ST2403

MANAGEMENT: IT SKILLS
PLUGGING THE IT SKILLS GAP
ERIC HERZOG, CMO,
INFINIDAT, EXPLAINS HOW TO
USHER IN A NEW 'SET-IT-AND-
FORGET-IT' ERA FOR
ENTERPRISE STORAGE
Day-after-day we hear reports about the
'IT Skills Gap'. Hitting all aspects of IT,
the hunt for valuable human resources
to execute IT plans of CIOs, CTOs, CISOs
and other IT hiring managers has become
incredibly onerous. The IT Skills Gap is
widening at such an accelerated pace that
many enterprises are falling, regrettably, into
a "fret it and can't forget it" mindset. With
fewer and fewer qualified personnel
and potential candidates for open
positions, this gap is creating
real challenges to manage
data infrastructure,
encompassing all aspects of
IT from cybersecurity,
networks, and servers to
containerised applications
and enterprise storage.
However, there are solid
answers on the storage front to
address the IT skills gap -
things you won't hear anywhere
else. But first, it's important to
define and understand the
underlying problems that are
exacerbating this gap.
Look at the
numbers.
75% of IT decision-makers have reported gaps
in the skill sets of their IT staff - and this is a
145% increase over the past seven years,
according to Skillsoft Research. The
Computing Technology Industry Association
(CompTIA) reported that six out of 10 large
enterprises face a skills gap. Globally, at the
end of 2023 the shortage of qualified IT
professionals was estimated at 3.5 million
people, as cited by AG5 software, a skills gap
expert organisation. The cybersecurity skills
gap is particularly concerning. As CompTIA
mentioned, eight in 10 IT and business
executives are at least somewhat concerned
with the IT skills gap at their companies. Onequarter
(25%) are very concerned.
For those of you trapped in the "fret it and
can't forget it" approach to the IT skills gap,
some very effective solutions are available.
Our company recommends a different
approach, coupled with a set of strategies on
how to bridge the gap. We believe the answers
to the questions about professional IT skills
involve a mix of system-level solutions, smart
data centre consolidation, the right software
and new training approaches.
THE TECHNOLOGY BRIDGE
One effective strategy is to deploy
autonomous automation into your storage
infrastructure, reducing the level of complexity
and decreasing the dependence on
specialised IT skills that are becoming harder
and harder to find. With the power of
autonomous automation, an admin
can multiple PBs of storage
easily and cost effectively.
For example, one of our
global Fortune 500
customers in Europe
went from 15 people
managing >75PBs of
storage to only four
people responsible
for managing
storage. In fact,
06 STORAGE Mar/Apr 2024
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