Navigating the IT skills shortage - offloading non-revenue generating activities
The IT industry is facing a significant skills shortage, making it challenging for organisations to meet both their operational business needs, as well as innovation requirements of their technology.
We delve into the issue of the IT skills shortage and explore how organisations can offload non-revenue generating activities from their IT staff to address the problem. Thus freeing up time for IT staff to focus on adding value and helping drive innovation that supports businesses to grow their revenue.
The IT Skills Shortage
There is a growing gap between the demand for skilled IT professionals, and the available talent pool. This skills shortage is due to several factors:
- Rapid technological advancements
- The increasing need for specialised IT professionals
- High attrition rates in the IT industry
- Insufficient emphasis on IT education and training programs
The skills shortage has left many organisations unable to fully meet the business demands of their technology platform requirements. As with the above factors, the technology team is faced with a struggle to balance maintaining operational effectiveness and efficiency, against improvements and advancements. This results in a reduction of businesses overall efficiency and competitiveness. It also has a significant impact on the overall market, including:
- Decreased productivity
- Increased operational costs
- Delayed innovation
- Heightened cybersecurity risks
- Higher employee turnover
Offloading Non-Revenue Generating Activities
To address the IT skills shortage, organisations are focusing on offloading non-revenue generating activities from their IT staff by utilising specialist service providers for maintaining and optimising the operational requirements of the IT platforms and infrastructure. This allows organisations to use IT staff more productively for revenue-generating activities.
By doing so, IT professionals can concentrate on core business operations, while external service providers handle tasks that do not directly contribute to revenue generation, benefitting in:
- Increased focus on core competencies: IT staff can devote their time and energy to revenue-generating tasks, improving the organisation's overall productivity and competitiveness
- Access to specialised expertise: Outsourcing non-revenue generating tasks often means partnering with external service providers who have specialised knowledge and experience, allowing organisations to tap into a broader talent pool
- Reduced workload: Offloading non-core tasks can help alleviate the workload of IT staff, reducing burnout and improving employee satisfaction
- Cost savings: Outsourcing can result in cost savings due to economies of scale as external service providers have the infrastructure and resources to perform tasks more efficiently
Finding the Right Service Providers
To ensure the success of offloading non-revenue generating activities, organisations must choose the right external service providers. Tips for selecting a suitable partner:
- Assess their expertise: Look for providers with a proven track record in the specific tasks you wish to offload
- Check their credentials: Ensure they have relevant certifications and accreditations to guarantee the quality of their services
- Consider their scalability: Choose a provider that can scale their services according to your organisation's evolving needs
- Evaluate their security: Assess their security measures and protocols to ensure your organisation's data and systems remain protected.
Conclusion
The IT skills shortage is a pressing issue for organisations in today's technology-driven world. By offloading non-revenue generating activities, organisations can better focus their time on core competencies, get access to specialised expertise, and alleviate the workload of their IT team. Partnering with the right external service providers is crucial for successfully offloading these tasks and addressing the skills shortage.
If you would like to find out more about how Claranet enables our customers, speak to one of our workplace experts.