The South African IT sector is at a crossroads - one complicated by skills and integration conundrums, compounded by the constantly changing role of IT.
This was one of the major takeaways from a recent study conducted by Citrix. The company spoke to CIOs and CTOs at major South African businesses about the things that keep them awake at night.
The apparent lack of IT skills across the country - in particular the skills required to support and maintain emerging technologies such as virtualisation, networking and cloud services - is a pressing issue that has to be addressed quickly, the survey discovered.
Citrix believes that failure to do so will effectively jeopardise the country's ability to innovate, grow and emerge as a flourishing centre of business.
"In short, South Africa is at a technological crossroads. Connectivity is improving, and consumer devices are infiltrating the enterprise. Things are changing for the better," says Johnny Karam, regional vice president, Middle East and Africa, Citrix.
"The report insight, above all else, demonstrates a dedicated, talented cross section of senior IT decision-makers conscious of the desire to innovate and excel, as South Africa continues to evolve and transform into a hub integral to the advancement of Africa."
The report reveals a stark warning from the IT community, and Citrix is of the view that South African IT professionals run the risk of being superseded unless they "skill up" fast.
The respondents indicated that the government has to take responsibility for introducing a new generation of IT professionals.
The survey also found that cloud computing is no longer just hype, as 70% of businesses interviewed are trialling cloud technologies; and 50% of respondents reluctant to move services to the cloud. However, it emerged that data security is the biggest hurdle to cloud adoption.
It also emerged that 60% of the interviewees are experiencing BYOD within their organisations at present, yet none has a formal policy for managing its adoption. Meanwhile, security and compliance issues prevail, despite plethora of secure solutions available.
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