Security remains the top concern

System security just pips information worries

The top challenges for IT managers are security and the need to ensure that their departments are aligned with business requirements, according to the results of an annual survey published by IT Week. The findings also suggests that shortcomings in staff management could make it hard for firms to fill skills gaps in the future, experts warned.

According to the study of 5,200 IT managers and finance directors, system security will be the most pressing concern over the next year to 18 months - this was rated as very important by 76 percent of the respondents. This is closely followed by information security, which was cited by 71 percent.

Security has topped the survey for each of the seven years it has been carried out. Gavan Egan, head of Northern Europe at IT security specialist Cybertrust, said it is no surprise that IT security remains a preoccupation as threats have grown and money is at stake due to problems such as identity theft.

"But this is still not really translating into budgets," said Egan. "IT security managers need to start putting the threats into board-level language." He added that risk management procedures are one way to connect business requirements to IT security investment.

The research also showed that there is pressure on IT departments to align more with the rest of the business. Fifty-six percent of respondents said IT and business interaction was a top priority - though financial executives placed greater emphasis on this than their IT counterparts. Meanwhile, concerns about complying with regulations fell slightly, the research found.

Among the lesser concerns, only 17 percent of respondents rated IT staff management and recruitment as very important. But experts said firms are being short-sighted.

"They are living in the moment a bit, as supply and demand [for

IT staff] has plateaued in recent months. But this isn't appropriate for the medium and long term," said Bill Grubbs of IT recruitment firm Spring Group, who is a member of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation's IT sector group.

"There are also still pockets of demand for certain skills areas, and firms need to do analysis to get a better understanding of where these gaps lie," Grubbs said.

Grubbs added that pay rates are increasing at present, which could cause staff turnover to become a greater problem for firms.