Unlocking the Skills Shortage Dilemma for IT Transformation

“Any transition is easier if you believe in yourself and your talent.”

~ Priyanka Chopra

According to a recent study by Harvey Nash, 65% of CIOs state that a skills shortage is holding their organizations back, with more than half of them feeling that developing or acquiring new skills is a priority. But what can you do?  The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports there will be approximately 1.3 million occupational openings for IT professionals by 2026.  Only around 480,000 computer graduates (as reported by the National Center for Educational Statistics) will graduate in the same amount of time. We are facing a shortage of qualified candidates.

Likewise, almost as important as finding and developing talent, is reducing the risk of losing it. Not only is it becoming increasingly difficult to find skilled candidates – but the threat of skills poaching and trading is ever increasing. Employee poaching often happens in growing industries that require employees with high-demand skills – especially in tech fields.

Once you address finding and keeping talent – you are then faced with how to pay for these skills. How will it affect your bottom line and if you bring in new talent – will it be the right hire? Will they stay around long enough to make it worth your while? A bad hire can cost your organization $50,000 to $240,000 according to the Society of Human Resource Professionals.

What Skills Do You Need?

In a recent pathfinder report, 451 Research Group indicates that “cloud platforms and information security emerged as top areas of IT expertise gaps in 2017.”  Couple that with their statement that there is an “acute skills shortages in cloud native environments for container and microservices technologies.”  Those two statement quickly make it apparent that there is a lack of skills to make your digital transformation

Fortunately, not all resources need to be in-house, permanent hires. Partnering with an open source software provider with a strong services arm ensures that you are bringing in the right skills for the right job. Because every IT department is different, you should find a services partner that offers the help you need, when you need it, with a variety of flexible offerings. Ensure that these services teams are backed up by a global support and engineering team, giving you the furthest reach into all dimensions of the organization.

Let SUSE Global Services Be Your Key

SUSE is known for enterprise-hardened open source software solutions that will jump start your IT Transformation project.  From SUSE OpenStack and SUSE Enterprise Storage to SUSE CaaS Platform and SUSE Cloud Application Platform, SUSE solutions are designed to transform all aspects of your infrastructure.. This provides you with both software-defined infrastructure and application delivery solutions.

SUSE Global Services has a team in place that knows the software and brings the skills.  We bridge the skills gap with a wide range of offerings designed to improve your ability to deploy and operate complex infrastructures without the need for costly staff increases.

Not sure where to start? Let SUSE be your trusted partner throughout your journey. We will provide a tactical roadmap that gets you from where you are to where you want to be.   We have a team that offers the full range of technical and business services to implement, upgrade, support, and enhance your open source solutions to achieve the outcomes your business needs.

From discovery workshops to initial design and deployment through to proactive maintenance and support services, our technical professionals will get to know you, your infrastructure, and your team. Our experts partner with your team to:

• Design, architect and implement SUSE solutions to achieve desired business outcomes
• Upgrade current SUSE solutions to the latest versions
• Meet tight deadlines or compressed schedules
• Optimize your solutions to deliver rapid ROI and nonstop IT

Partnering with SUSE on your project means getting the best and brightest technical professionals that treat you like family.  It also means you will have the broadest reach into the SUSE ecosystem – including influence with product engineering and management.  Our consultants will share best practices and provide technical expertise.  They will also offer insight into emerging trends and technologies.

Sound too good to be true?  Learn more about our Services offerings here.

Get the White Paper

The white paper “Three Reasons Why You Need a Services Partner for IT Transformation” discusses the lack of skills and more obstacles companies face when undergoing IT transformation. You can download it here.

Look for the next blog in the series to discover even more reasons you should partner with SUSE Global Services on your transformation journey!