Global IT Talent Scarcity Holding Back Cloud Adoption
- By DWFTrends editors
- July 05, 2022
The demand for the enterprise cloud is rapidly growing, even as businesses are experiencing challenges in IT talent scarcity and resource hiring and retention.
Initially, Cloud 1.0 solved the problem of data collection and data storage. However, data needs to go to the next step of data processing for companies to optimize stored generated data fully. Cloud 2.0 provides a solution, allowing organizations to take control of their data through artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML).
Rackspace, an American multicloud solutions provider, revealed in The Multicloud Annual Research Report 2022 that almost 4 out of 5 (77%) of 1,420 global IT leaders of various industries said a talent shortage impedes the transition of new cloud development methods.
The shortage in talent is one of the top three business challenges, alongside supply chain disruptions and inflation, according to Rackspace. Moreover, 53% of respondents say the shortage poses a critical challenge and that the Great Resignation seen at the height of the pandemic seems to show no signs of abating. In response, many companies are turning to outside experts for help.
“The cloud is no longer a shiny new object — it is a nearly universally accepted technology, and there is almost no organization that is not currently in the process of transforming itself via the cloud. At the same time, several barriers are standing in the way of that transformation, most notably a shortage of IT talent. More than ever, organizations will need to rely on external expertise to achieve their cloud goals as they continue to shed legacy infrastructure and ask the cloud to do more,” said Jeff DeVerter, chief technology evangelist at Rackspace Technology.
Tech agility and efficiency are already considered to be innate in cloud services, and the shift of cloud discussion is heading towards tighter security and compliance. DeVerter added that nearly 85% of the respondents plan to go serverless. However, the internal skills shortage prevents them from being more aggressive without tapping external help.
The report says the urgency to mitigate the talent crunch will enable companies to protect their future. Furthermore, they encourage companies to rethink their recruitment and retention strategies, with work flexibility as a critical benefit for their post-pandemic workplaces.
40% of companies say they attract new IT talent through training and development, while 32% offer moderate increases in starting salaries and hybrid or flexible work opportunities.
If the talent shortage continues, the economy may be severely affected, which may cause the APAC region to lose more than USD151.60 billion in annual opportunity cost by 2030 and put companies at greater risk.
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