IT Skills Gap: CIO Headache, Channel Opportunity

With CIOs reporting the greatest technology skills shortage since 2007, it's no surprise that half of them expect to increase their IT outsourcing spend in 2016, according to the annual survey conducted by IT staffing company Harvey Nash and KPMG. The survey of 3,352 global CIOs and technology leaders finds that IT budgets for many organizations are growing. However, "growth organizations—where CIOs are operating with an increased IT budget compared to last year—are more likely to be impacted by the technology skills shortage; 67 percent of these IT leaders report a talent gap compared to the average (65 percent)," the report reads. As a significant number of CIOs look to outsource to gain technology skills that they don't have in-house, and to free up resources so they can focus on their core business, key opportunities open up for IT solution providers with the right skill sets and services. Here are key takeaways from the report that point to the biggest opportunities for the channel.