Teaching staff to embrace managed services

Kitching: Senior management have a duty to reassure staff that services are being implemented to drive growth

You would be hard pressed to find an organisation whose business does not rely on IT to operate, whether it’s a small company dependent on email for sales leads or local government providing essential services. The increasing demand for critical IT systems and applications now outweighs the need to recruit new IT staff; a sentiment echoed by a selection of UK IT managers in the public and private sector we interviewed recently.

When it comes to investing in recruitment, the general feeling is one of extreme caution. In fact, only three per cent of UK businesses plan to replace IT staff to fill the skills gap. However, 95 per cent of the businesses we questioned believe it is vital to continue investing in IT, with 61 per cent citing managed services as a preferred approach.

Businesses are putting IT at the heart of their recovery plans because it can provide better cost savings and efficiency than more staff. Recruiting new people will not necessarily provide immediate efficiency gains, as it takes time to train them. Plus, many CIOs still fear a double-dip recession could occur and put pressure on their IT departments to investigate ways of either stripping the cost out of their existing system or considering alternative flexible solutions.

Analysts predict a clear move towards managed services to make up the IT skills shortfall, with Gartner forecasting that worldwide cloud services will grow to about £46bn this year alone. Many firms will consider cloud computing, giving IT services players an ideal opportunity to develop offerings.

Introducing more managed services to bridge the skills gap is being considered by many businesses in the coming year, particularly those hit by government cuts.

Companies are also recognising that not only are the risks reduced, but the investment is far smaller when compared with spending heavily on recruitment. It has been a difficult year for many IT workers. Some have already witnessed redundancies and may see managed services as another threat to their job security. This is largely because managed services is often tarred with the outsourcing brush, and workers worry that these new IT services are being brought in to replace them.

Senior management have a duty to reassure staff that these services are being implemented to drive growth, rather than to supplant them. By realising that managed services will make the business more successful, IT staff should be reassured that their jobs are more secure.

Helping IT departments to understand why implementing these services is a sensible move will make for a smoother transition and future working environment for all.