Rackspace Technology announced the Multicloud Annual Research Report 2022 that finds that organizations are becoming more comfortable with more sophisticated “Cloud 2.0” technologies, even as they confront difficulties in hiring and retaining IT talent.
The survey of 1,420 global IT leaders across industries, though cloud development continues to be a top priority for organizations, such that 56% do not envision owning a data center in five years, a resounding 77% of IT decision-makers said that a scarcity of talent is inhibiting the adoption of new cloud development methods.
The survey also finds organizations’ cloud priorities evolving, from “basics” such as agility (30%) and scalability (26%) and toward more sophisticated issues such as security (46%) and compliance (36%). Moreover, an increased appetite for risk among IT professionals can be seen in their enthusiasm for exploring edge technologies (38%) and containers (53%), while over half plan to invest in hyperscale providers.
Jeff DeVerter, Chief Technology Evangelist, Rackspace Technology, said, “The cloud is no longer a shiny new object– it is a nearly universally accepted technology, and there is almost no organization that is not currently in the process of transforming itself via the cloud,” “At the same time, there are a number of barriers standing in the way of that transformation, most notably a dearth of IT talent. More than ever, organizations will need to rely on external expertise to achieve their cloud goals, as they continue to shed legacy infrastructure and ask the cloud to do more.”
By joining forces with external cloud solutions providers, businesses can effectively address the challenge of hiring and retaining IT talent. Innovative and agile cloud applications from external cloud experts can help them save time and also get optimal returns on their investment. This can play a crucial role in allowing businesses to channel their resources into other innovations which can help them better serve their customers.” said Sandeep Bhargava, managing director, Rackspace, APJ
IT Talent is Hard to Find – and Keep
The survey underscores a growing talent dilemma for IT leaders, with morethan half (53%) of all respondents citing talent shortages as major business challenge, well ahead of concerns such as inflation (48%), product shortages (36%) and wage growth (25%).
Companies are employing a variety of tactics to attract new IT talent, including promoting opportunities for training and development (40%), increasing starting salaries and offering hybrid/flexible/work-from-home schedules (32%). Twenty-one percent are being even more aggressive, luring talent with large starting salaries or increases, while 18% are offering signing bonuses and 13% are using sign-on retention agreements.
The Cloud is Here to Stay – and It’s Growing
Jeff DeVerter, Chief Technology Evangelist, Rackspace Technology, added, “We have seen an evolution in the cloud discussion, away from some of the table stakes topics such as agility and scalability, and toward more sophisticated uses of cloud, such as containers and edge, that is shaping the future,” “Not only are people excited to close their data centers. They are also more apt to take on more risk than they had been in the recent past.”
