Australian technology leaders believe a lack of skills is the biggest threat to the success of digital delivery.
A new survey also found that IT budgets were growing in line with digital investment and a greater impact from digital disruption was expected this year.
The research comes from the Harvey Nash Australia Digital Event Pulse Survey 2015. It was shared at a recent digital event held in Sydney by recruitment consultancy and IT outsourcing service provider Harvey Nash Australia that attracted more than 120 industry leaders.
The battle for competitive advantage would be won through innovation but the human element remained critical, the event heard.
Speakers at the event included Freelancer.com chief executive and chairman Matt Barrie and Australia Post information, digital and technology executive general manager and chief information officer Andrew Walduck.
Mr Walduck was part of the independent review panel into the government’s personally controlled e-health records system. “I think, ultimately, any type of transformation has to start and end with people and it is what people believe, what is their purpose and what they are there to do and how their contribution can help to then shape what an organisation’s future can become,’’ Mr Walduck said.
The data, which was based on a survey of 165 technology leaders, found in 13 per cent of organisations, it was neither IT nor marketing carrying the digital banner. In those cases, it was likely that digital initiatives roll up directly to a business unit.
About 60 per cent of those surveyed outsourced technology services that support digital objectives.
The survey found there was a continued global shortage of critical skills with greater need for focus on data scientists.
The hiring trends for C-suite digital leaders showed there was an emerging shift to hire CIOs and technologists with a distinct focus on products, customer experience and audience engagement. Operations was much less of a focal point in 2015.
“It is no longer wholly about where you can deliver savings and cost reductions, it’s about where you can add value and customer engagement,’’ Harvey Nash managing director Bridget Gray said.
The survey found 62 per cent of respondents do not believe Australia is producing the right skills to succeed in the global digital economy.
The digitally-focused skills that are hardest to find in 2015 are strategy (58 per cent) and product management skills (36 per cent).
Ms Gray said the number of individuals who expressed interest in an executive position in technology meant there was not a shortage of competent CIOs or CTOs. “But at a closer glance there is a shortage of those that are truly customer-focused, and experienced strategically,’’ she said.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Jennifer Foreshew
Quelle/Source: The Australian, 21.04.2015
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