This article was originally published on TechCentral.ie
A new survey of Irish IT decision makers by Auxillion has found that three quarters (75%) of businesses are finding it hard to source and retain the right technology staff.
A break down shows that half say it is difficult to attract and retain the right staff, with a quarter saying it is very difficult. Only one in five (20%) have reported no issues in sourcing the right IT people.
Furthermore, more than a third (35%) believe that Brexit will increase demand for IT services, which is expected to put greater pressure on the supply of IT professionals, further squeezing Irish IT departments. However, the survey finds significant uncertainty too, with 38% of IT managers reporting that they don’t know what impact Brexit might have, and more than a quarter (26%) believe that Brexit will have no effect.
“IT staff pressures are happening at a time when many organisations are planning to increase their investment in IT over the next 18 months, particularly across IT projects such as cyber security, privacy and data protection,” said Colina Moran, head of project management, Auxilion.
The survey was carried out among 102 IT decision makers this year and found that cyber security is a major priority, with the vast majority (88%) expecting to increase investment in this area, while 84% are looking to increase spend in privacy and data protection.
Automation and robotics will be an area of investment for a significant 39%, while the Internet of Things (IoT) is will be a priority for 40%.
“While there has been a lot of talk about IoT and robotics, it is interesting to find that so many Irish organisations are actively looking to invest in these areas,” said Moran.
In relation to project management, the survey finds that a quarter of businesses find it very difficult to find project managers, with 46% finding it difficult. Unsurprisingly, results show that nearly half (44%) of IT projects are not being delivered on time and with nearly a third (32%) going over budget.
“This may be due to a shortage of project managers,” said Moran. “Our survey suggests that 71% of organisations are finding it very or quite difficult to source and retain the right project managers.”
“Another factor may be accountability with 44% of respondents reporting that they only sometimes or rarely have up to date visibility and status of IT projects through their lifecycle.”
One highlight of the results was that nearly with four out of five (79%) businesses said they are well prepared for the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), with the unprepared and the don’t knows at a relatively low 18%.
