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20%
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62%
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Mobile applications
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21%
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17%
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62%
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Big data analytics
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22%
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19%
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59%
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DevOps
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27%
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19%
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54%
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Digital marketing / CX
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27%
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21%
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52%
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IoT
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46%
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23%
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31%
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AI
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54%
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21%
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25%
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AR/VR
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69%
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13%
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18%
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Blockchain
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71%
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13%
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16%
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TEKsystems' Take: In terms of new initiatives, IoT, AI, AR/VR
and Blockchain are lagging in development. TEKsystems' data show that
relatively few respondents indicate that AR/VR and Blockchain
initiatives are in the implementation phase. A significantly high
percentage of respondents have indicated that they have nothing
planned in the next 12 months for IoT, AI, AR/VR or Blockchain. This
is somewhat unusual, given the potential positive impacts of both IoT
and AI solutions, and can be contrasted to other key initiatives such
as digital marketing and big data analytics, which are further along
on the maturity curve. Part of the lag in implementing key new
initiatives may be explained by the fact that IT leaders are not as
confident in their ability to satisfy and support new initiatives.
This can be attributed to a lack of budget and the overall trend of
decentralization of IT, whereby the actual decisions on these
initiatives are being taken out of the hands of the IT department.
Programmers and Developers Still the Most Critical Roles Driving
Success; IT Managers, VPs and Directors Declining in Influence
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Q: Which IT roles are the absolute most critical for enabling
your organization to achieve success in the coming year? *
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(stack rank the top three)
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Rank
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2016
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2017
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2018
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1
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Programmers and developers
(41%)
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Programmers and developers
(42%)
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Programmers and developers
(48%)
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2
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IT managers
(34%)
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Project managers
(32%)
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Project managers
(32%)
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3
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Project managers
(30%)
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Networking
(32%)
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Business analysts
(26%)
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4
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Networking
(29%)
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Software engineers
(30%)
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Software engineers
(26%)
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5
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Business analysts
(28%)
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IT managers
(24%)
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Help desk / technical support
(23%)
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*Positions that have been in the top five for three years running
are bolded
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Q: How difficult is it currently to find exceptional talent to
fill roles for the following types of IT-related positions? *
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(stack rank the top three)
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Rank
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2016
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2017
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2018
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1
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Programmers and developers
(65%)
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Programmers and developers
(42%)
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Software engineers/developers / DevOps (45%)
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2
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Security
(45%)
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Networking
(29%)
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Data analytics
(29%)
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3
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Software engineers
(42%)
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Security
(28%)
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Security
(29%)
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4
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Database administrators
(39%)
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Architects
(28%)
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Architects
(28%)
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5
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Project managers
(38%)
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Software engineers
(27%)
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Business / Systems analysts
(25%)
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*Positions that have been in the top five for three years running
are bolded
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TEKsystems' Take: Looking at the critical roles that enable an
organization to achieve success, it's logical that
programmers/developers and project managers would be ranked highly;
however, there appears to be a shift in the importance of business
analysts and help desk/technical support roles now being considered
critical. It also should be noted that VP and director-level IT
leaders-ranked among the top five in 2015 when considering the most
critical roles for enabling the organization to achieve success-has yet
to crack the top five in any year since.
TEKsystems believes that key IT initiatives have the potential to change
the business and also change IT staffing goals. As these projects move
outside the control of the centralized IT department, its staffing needs
change. Consider that when asked about the difficulty in finding
exceptional talent to fill IT roles, business systems analysts and data
analytics professionals are now prominently mentioned. Interestingly,
networking roles are no longer considered critical to achieving success
or difficult to find. TEKsystems believes this is another indication of
the changing nature of the centralized IT department-one where the
responsibility for new initiatives is shifting and responsibilities are
turning more toward keeping the lights on (e.g., security and data
center) and running an efficient organization.
Increased Efficiency a Top Business Objective in 2018; IT Leaders
Expect Transformation in the Next 12-24 Months
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Q: Which business objectives will IT most need to support in
2018? [select the top-3 business objectives]
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Rank
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2016
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2017
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2018
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1
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Implementing new IT applications and infrastructure
(45%)
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Improving existing IT applications and infrastructure
(47%)
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Improving efficiency
(35%)
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2
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Improving existing IT applications and infrastructure
(43%)
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Implementing new IT applications and infrastructure
(40%)
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Implementing new IT applications and infrastructure
(33%)
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3
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Improving business processes
(34%)
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Improving business processes
(30%)
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Improving existing IT applications and infrastructure
(31%)
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4
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Reducing costs
(33%)
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Improving efficiency
(29%)
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Improving business processes
(30%)
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5
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Improving efficiency
(31%)
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Increasing growth
(25%)
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Reducing costs
(24%)
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TEKsystems' Take: In 2018, the need to improve efficiency
topped the list of business objectives that IT will most need to
support in the coming year. This marks the first time that improving
existing or implementing new IT applications or infrastructure did not
top the list, and supports the finding that centralized IT is becoming
more responsible for maintaining established IT solutions, especially
in the areas of security and data, and less responsible for newer IT
initiatives.
"It appears as though the traditional, centralized IT department is
becoming a thing of the past. IT leaders and their departments are being
asked to do more with less, as we're seeing a decrease in IT budgets
with tech spend moving outside of centralized IT. That being said, the
responsibilities for 'keeping the lights on,' including data
integration, information security and a host of other duties, remain.
This could also be why we see less confidence and movement in launching
new initiatives within the department," said Jason Hayman, TEKsystems
Research Manager. "With the migration of tech spend and decision-making
to other areas of the business, we're also seeing a change in the roles
and responsibilities of the traditional executive IT leader. The urgency
for digital transformation continues to be a major driver for
organizations, and could lead to a diminished or altered role for
incumbent technology decision-makers as areas of the business continue
to take more ownership of their technology initiatives. Adding to this
difficulty will be the ever-present war for talent, as organizations are
realizing that wage stagnation and the incredibly competitive tech labor
market can't coexist indefinitely, meaning that more money will have to
be spent to attract top talent."
TEKsystems' Jason Hayman is available for additional commentary. For
more information about the survey, or to schedule an interview, please
contact Nathan Bowen at [email protected].
About TEKsystems®
People are at the heart of every successful business initiative. At
TEKsystems, we understand people. Every year we deploy over 80,000 IT
professionals at 6,000 client sites across North America, Europe and
Asia. Our deep insights into IT human capital management enable us to
help our clients achieve their business goals-while optimizing their IT
workforce strategies. We provide IT staffing solutions and IT services
to help our clients plan, build and run their critical business
initiatives. Through our range of quality-focused delivery models, we
meet our clients where they are, and take them where they want to go,
the way they want to get there.
TEKsystems. Our people make IT possible.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171212005917/en/
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