ITSM professionals brace for tougher future challenges

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ITSM professionals brace for tougher future challenges
Out of all the latest technologies, IoT is expected to have the biggest impact in the workplace.

Published: Tue 22 Aug 2017, 4:15 PM

Last updated: Tue 22 Aug 2017, 7:36 PM

IT service management (ITSM) professionals are bracing themselves for a more challenging work environment, with many voicing their worries that changes in technology and political climate will adversely affect recruitment in the sector.
New research by ManageEngine showed that 82 per cent of ITSM professionals believe that their roles will become more challenging in the near future, as more and more millennials enter the workforce. Over 77 per cent of ITSM professionals believe that IT teams will have to do more to manage the expectation gap between younger and older employees.
In addition, more than 60 per cent of respondents feel that current global and local political scenarios - like Brexit, and the recent US elections - will adversely affect recruitment for IT roles.
Stephen Mann, principal analyst and content director at ITSM.tools, noted that it is "worrying" that the majority of survey respondents believe that working in IT will get harder over the next three years.
"Only 24 per cent of respondents think that existing ITSM best practices have kept up with the changing IT and business landscapes," he said. "Ultimately, as an industry, we still need to invest more in getting modern IT support right."
Professionals also believe that the advent of new technologies will add to the challenge, with Artificail Intelligence (AI) being seen as a disruptor in the industry. According to AT&T Foundry, the market for AI has grown tremendously in the last couple of years. Right now, approximately 1,500 companies in North America are developing AI applications including leading companies such as Microsoft, IBM, Google, and Amazon. This number is only expected to grow as institutions embrace AI's ability to increase productivity through intelligent automation, labor and capital augmentation, and innovation diffusion through AI partnerships.
Experts also forecast that annual global revenue from AI products and services will grow from $643.7 million in 2016 to as high as $100 billion by 2025.
"According to our latest Mobility Report, mobile broadband subscriptions in Middle East and Africa is expected to grow by almost three times between 2016 and 2022. This gives an indication that technology is becoming a basic part of our lives and advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and automation are definitely part of this great evolution," said Rafiah Ibrahim, president of Ericsson Middle East and Africa.
Surprisingly, only 16 per cent of survey respondents in the ITSM Future Readiness survey, said that they view the development of AI as a threat to IT jobs.
"Being aware of potential future challenges and opportunities helps ITSM professionals stay relevant and responsive to changing landscapes in IT and business, giving their organizations a competitive edge," said Rajesh Ganesan, director of product management at ManageEngine.
In addition, Spiceworks' Future of IT survey found that out of all the latest technologies, the Internet of Things (IoT) is expected to have the biggest impact in the workplace, with 80 per cent of IT professionals saying that IoT devices will be useful to their business practices.
- rohma@khaleejtimes.com
 

by

Rohma Sadaqat

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