A new SolarWinds study has found that if IT professionals plan to keep up with the pace of innovation in the industry, there will need to be some major changes.

SolarWinds new study, entitled Trends Report 2019: Skills for Tech Pros of Tomorrow is based on a survey fielded in December 2018, which yielded responses from 100 practitioners, managers, and directors in the UK from public-and private-sector small, mid-size, and enterprise companies.

SolarWinds findings

Their annual report, which examines the state of skills and career development for technology professionals, reveals that they only have one foot grounded in today’s hybrid IT realities while also setting their sights on new technologies.

Specifically, tech professionals in DevOps, have prioritised skills in systems and infrastructure management, security management, and hybrid IT deployment and management over the last 12 months.

However, in the next three years, these professionals plan to improve their skills in security management and hybrid IT, while eyeing careers paths in areas like data science and analytics.

According to SolarWinds study, 70% of UK tech professionals need to develop their skill in order to confidently manage environments by 2024, but nearly 80% said they lack the time, training, and funding, the report said.

Risks of performance

This stark reality ultimately put businesses at risk of performance and competitive advantage losses, making it important for DevOps teams, developers, and WPMs, to develop their skills and careers in the next couple of years.

“Recent history has proven that there is a direct correlation between technology and business performance,” said Joe Kim, executive vice president, and global chief technology officer, SolarWinds.

“The results of this year’s IT Trends Report highlight that businesses need to focus even more on developing these professionals charged with running and pioneering technologies for the businesses. By removing day-to-day barriers, arming technology pros with the right technology and management tools, and prioritising skills and career development in the IT budget, tech pros can be better equipped for the future and help with business growth.”

“The findings are also in line with our view that the most critical problem we need to help tech pros solve today is the reality of the hybrid IT landscape—this applies to all tech pros whether on-premises, managing hybrid infrastructures, SaaS-based, or MSPs,” added Kim.

“The way SolarWinds has always addressed and will continue to address these realities is through our deep connection to tech pros across the IT infrastructure. We are committed to understanding the needs of our customers and making their jobs easier as business technology continues to evolve.”