All industry leaders face the same question repeatedly over time: how quickly can your organization adapt to unprecedented challenges?
Unfortunately, it took the COVID-19 pandemic to answer this looming matter across industries.
The IT industry today is no stranger to the effect of this world-changing event, as this brought about many sudden changes within the sector.
As a matter of fact, IT asset management software was in demand, as businesses scrambled to adapt to the digital transformation, remote work, disruption of supply chains, slowed-down production, and post-pandemic workplace burnout.
This article will help your organization prepare for the current IT industry challenges by looking into potential problems, how you can address them, and how you can navigate moving forward.
6 Key Challenges in the IT Industry and How to Overcome Them
1. Hybrid work environments
The emergence of hybrid work has shaped culture, business processes, and the way employees perform their job functions.
Seeing this trend continue, companies that do not invest in a well-designed architecture for hybrid work environments may get left behind by the competitors.
Prioritize a remote-first approach for your business and invest in systems and software that enable remote collaboration and communication. By doing this, you will be giving your remote employees equal opportunities for efficiency and productivity.
2. Cloud migration
Businesses shifting to cloud computing services has been one of the most significant tech trends in recent years.
A 2019 study suggests that software running on traditional servers will halve in the next three years amidst the shift to cloud technology.
A more recent Gartner 2020 survey found that 70% of organizations using cloud services plan to ramp up spending due to changes brought by the pandemic.
Cloud migration can help your company reduce IT costs, increase efficiency, improve security, boost performance, and make room for innovation and development.
However, moving company data to a cloud is a complex and challenging process that requires careful planning and execution.
Therefore, your business should be familiar with the possible challenges of cloud migration to have the solutions ready once you venture into integration.
3. Cybersecurity threats
Companies were forced to change operational approaches during the pandemic, with some deploying work-from-home initiatives and cloud migration to continue productivity during lockdowns.
Unfortunately, an IBM report suggests organizations may have overlooked security measures amidst the chaos of rapidly changing IT and business processes. Costs of data breaches saw an all-time high of $4.24 million per incident during the pandemic.
A significant contributor to the increase of cybercrime during the pandemic was cybercriminals exploiting corporate data, customer information, and intellectual property from employees working at home.
Managing the security of hybrid work environments will be a pressing challenge for your IT department.
Still, by educating your workforce on the best practices of cybersecurity and putting in place a wide range of security measures, you can decrease the chances of suffering losses from a cyberattack.
4. Annual increase and unexpected IT expenditures
In recent years, IT spending has been steadily increasing. In fact, it’s on pace to exceed $4.4 trillion in 2022 as more organizations recognize that tech integration is the way forward.
Unfortunately, 2022 also brings considerable challenges to the industry.
A Russia-Ukraine war, a supply chain crisis, a chip shortage, and rising inflation rates are all simultaneously happening, creating unpredictable price increases and unexpected expenses that can add up and surpass a company’s annual budget.
To counter the potential increase in expenses in the coming years without decreasing efficiency, productivity, and output, your company should explore solutions that can reduce IT costs, such as license management and optimization tools. This technology will enable your company to scale while helping cut costs simultaneously.
Utilizing software asset management tools can help you track assets, monitor usage, and organize users, purchases, and tasks is an effective way to reduce costly downtime.
Tools such as the LicenseAnalyzer2022, for instance, can grant you an enterprise overview of your organization’s software usage by showing how, when and by whom assets are being used over time, by location, business unit, or project group.
5. The Great Resignation
The pandemic took a toll on the workforce of numerous industries, some more than others, as it instigated a “Great Resignation” phenomenon. The computer and IT industry are expected to take a heavy hit from this massive job switch, with 40% of employees resigning or planning to leave by the end of 2022.
Your company can evade the impact of this mass resignation by following how Open iT managed to overcome the problem.
They retained their 4.3-year median tenure compared to the industry’s global average of 4.1 years by launching initiatives to make work easy for employees during the pandemic.
These include but are not limited to keeping the annual salary increase, adjusting hours, giving mental well-being seminars, providing internet allowance, and issuing work-from-home mandates, among others.
6. Fast evolution of software
Before companies can access software and integrate them into the business, licenses need to be activated, and software licensing is a constantly changing landscape.
As companies adopt more applications and software, licensing and managing these technologies may become complicated.
Therefore, it would be best to phase out legacy or grandfathered software and hardware assets and adopt more efficient software licensing and IT asset management practices such as cloud asset management.
IT Will Move Forward
Undoubtedly, the IT industry is significantly different from what it was a decade ago.
So, be it technological advancements, business requirements, or pandemic disruptions, IT will find a reason to move forward.
No company can thoroughly prepare and address unprecedented challenges, but all have an equal opportunity to learn from them and adapt.
If you think it’s your company’s turn to adapt to the changing times, schedule a demo with Open iT.
Learn how its software solutions can help your business better manage software licenses and adopt new IT industry trends.
FAQs
How to Face the IT Industry's Biggest Challenges Today? ›
Broad economic decline across multiple industries will mark one of the top challenges for IT managers in 2023. That means clients may trim services while many IT firms cut costs on new technology. This economic downturn interrupts what had been a growing trend of businesses adopting digital transformation.
What are the biggest challenges of IT sector? ›- Talent Retention.
- Talent Recruitment.
- Workload.
- Skills gaps.
- Lack of Career Development, Growth.
- Resources and Budget Constraints.
- Unclear Job Roles and Responsibilities.
- A Lack of Effective Leadership.
- What Are the Current IT Issues? ...
- Cybersecurity Threats Continue. ...
- The Skills Gap Widens. ...
- Data Protection and Privacy. ...
- Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery. ...
- Enhanced Agility in IT Environments. ...
- Selling Solutions and Innovation. ...
- Supporting Remote Work and Infrastructure.
- 1) DISTRIBUTE YOUR BUDGET CORRECTLY. The cost of new technologies often stops small businesses from adopting them. ...
- 2) HIRE AN INTERNAL TEAM OR THIRD-PARTY IT SPECIALISTS. ...
- 3) UNDERSTAND THE IT SPHERE. ...
- 4) MAKE THE SYSTEM SAFE. ...
- 5) SCALE IT. ...
- CONCLUSION.
Broad economic decline across multiple industries will mark one of the top challenges for IT managers in 2023. That means clients may trim services while many IT firms cut costs on new technology. This economic downturn interrupts what had been a growing trend of businesses adopting digital transformation.
What are the challenges of IT systems? ›Typical information management challenges include a lack of strategy, digitizing documents, automating processes, controlling the expanding volume, securing information access, minimizing information silos, connecting with older systems, and eliminating low-quality data.
Why is information technology so challenging? ›IT Presents a Steep Learning Curve
One of the primary reasons that individuals believe information technology education to be difficult is that it can be time-consuming to study, especially at first, when you aren't familiar with the lingo, processes, and best practices used by IT professionals.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Automation are two of the biggest technology trends that will continue to transform industries in 2023. AI will enable machines to learn and make decisions like humans, while automation will streamline processes and reduce human error.
What is the tech industry forecast for 2023? ›As the ongoing repercussions of the pandemic continue to be felt, several executives paint a grim picture of the economy. Despite ongoing concerns about the global economy, enterprise technology spending is expected to remain strong, with its projection to total $4.5 trillion in 2023, an increase of 2.4% from 2022.
What are 3 ways to keep up with technology? ›- Join a professional organization. ...
- Find a mentor. ...
- Attend industry conferences and tech events. ...
- Devote time daily to tech news. ...
- Connect with social media. ...
- Prioritize learning. ...
- Share ideas with your peers. ...
- Watch TED talks.
How can we overcome technology barriers? ›
- Prioritize Change Management. Effective change management is critical for overcoming resistance to change. ...
- Foster a Culture of Innovation. ...
- Provide Adequate Training and Support. ...
- Address security concerns. ...
- Leverage Data and Analytics. ...
- Have Tutorials.
- Cybersecurity Tools and Services. ...
- Mobile Technologies. ...
- Cloud Storage Solutions. ...
- Collaboration and Project Management Apps. ...
- Digital Marketing Tools. ...
- Customer Relationship Management Technologies. ...
- Web-Based Payments. ...
- Technological Outsourcing.
In 2023, employers must prioritize transparency around how they collect, use and store employee data, as well as allow employees to opt out of practices they find objectionable. Start building an employee data bill of rights to support your employees' need for healthy boundaries in addition to overall well-being.
What are 3 of the challenges associated with the future of work? ›Below are the top three challenges employers [like you] are facing as they begin developing a plan to move forward: Cultivating and Inspiring Company Culture. Establishing and Maintaining Trust. Managing and Engaging a Remote Workforce.
What are some of the toughest management challenges in developing IT? ›- Poor IT Infrastructure - this can lead to problems with data acquisition and can result in the loss of important data.
- Lack of proper expertise among in-house employees. ...
- Complexity in integrating different technologies and systems.
- WORKING WITHIN A TIGHT BUDGET ...
- MANAGING CYBERSECURITY ...
- MANAGING WORKLOADS BY ADOPTING AUTOMATION ...
- FOCUSING ON THE RIGHT ANALYTICS ...
- UNDERSTANDING AND INVESTING IN SMART TECHNOLOGY ...
- CONCLUSION
- Unemployment. As technology has advanced, it has significantly increased unemployment. ...
- Data security. ...
- People are easily distracted. ...
- Health concerns. ...
- People are exposed to undesirable content.
Overuse of social media and mobile devices have been linked to eyestrain, difficulty focusing on other tasks, and depression. While some forms of technology may have made positive changes in the world, there is evidence for the negative effects of technology and its overuse, as well.
What is the hardest in information technology? ›Ordered from hardest to easiest (in my personal view), they are: (1) Artificial intelligence (2) Data science (3) Software technology (4) Networking (5) Web and mobile app development (6) Information systems and business analysis and (7) Cyber security.
What is the hardest major in information technology? ›Computer Science
Also among the hardest college majors is computer science. A computer science degree equips students with a foundational knowledge of information technology, computing, and similar concepts.
What is the next big technology? ›
5G: The next generation of wireless technology, 5G, has the potential to enable a range of new applications, from self-driving cars to augmented reality. It could transform industries such as telecommunications, entertainment, and transportation.
What will technology be like in 2025? ›By 2025, mobile connectivity could be accessed by an additional 4.3 billion people. Machine learning and user interfaces such as speech and gesture recognition technology will advance to increase productivity or eliminate some knowledge work altogether.
What is the fastest growing technology in the world? ›Quantum computing, with a processing ability that is much faster than classic, linear computers, is a fast-growing, next-generation technology that creates multi-dimensional computing spaces for algorithms to solve intricate problems and detect delicate patterns.
Will tech bounce back in 2023? ›Yes. Tech stocks. The same tech stocks that were crushed in 2022 are set to stage an enormous comeback in 2023.
Will the tech industry recover in 2023? ›Big tech has enjoyed a resurgence this year. Seven large US companies (Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Tesla, Netflix and Nvidia) have collectively returned 34% in the four months to 30 April 2023.
Are tech companies laying off 2023? ›In 2023, layoffs have yet again cost tens of thousands of tech workers their jobs; this time, the workforce reductions have been driven by the biggest names in tech like Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Yahoo, Meta and Zoom. Startups, too, have announced cuts across all sectors, from crypto to enterprise SaaS.
What are 5 technologies we use everyday? ›- Television. Television sets transmit signals over which we can listen to and view audio and visual content. ...
- Internet. ...
- Cell phones. ...
- Computers. ...
- Circuitry. ...
- Artificial intelligence. ...
- Software. ...
- Audio and visual technology.
Subscribe to industry publications and newsletters, follow relevant blogs and podcasts, and read books on emerging technology topics. Embrace Online Learning: Take advantage of online courses and training programs to expand your skill set and stay up to date with the latest tools and technologies.
What are the 3 primary types of technology? ›What are the main types of technology? There are six main types of technology. They are: mechanical technology, medical technology, communications technology, electronic technology, and industrial and manufacturing technologies.
What are technology barriers? ›Technological barriers are described as limited access to useful, relevant, and appropriate hardware and software, especially in “instances where the use of the technology is perceived as not being sufficient to perform the tasks or accomplish the objectives for which the technology was initially utilised” [87].
How do you overcome challenges and barriers to innovation? ›
- Make People Part of the Change. Joe Brown, Portfolio Director. ...
- Rally Support with Purpose Driven Stories. David Aycan, Products Lead. ...
- Empower Middle Managers. Mathew Chow, Design Lead. ...
- Reward Innovation. ...
- Get Untangled from the Jargon. ...
- Embrace Constraints.
- checking whether it is a good time and place to communicate with the person.
- being clear and using language that the person understands.
- communicating one thing at a time.
- respecting a person's desire to not communicate.
- checking that the person has understood you correctly.
- Process transformation. ...
- Business model transformation. ...
- Domain transformation. ...
- Cultural/organizational transformation.
Phase Zero: The Most Important Stage in Digital Transformation.
What are modern IT solutions? ›Modern IT Solutions Private Limited is majorly in Business Services business from last 18 years and currently, company operations are converted to llp. Current board members & directors are MANOJ KUMAR MATHUR, HEMANT SURANA and SMITA MATHUR . Company is registered in Delhi (Delhi) Registrar Office.
What is technological problem solving? ›The ability to find solutions to difficult or complex issues, using technology as a tool to solve problems that may or may not themselves be of a technical nature.
What are the 5 biggest business trends in 2023 everyone must get ready for now? ›- Transforming Digital Transformation. ...
- Taming Supply-Chain Disruption. ...
- Incentivizing Sustainability and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Improvements. ...
- Meta-Morphing the Customer Experience. ...
- Future-Proofing the Workforce.
1. Shipping and delivery services. The rising popularity of online purchases has led to an increased demand for shippers and is fast securing its place as the growth industry front-runner. The American Shipper reports that as much as 8% of all retail sales are made online, or $394 billion.
What is the best tip to succeed in business this 2023? ›To succeed in 2023, you need to focus on creating a company culture that is attractive to prospective employees. Of course, paying them what they are worth is part of this, but so is creating a positive environment in which your employees feel supported and valued, and can enjoy a healthy work-life balance.
What are 5 basic issues of the changing work world of the 21st century? ›- Employment change. The number of jobs in the nonfarm.
- Futurework.
- Trends and challenges for work in the 21st century.
- Growth in service jobs. Most.
- Technology and business. ...
- Technology and jobs. ...
- Globalization. ...
- Demand for skills.
What do employees want in 2023? ›
In 2023 and beyond, employers could implement: Paid time off programs. Proactive rest helps employees maintain performance and emotional resilience. Proactive employers could offer paid time off as a maintenance solution rather than a recovery one, providing PTO before high demand working periods, holidays, etc.
What is the major challenge for the future? ›Food prices are rising, water tables are falling, corruption and organized crime are increasing, environmental viability for our life support is diminishing, debt and economic insecurity are increasing, climate change continues, and the gap between the rich and poor continues to widen dangerously.
What are 4 challenges of information management? ›The key challenges are tensions between compliance and efficiency, particularly with employee negligence in disposing of and archiving information, lack of resourcing and skills, serving information requests while adhering to confidentiality requirements, managing explosive data growth, and secure disposal of ...
What are top five issues in terms of managing and protecting IT infrastructure? ›- Frequency of upgrades. ...
- Not managing costs effectively. ...
- Not securing the end point. ...
- Insufficient data storage and inefficient data management. ...
- Not introducing scalability and agility.
IT risks include hardware and software failure, human error, spam, viruses and malicious attacks, as well as natural disasters such as fires, cyclones or floods. By looking at how your business uses IT, you can: understand and identify the types of IT risks. understand the impact of risks on your business.
What is the biggest challenge you would face in this role answer? ›For example, you could say: “the biggest challenge will be getting to know the members of the team. I'm used to working with a large and diverse team and thrive on finding the best in my colleagues.” Or: “the biggest challenge in this job is keeping pace with technological change in this industry.
What are the 5 challenges in ICT? ›Notable challenges of ICT integration include; lack of funds, lack of teaching guidelines and curriculum, non availability of ICT facilities, lack of maintenance and irregular power supply.
What is the greatest IT risk facing most companies? ›The biggest, most damaging and most widespread threat facing small businesses is phishing attacks.
What is the most common risks that face IT projects? ›- Scope creep.
- Low performance.
- High costs.
- Time crunch.
- Stretched resources.
- Operational changes.
- Lack of clarity.
Infrastructure failures - such as the loss of your internet connection can interrupt your business - eg you could miss an important purchase order. Human error - is a major threat - eg someone might accidentally delete important data, or fail to follow security procedures properly.
What is the biggest challenge you ve faced and how did you overcome it? ›
One of the biggest work challenges I've overcome happened at my last job. Two team members were let go and I was left with the workload of three people. I fell behind and knew I couldn't keep up in the long term, so I asked my manager for help.
What is the biggest challenge you have faced and how you overcome it? ›Learning new things is always a challenge for me. But with my sincere efforts, hard work I make them look easy and simpler. It is a better way to handle any challenge. Toughest Challenged faced by me is when I joined the new college.
What was the toughest challenge you ve ever faced and how did you overcome it? ›My toughest challenge is to give a seminar in front of the whole class, and I took it as a challenge. Just have trust and confidence in myself, and go with the flow. My toughest challenge was my first field work has a geologist climbing a very high mountain, I never could imagine I could do that, but am glad I did.
What are 2 examples of the negative impact of technology? ›- Depression and Other Mental Health Issues. A University of Michigan study found that Facebook use led to a decrease in happiness and overall life satisfaction. ...
- Lack of Sleep. ...
- ADHD. ...
- Obesity. ...
- Learning Barriers. ...
- Decreased Communication and Intimacy. ...
- Cyberbullying. ...
- Loss of Privacy.
Children who overuse technology may be more likely to experience mental health issues, including lack of attention, low creativity, delays in language development, delays in social and emotional development, and addiction to these technologies.
What are the four 4 issues on ICT? ›Overall, the key issues and challenges found to be significant in using ICT tools by teachers were: limited accessibility and network connection, limited technical support, lack of effective training, limited time and lack of teachers' competency.
What are five 5 challenges that hindered the successful implementation of ICT in? ›In general, several studies have identified a range of the following or similar factors as widespread barriers: lack of computers, lack of quality software, lack of time, technical problems, teachers' attitudes towards computers, poor funding, lack of teacher confidence, resistance to change, poor administrative ...
What is the importance of IT in business? ›Contributing to revenue growth with significant improvements in business processes and products. Assisting in generating new business within a short time due to the availability of accurate information.