The Cloud Talent Drought: Understanding the Risks and Resolutions - Ntirety
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The Cloud
Talent Drought:
Understanding the Risks
and Resolutions
Ntirety.com
The Cloud Talent Drought:
Understanding the Risks and Resolutions
We are in the midst of a talent drought within the IT market that is plaguing enterprise organizations, causing business bottlenecks,
competitive disadvantages, security issues, and compliance risks. This drought is only amplified by the industry-wide movement to
cloud-native technologies — a trend that is not getting smaller. Global spending on IT is projected to reach $3.9 trillion in 2020, an
increase of 3.4% from 20191.
Advanced cloud and security skills are in higher demand than ever before; however, there is a significant lack of qualified, skilled
professionals to support the movement towards innovation, especially in non-tech related industries such as manufacturing,
transportation, travel, and education. Recent data shows that 63% of U.S. organizations anticipate the IT skills gap to widen, and
59% expect this talent shortage to continue in the next two years2.
The bottom line is that companies in non-tech-industries are crunched for qualified cloud and IT talent to meet their expansion
goals. According to a recent 2020 Challenges in Cloud Transformation survey report, the IT talent shortage is a leading corporate
concern, with 86% of respondents believing it will continue to slow down cloud projects3.
Although some may feel the outlook is not optimistic, there is hope for mitigating the talent drought. But to distinguish between the
faulty quick fixes and actual long-term solutions, we must understand how deep this talent drought truly goes.
In a series of articles for Forbes, Ntirety CEO Emil Sayegh examined these significant risks and possible solutions to the ongoing
cloud and cybersecurity talent drought through the perspective of business needs and survival.
Global spending on IT
is projected to reach
$3.9 63% 59%
Trillion Recent data shows that 63% 59% of U.S. organizations expect
in 2020 of U.S. organizations anticipate this talent shortage to continue in
the IT skills gap to widen. the next two years2.
2 | THE CLOUD TALENT DROUGHT
Ntirety.comThe Cloud Talent Drought Continues
(And Is Even Larger Than You Thought)
Recruiting and retaining technology staff has become increasingly complicated, particularly in non-tech industries such as
manufacturing, fossil fuel, and transportation. These businesses suffer from a double whammy: not only are they dealing with a
shortage of IT skilled talent, but they are offering positions in industries considered “unattractive” for prospective tech talent looking
to build an IT career.
Gone are the days where a steady base of skilled IT talent can meet an organization’s technology needs for years on end. Tech
giants, such as Facebook, Google, and Amazon, are creating a giant vacuum for talent, offering attractive, super-competitive
benefits packages. Furthermore, even if a business were to find a pocket of smart, qualified IT talent, the pace of cloud innovation,
new business pressures, and the need to evolve have made the ability to keep that talent relevant over time an impractical reality.
Fueling Business Transformation
As part of the digital push, non-tech businesses are trying to transform their IT systems in every way possible, embracing new,
cutting-edge cloud technologies that promise greater efficiency and value. While these new technologies underpin a wave of
business advantages, without the proper talent to keep things running and support this new infrastructure, companies are left idling
on the sideline, wondering how to better participate in this era of digital transformation.
New roles and skill expectations are appearing faster than recruiting can keep up. And organizations under compliance
requirements, like HIPAA and PCI, face even more significant challenges. The recently enacted California Consumer Privacy Act
(CCPA) is a blaring example of a technology regulation that California companies across all industries must quickly understand and
comply with, at the risk of facing penalties. Unfortunately, most are still operating with internal IT teams unfamiliar or unprepared to
do so.
The IT skills required by a given organization are usually unique. Still, nowadays, most non-tech businesses need a minimum set of
technical talent to cover the following core mission-critical skill sets:
• Cloud Computing and Architecture
• IT Governance and Compliance Management
• Business Intelligence and Database Management
• Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Implementation
• DevOps
• Virtualization
• Artificial Intelligence
• Cybersecurity
The skills required by a given organization are usually unique, but lacking security support is especially dangerous.
From enabling remote workforces through the pandemic to the heightened state of cyber threats, cybersecurity professionals have
never been needed more. But the supply of available qualified professionals is insufficient as the competition for services is off
the charts.
3 | THE CLOUD TALENT DROUGHT
Ntirety.comThe Worsening Cybersecurity Talent Drought
The overall talent market has a noticeable shortage of advanced cybersecurity skills and there are not enough resources across
the board. It is an extremely difficult task to find experienced analysts or architects, taking months and significant investment to fill
positions. On top of specializations, businesses need to be defending against threats in real-time so they really should be recruiting
for a 24x7x365 cybersecurity team because cybercriminals do not take a break on weekends, nights, or holidays.
The New York Times projected the staggering statistic of 3.5 million unfilled cybersecurity jobs globally by 2021, an increase from
one million such positions in 2014 – and the situation might be worse than that4.
3.5M
Even if there is not an officially “vacant” cybersecurity position to be tallied into the statistics of unfilled
jobs, those skills gaps are often filled by less-than-adequate training for existing employees with hopes
that leveraging technology solutions can make up the rest. There is a real security skill deficit for most
businesses that can manifest into many challenges, including:
• Existing cybersecurity staff is overworked and not set up for 24x7x365 incoming threats Unfilled
• Inexperienced professionals are being asked to deliver on advanced security requirements cybersecurity
• Organizations have become dependent on technology-based solutions without expertise to jobs globally
properly manage them
by 2021
Even though the lights have stayed on because things have worked (so far), does not make it right.
Challenges in Challenged Times
No matter how well the security band-aid may be working for some companies, it does not change the
reality that cyber threats continue to rise and all industry are in the crosshairs of cyber risks. Information
technology headaches and disasters increased during the pandemic response and remote workforce
shift, including data breaches from phishing emails, ransomware attacks and even unintentional
outages from staff stretched too thin – and the threats show no signs of slowing down.
The latest IDC 2020 projection indicates that the time for action is getting short for CIOs in the digital era, especially given the
staggering cyber threats. But there are three strategies that organizations can employ to help alleviate this increasingly prevalent
issue of finding skilled IT professionals to cover those core mission-critical skill sets, and support their business objectives.
3 Steps to Address the Cloud Talent Drought
A recent CIO survey shows that 65% of respondents feel that hiring challenges are hurting them and their industry5. Lost
opportunities continue to pile up, along with lost revenue and rising costs, compounded by security risks appearing at almost every
corner. So, what can CIOs do to manage this growing talent deficit?
A balanced, three-pronged solution is in order, taking into account serious investment in the training and retention of critical-skilled
tech employees, automation, and a modern outsourced services strategy. This approach enables businesses to embrace the
changing landscape and invest in their internal talent while simultaneously intelligently leveraging outside resources.
4 | THE CLOUD TALENT DROUGHT
Ntirety.com1. Upskill
A practice called “upskilling” — the process of teaching current employees new skills to
minimize talent gaps — has become an increasingly critical solution for employers looking
to boost the capabilities of their teams. With thousands of new product and feature
releases per cloud platform emerging each year, tuning up and updating cloud skills
is essential to employee success. The same diligence must also be applied to learning
about the ever-evolving security threats and best practices in defense.
Not to be seen as a quick fix, especially for cybersecurity, these programs take time to
set up, but industry is witnessing positive pushes to manage workloads and advance
technologies in critical situations via training programs that aim to upskill existing talent.
Another often overlooked benefit of upskilling is that it creates a positive culture of
learning in the organization.
2. Automate
From the days of Henry Ford, automation remains an eternal companion to repetitive low-value
tasks. Ford transformed the way automobiles were assembled, standardizing, and then later
automating the entire process. The world of IT reached this inflection point with the introduction
of Artificial Intelligence (AI), with AI technology focusing on repeated actions and results,
creating an opportunity for scalable and less people-intensive operations to take hold.
Automation and AI are tantalizing solutions for standardized tasks, although they are also
crunched due to lack of talent. Industry reports speculate that there is a market demand for
millions of AI professionals, while just a few hundred thousand individuals exist worldwide.
As crazy as that disparity seems, it reflects a valid deficit, highlighting an opportunity for skilled
AI and outsourced service providers to close task gaps6.
3. Outsource
Modern IT outsourcing offers a seamless extension of the internal IT team, contracting out
projects to experienced providers that are better-equipped and up-to-date with skills supporting
the newest IT technologies such as cybersecurity, infrastructure management, AI, and database
management. To be trusted, third-party providers must have a thorough understanding
of the expectations of non-tech-based clients and should operate with customer-centricity,
transparency, and trust. Aside from being adept with a broad spectrum of technologies,
outsourced providers should also be prepared to transparently share risks with their clients, as
this is the key ingredient to a successful partnership.
The enterprise is already doing some of the obvious, with basic training and efforts to
retain current staff. However, the IT industry must continue to step up to the realities of talent
shortages by rapidly expanding their training to include cloud technologies, while also investing
in cloud automation and outsourcing critical IT skills to trusted cloud ecosystem partners.
5 | THE CLOUD TALENT DROUGHT
Ntirety.comCloud Talent Opportunities
While very serious, there are glimpses of hope on the way. Artificial intelligence (AI), automation, and a growing outsourced
services market are helping to close gaps. Solutions are beginning to reach across the spectrum of technologies, managing,
improving, monitoring, and helping secure components in apps, in cloud, on-premises, and countless combinations in between.
The talent drought is not a situation that can be easily fixed, we should not expect that to be the answer. The goal is a place
somewhere in the future, where resource balance has been achieved. The business answer to this talent crunch is an individualized
solution of talent development, intelligent tools, audience and employee training, flexible systems, and partnerships with capable
solutions providers.
About the Author
Emil Sayegh is the President and CEO of Ntirety, leading global provider of secure managed
hybrid and multi-cloud solutions, and Forbes contributor. An industry thought leader, Sayegh
has published several articles in Forbes examining the cloud and cybersecurity talent drought.
Content for the eBook draws on Sayegh’s talent drought series, originally published in Forbes:
• The Cloud Talent Drought Continues (And Is Even Larger Than You Thought)
• 3 Steps to Address the Cloud Talent Drought
• As the End Of 2020 Approaches, the Cybersecurity Talent Drought Gets Worse
In addition to this series, Sayegh regularly contributes articles covering a variety of IT and business-related topics including artificial
intelligence, crypto-compliance, edge computing, and real-time perspectives on how the pandemic shapes the business landscape.
Sources
1. Gartner, 2020.
2. Ceredian: The 2020 Future of Work Report, 2020.
3. Challenges of Cloud Transformation Survey Report, 2020.
4. New York Times: The Mad Dash to Find a Cybersecurity Force, 2018.
5. Harvey Nash / KPMG: CIO Survey, 2020.
6. Tencent Research Institute, 2017.
7. Forbes: The Cloud Talent Drought Continues (And Is Even Larger Than You Thought), 2020.
8. Forbes: 3 Steps to Address the Cloud Talent Drought, 2020.
9. Forbes: As the End Of 2020 Approaches, the Cybersecurity Talent Drought Gets Worse, 2020.
Discover how Ntirety can fill in expertise gaps and optimize your business.
Schedule a consultation by visiting Ntirety.com/Get-Started today.
6 | THE CLOUD TALENT DROUGHT
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