SolarWinds: Majority of Public Sector Tech Practitioners Not Fully Confident to Manage IT Systems by 2024

A new SolarWinds report shows that 75 percent of technology professionals from public sector organizations say they are not “completely confident” that they have the skills needed to oversee IT environments in the next three to five years.

SolarWinds said Tuesday it surveyed 208 public sector tech managers, directors and other practitioners in December in North America, Germany and the U.K. for the IT Trends Report 2019 and found that the respondents feel they do not have enough skillsets to manage the top three technologies: artificial intelligence, blockchain and quantum computing.

The report showed that respondents consider cloud/hybrid IT, security and software-defined networking as the top three technologies for their career development.

Sixty-one percent of respondents said they plan to focus on technology innovation for their career development, while 44 percent and 43 percent of professionals intend to prioritize IT security protocol and strategic planning to further develop their careers in the near future.

The report found that 52 percent of respondents said they consider security management as a top skill they plan to develop in the next three to five years and 48 percent of professionals said they intend to develop skills in hybrid IT deployment monitoring and management.

Over 80 percent of tech practitioners said they need more time, training and budget to build up skills needed to handle IT infrastructure by 2024.

“The results of this year’s IT Trends Report highlight that the public sector needs to focus even more on developing these professionals charged with running and pioneering technologies for their agencies,” said Joe Kim, executive vice president and global chief technology officer at SolarWinds.Â

“By removing day-to-day barriers, arming technology pros with the right technology and management tools, and prioritizing skills and career development in the IT budget, public sector tech pros can be better equipped for the future and to help with IT modernization initiatives,” Kim added.

Professionals cited vendor training, online forums and industry events as their primary training sources, the report noted.