Digitalization initiatives with Amazon Web Services (AWS) often don’t fail because of intractable security or compliance requirements. Instead, they fail because of a lack of necessary cloud skills. Many companies are experiencing too few AWS experts in the market. Managed services can be a pragmatic solution to implement cloud and digitalization projects.
The IT Leaders Pulse Report, published at the end of 2022, found that 98 percent of IT managers see a serious shortage of skilled workers in their companies. The fact that there is a shortage of skilled workers – especially in IT – is not a new finding. But the situation is getting worse: Even companies that so far didn’t have to worry about a lack of IT experts or young professionals (despite the ongoing “war for talent”) cannot fill vacancies anymore. According to a Bitkom study, there is now a shortage of 137,000 IT specialists across all industries in Germany. Therefore, as there are IT skills shortages for basic understandings, there is even more pertinence for modern cloud skill sets. Gartner concludes that “the cloud skills shortage has already reached a crisis level in many organizations.”
Crisis – because many companies (have to) jump on the cloud bandwagon to leverage the advantages of the cloud for their future business. They need the cloud to survive and thrive in a highly competitive and innovative environment. But the mix of ambitious cloud-first strategies and a lack of cloud skills does not make for a very digestible cloud cocktail. How can cloud strategies become a reality if the necessary personnel cannot be found? "The shortage of skilled workers is becoming the main obstacle to digital transformation," sums up Achim Berg, Bitkom president.
The topic of cloud skills or skills for digitalization is increasingly gaining the top spot on many companies’ business agendas. It is replacing the classic topics: security, compliance and governance as the top obstacles to cloud adoption. But how can companies solve the challenge? HR departments are in the limelight. Cloud-based know-how should be attracted and retained in the company with creative recruiting and retention initiatives; however, given the depleted labor market, there will only be limited success. “Attracting and retaining IT professionals has never been more difficult than it is today,” summarized 73 percent of IT Leaders Pulse Report respondents.
What are the alternatives? First, employees must be relieved to gain the necessary leeway to develop in-house skills. Automation and tools must increase efficiency in IT – and create a working environment that generates efficiency without exploding working time accounts. Tool vendors who can provide the appropriate tools feel more than a whiff of gold rush excitement. The market for automation software is constantly growing. Gartner has long since proclaimed hyper-automation as a top trend in tech strategy. Implementing automation solutions is definitely a sensible approach to relieving IT teams in the long run. But new tools also need new expertise. And that, in turn, means additional effort for IT teams already under strain to free themselves from the clutches of strategic and everyday requirements. Not to be forgotten: the typical cloud challenges still need to be overcome.
The shortage of skilled workers is becoming the main obstacle to digital transformation."
Achim Berg, Bitkom President
Managed services are a second alternative that corresponds to the age-old principle: "What you can't or don't want to do yourself, let someone else do" – in modern terms: "make or buy"—a convincing approach for an increasing number of companies. Figures from analysts confirm this. Gartner forecasts a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 19.1 percent for cloud-managed services over the next few years – starting from a market size in the double-digit billion range. With managed services, companies receive needs-based access to the current know-how of cloud experts and can thus close gaps in their competencies at short notice. Managed services can be used on a project basis and for a limited time to supplement in-house know-how. But they can also be used long-term, in the sense of partnerships for continuously outsourcing IT services.
What Managed Services entail varies. However, one thing is certain: there is always someone on the market who can close the skills gap in the company. The larger the provider, the more options available and the greater the ability to upskill to tackle more complex topics. With Managed Cloud Services for AWS, T-Systems offers a wide range of services that cover the entire life cycle of using the AWS cloud: consulting, strategy development, migration, modernization, DevOps/SRE enabling the operation of the services. This includes setting up landing zones, security, networking, data transfer, application/database modernization, edge computing, cost optimization or cloud container services, ...
So: Don't be afraid of digitalization with AWS. Managed Services offer everything you need to make it happen.
T-Systems is an AWS Premier Consulting Partner with over 600 AWS-certified experts. T-Systems Managed Services for AWS has been recognized as a leader by independent analysts’ multiple times, most recently in the ISG Provider LensTM AWS Ecosystem 2022.
We can close the gaps in your AWS skills and help you realize your digitalization projects. Contact us.
