The 5 things shaping tech

Despite C-19, the war for tech talent continues

With many more candidates becoming available on the market, it’s tempting to think that the search for skills will become easier.

Whilst this is certainly true in some areas, such as project management and business analysis, in others, like development, cyber security and(unsurprisingly) cloud, demand has increased.

And the supply of qualified candidates, keen for the job protection of ‘staying put’, has gone down. Just like in the recession of 2008, we are not really seeing salaries drop.

Will Jones, director at Harvey Nash comments: “It’s no easier finding technology talent now than it was pre-crisis. Covid-19 has had a disruptive effect on the market for talent, and like all disruption it’s not been neat or predictable.”

Location is dissolving away

One of our clients have just made their first appointment outside a 10 mile radius of their New York office - in Saudi Arabia! It’s a thought-provoking fact.

With remote working, companies are beginning to open their eyes to the idea that any location is possible, that their potential talent pool is world-wide.

It’s a whole attitude shift, and requires a different mindset and approach to recruit, retain and develop staff in a world where a physical office – with its grand buildings, free lunches, table football and (for the energetic few) running tracks – are not part of your daily life, or the main attraction of the role.

Lily Haake, Harvey Nash CIO Practice, comments: “Organisations are going to need to rethink their employee offer. Some already are, and getting ahead of the game.”

A time to build resilience in the supply chain

Covid-19 seems to have created two competing trends.

On one side is a desire to bring the supply chain closer to home in uncertain times.

On the other, many technology leaders are pleasantly surprised about how effective their newly home-based workforce has been, and are seeing one of the big objections to outsourcing dissolve: remoteness.

David Levin, director at Harvey Nash Group’s IT outsourcing business NashTech, comments: “Our clients are thinking: ‘If I can run my team through Zoom, that team could include anyone, anywhere and from any company. What are the possibilities?’”

In uncertainty, the only strategy is flexibility

Uncertainty isn’t good for planning.

In fact when so much is up in the air, the only effective response is to become nimble and flexible; ready to pounce on opportunities when they present themselves.

We’re seeing clients pivot very quickly on introducing new services and products (or, indeed, micro-services / products).

But you can’t pivot products quickly without pivoting on people, and it’s becoming increasingly important for many of our clients to build a more flexible resource pool.

Will Jones comments: “A big question that CIOs are asking right how is how they can get the best combination of contractors, statement of work engagements and outsourcing to compliment their permanent workforce. And bubbling at the edges is the delayed,but looming, presence of IR35.”

Another nail in the coffin for on-premise tech?

Most organisations have invested in cloud, but for many there remains legacy applications that have stayed stubbornly on-site.

Covid-19 appears to be changing this. Lockdown has shown that even with the keys to the server rooms, tech leaders don’t necessarily have hands-on access to their systems, and it has a precipitated a drive to get these final applications fully cloud enabled.

David Levin comments: “One CIO recently said to me that more digital transformation has occurred in her organisation in the last four months, than has happened in the last ten years.  For all the bad things the crisis has brought, there has been one good one: it has acted as a catalyst for change.”