Only one in 10 organisations have the necessary skills for the effective application of advanced technologies, including business analytics, mobile computing, cloud computing and social business.
IBM's 2012 Tech Trends Report says these four emerging technologies are rapidly reshaping how enterprises operate, and were identified by nearly two-thirds of the survey respondents as being strategically important to their enterprises.
The report is based on a survey of over 1 200 IT decision-makers in organisations (22% IT managers, 53% IT practitioners and 25% business professionals) from 16 different industries in 13 different countries. Over 250 academics and 450 students across these industries and regions were also surveyed in order to gain insight into how technology trends are impacting future IT professionals.
"By the end of 2012, mobile devices are expected to outnumber people. Sources of analytical insight continue to multiply, with the world generating 15 petabytes of new data every day. Pundits now debate when - not if - the use of cloud computing will surpass traditional on-premise IT infrastructure. And nearly 1.5 billion people use social networks on a regular basis, with the most recent billion joining in since 2009," says the report.
"Given the current trajectory of these trends, it's easy to imagine a world where customers purchase more through mobile devices than computers, where analytics drive the majority of real-time decision-making, where cloud becomes the predominant IT delivery mechanism, and where more ideas emerge from social networks than from R&D labs. Pacesetters are preparing for such realities," says the report.
Worsening situation
IBM says the skills shortage is not trivial or isolated and across all four technology areas (mobile, business analytics, cloud and social business) nine out of 10 organisations lack the necessary skills. "Within each technology area, roughly one-quarter report major skill gaps, and 60% or more report moderate to major shortfalls."
While the skills gap is already troubling, IBM says it is poised to get even worse. "In our parallel academic survey, when we asked educators and students about their institutions' ability to meet the skill needs of the IT workforce, nearly half indicated major gaps - a deficit nearly twice the size of what businesses are already experiencing. Including those with moderate gaps, totals rise to 73% or more."
The survey results for SA show, on average, roughly half of organisations report a moderate to major skills gap across all four emerging technologies (49% for mobile, 50% for cloud, 49% for social business and 48% for business analytics). In terms of adoption, however, local organisations are ahead of the global average, with a 64% adoption rate for mobile (compared to 49% globally), 67% for business analytics (compared to 54%), 56% for social business (compared to 34%) and 47% for cloud (compared to 39%).
In response to the growing IT skills gap, IBM says it is expanding its skill development programmes in key areas, including mobile computing and commerce, as well as cyber security. The company says it will provide software licences and training materials to tertiary institutions in the areas of big data and analytics, commerce and mobile computing.
IBM has also announced the rollout of a new online resource for educators from around the world called "Knowledge Exchange". The resource will allow educators to share and collaborate on courseware and best practices.
IBM's developerWorks also offers education on mobile computing, security and commerce - with training materials, case studies, technical documents, installation guides and online communities.
Different skill level
Country general manager for IBM SA, Abraham Thomas, says a skilled workforce is critical to an organisation's ability to innovate, meet demands and grow: "We have a shortage of people with the skills needed within these emerging trends. The new trends that we're seeing in the marketplace need a different level of skill, a different kind of person to understand and use the technology to help our clients.
"This is especially true around understanding data in the business analytics area, around cloud and mobility, and around being able to have an ability to understand what's happening in the social media space," says Thomas.
"If you're an organisation, and you don't know what's happening in cyber space about your brand or products and services it becomes a big disadvantage. If you have an ability to scan what is happening in the social media space, and glean information from that, it can help you become more agile in responding to challenges that you face."
The full IBM 2012 Tech Trends Report can be seen here.
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