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Security, Skills Gap Concerns Dampen IT Outlook

Cyber-security Security, Skills Gap Concerns Dampen IT Outlook A sweeping report from CompTIA paints a bright future for IT spending and hiring but shows rising concerns about cyber-security among business and IT execs. Improving Business Conditions 62% of global execs said business conditions are improving, but in the United States, the number is even higher […]

Written By: Maggie O'Neill

Jun 9, 2015

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Cyber-security

Security, Skills Gap Concerns Dampen IT Outlook

A sweeping report from CompTIA paints a bright future for IT spending and hiring but shows rising concerns about cyber-security among business and IT execs.

Improving Business Conditions

62% of global execs said business conditions are improving, but in the United States, the number is even higher at 69%.

Tech Spending Is Up

In the U.S, 15% of firms expect technology spending to increase by at least 10% while 74% anticipate it will increase by 1% to 9% in 2015.

Top Business Priorities Identified

Reaching new customers (66%), reducing costs and overhead (54%), and improving staff productivity (48%) were among the top priorities identified in the U.S. for 2015.

Growing Cyber-Security Threat

While 73% of U.S. executives said cyber-security threats are on the rise, 51% describe human error as a growing factor.

Cause for Cyber-Security Concerns

37% of U.S. execs see the greater interconnectivity of devices, systems and users as a growing concern, while 33% view the increasing reliance on Internet-based applications as problematic.

Additional Threat Factors

Some 31% of U.S. execs see the rise of social media as another threat to cyber-security while 34% are concerned by the greater availability of easy-to-use hacking tools.

Human Error Matters

12% of U.S. execs said that human error plays a significantly more important role in security breaches while 47% said human error as a factor has not changed.

Mind the Skills Gap

87% of U.S execs said that IT skills gaps exist in their organizations, resulting in lower staff productivity and shortfalls in innovation; 53% describe these skills gaps as somewhat extensive, but 35% describe them as small.

Training and Certification Are Important

In the past 12 months, 94% of U.S. IT personnel took some sort of IT training, while 70% of U.S. executives said they expect certification to grow in importance over the next two years.

Managing IT Functions Internally

In the U.S., 48% of respondents have an IT department with IT specialists, while 36% have IT staff but not as part of a dedicated department.

Turning to Outside Firms for IT Help

30% of all U.S. organizations periodically use an outside firm for IT projects or work, while 10% regularly outsource IT functions through managed services.

IT Function Management by Size

63% of large firms (those with more than 500 employees) have a formal IT department with dedicated IT specialists on staff, compared with 55% of midsize companies (with 100 to 499 employees).

Smaller Firms Look to More Outside Support

Nearly four in 10 (or 39% of) small firms (with 100 to 499 people) have their own IT departments with dedicated specialists, while 17% regularly outsource their IT needs.

Drivers of IT Solutions

54% of U.S. companies said they look to IT solutions and service providers for help repairing or troubleshooting IT problems, while 46% seek help with deployment, installation or integration.

Security, Skills Gap Concerns Dampen IT Outlook

Maggie O'Neill

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