Less than 25 per cent of budgets dedicated to emerging tech

SolarWinds has released the findings of its IT Trends Report 2020: The Universal Language of IT, and found that technology professionals are focusing less on emerging technology like artificial intelligence and more on hybrid IT and security.

This year’s annual report studies how the breakdown of traditional IT siloes has affected technology professionals across on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments. While the survey data was gathered before the coronaviru) pandemic elevated technology professionals as essential workers, the findings are underscored by this challenging period of remote work and increased burdens on the IT environments keeping global organisations operating at full capacity.

The study reveals a new reality for tech pros where roles have converged yet budgets remain focused less on emerging technologies and more on infrastructure, hybrid IT, expanding their charter from operations to optimisation.

Other key findings show that the top three technologies influencing organisations’ staffing needs (by weighted rank) are: cloud computing (53 per cent); security and compliance (55 per cent); and hybrid IT (37 per cent). Only a collective 18 per cent name emerging technologies—like AI, edge, microservices, and containers—as the biggest influence on staffing needs. Nearly two-thirds indicate their organisation’s tech budgets allocate less than 25 per cent of their spending to emerging technologies.

Tech pros are experiencing barriers to successfully supporting their organisations, including: lack of budget/resources (37 per cent); currently offered IT management/solutions lack features/functionality to meet my needs (27 per cent); poor management/lack of direction (10 per cent); and unclear or shifting priorities (10 per cent). Additionally, nearly one-third of respondents believe tech pros entering the workforce today don’t have the necessary skills to manage modern, distributed IT environments.

Joe Kim, global chief technology officer at SolarWinds, said: “For years we’ve been talking about hybrid IT and what it means for tech pros; in our seventh year of the IT Trends Report, we see the effects of hybrid IT in breaking down traditional siloes and bringing core competencies across on-premises and cloud environments together. Especially now, when organisations worldwide are facing new challenges and uncertainty, we must take this reality seriously, focusing on skills development and readiness in key areas like security, cloud infrastructure, and application monitoring. While IT continues to be a main driver of business importance, tech pros have an opportunity to help reassure the business and focus on effectively communicating performance now and into the future. More than ever before, technology professionals must work alongside business leaders to meet organisational goals while also investing time and energy into cultivating the necessary skills to drive business success.”

Read more findings from the IT Trends Report 2020: The Universal Language of IT report here.