SolarWinds IT Trends Report 2019: Skills for Tech Pros of Tomorrow examines confidence, current and future skillsets, career development, and barriers to career success Tech pros still prioritise hybrid IT and security and look to develop deeper understanding in areas like AI and data science

According to more than 80 percent of tech pros, more training, time, and budget is needed to develop skills to manage environments in the next three to five years

SINGAPORE, March 26, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SolarWinds , a leading provider of powerful and affordable IT management software, today released the findings of the SolarWinds® IT Trends Report 2019: Skills for Tech Pros of Tomorrow. This year’s annual report studies the state of skills and career development for technology professionals—meaning anyone who manages on-premises or public/private cloud infrastructures, hybrid IT environments, or SaaS-based applications, as well as managed service/managed security service providers (MSP/MSSP)—revealing they have one foot grounded in today’s hybrid IT realities while also setting their sights on emerging technology.

Specifically, tech pros have prioritized systems and infrastructure, security management, and hybrid IT skills development in the past 12 months. When it comes to the next three to five years, they are looking to develop skills in areas like artificial intelligence (AI) and big data analytics, while eyeing career paths such as data science and coding. However, without improvement in time and budget constraints, the majority of tech pros in Singapore (71 percent) say they will be unable to confidently manage future innovations. This reality ultimately puts businesses at risk of performance and competitive advantage losses, making the prioritization of skills and career development for tech pros paramount.

“Recent history has proven that there is a direct correlation between technology and business performance,” said Joe Kim, executive vice president and global chief technology officer, SolarWinds. “The results of this year’s IT Trends Report highlight that businesses need to focus even more on developing these professionals charged with running and pioneering technologies for the businesses. By removing day-to-day barriers, arming technology pros with the right technology and management tools, and prioritizing skills and career development in the IT budget, tech pros can be better equipped for the future and help with business growth.”

“The findings are also in line with our view that the most critical problem we need to help tech pros solve today is the reality of the hybrid IT landscape—this applies to all tech pros whether on-premises, managing hybrid infrastructures, SaaS-based, or MSPs,” added Kim. “The way SolarWinds has always addressed and will continue to address these realities is through our deep connection to tech pros across the IT infrastructure. We are committed to understanding the needs of our customers and making their jobs easier as business technology continues to evolve.”

2019 Key Findings

The SolarWinds IT Trends Report 2019: Skills for Tech Pros of Tomorrow explores confidence, current and future skillsets, career development, and barriers to career success to provide a clear understanding of how tech pros and the businesses they serve can improve to better manage future technology realities.

Key findings show that:

The majority of technology professionals in Singapore are not fully confident they have all the skills needed to manage their environments into the near future, especially when it comes to emerging tech.

71 percent of all tech pros surveyed in Singapore are not “completely confident” in having all the necessary skills to successfully manage their IT environments over the next three to five years—even though 99 percent of tech pros have worked to develop a skill over the past 12 months.

When it comes to the idea of implementing or managing specific technologies, emerging tech is a pain point (despite how much mindshare these buzzworthy technologies get in headlines). The top three technologies tech pros feel unequipped to manage with their current skillsets are: 1. AI (62 percent) 2. Machine and/or deep learning (58 percent) 3. Blockchain and big data analytics (43 percent) According to the Gartner ® list of strategic technology trends that have the potential to disrupt and are on the verge of becoming more widely used in the next five years, AI and blockchain rank in the top 10. There is a great opportunity for tech pros to increase their knowledge of these technologies to have productive conversations with businesses on the reality of implementation in the near future.



Tech pros in Singapore will continue building skills in daily operations with an eye toward areas like data science.

In the past 12 months, tech pros have prioritised skills in hybrid IT deployment monitoring and management (50 percent), systems and infrastructure management (42 percent), and security management (41 percent).

In the next three to five years, the top two skills tech pros plan to develop are data science and analytics (57 percent) and hybrid IT deployment monitoring and management (53percent). This is in line with the what tech pros say will be the most important aspect of their organisations’ transformation over the next three to five years (by weighted rank): cloud and/or hybrid IT and big data and analytics. It is also in line with findings from the SolarWinds IT Trends Report 2018: The Intersection of Hype and Performance . Last year, 81 percent of surveyed tech pros worldwide said cloud and hybrid IT are among the top five most important technologies that will drive their organisations’ digital transformation over the next three to five years. Tech pros’ instincts are correct when it comes to their top skillset areas as they are expected to see continued growth, according to Gartner: The firm predicts that the Worldwide Public Cloud Services market will grow by 17.33percent in 2019, going from US$175.8 billion in 2018 to US $206.2 billion this year.

Security management rounds out the top three skillsets tech pros in Singapore plan to develop in the next three to five years. Gartner research analysts also estimate that global revenue for the information security market will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.8percent between 2017 and 2022, reaching US $143 billion in constant currency terms.



Tech pros in Singapore say cloud and/or hybrid IT, AI, and big data analytics are the key technologies for career development, which will help achieve higher goals like innovation.

Tech pros say the most important technologies for their career development are (by weighted rank) aligned with the top three technologies for organisations’ transformation over the next three to five years. 1. Cloud and/or hybrid IT (56 percent) 2. AI (59 percent) 3. Big data analytics (60 percent) Numbers four and five on the list are machine and/or deep learning and automation and/or orchestration, respectively, suggesting that tech pros are thinking about the impact of emerging tech on their careers.

When it comes to career development goals over the next three to five years, tech pros will look to prioritise (by weighted rank): 1. Technology innovation (53 percent) 2. Strategic planning (38 percent) 3. Data analytics and/or data science (43 percent) IT security protocol and/or processes and management/leadership skills (people management) round out the top five career development goals for the next three to five years.



Tech pros in Singapore have an appetite to prioritise career development on a weekly basis but are hindered by factors like time and cost.

More than eight in 10 tech pros (85 percent) say their day-to-day IT tasks extend into time earmarked for career development, with 22 percent saying this always happens.

This is alarming, considering tech pros enjoy technology skills training, with 50percent finding it informative, 29 percent saying it’s engaging and interactive, and 24 percent reporting it’s not long enough.

Currently, tech pros engage in IT skills training and/or career development programs ranging from a few times a year (29 percent) to annually (20 percent) and monthly (16 percent); however, if there were no schedule or workload restrictions, most (33 percent) would prefer monthly training.

Tech pros cite time and availability (34 percent) and cost (33 percent) as the two biggest barriers affecting their current ability to participate in IT skills training and career development programs at the frequency they would like.

When it comes to their primary sources for training, tech pros turn to: 1. Vendor training (24 percent) 2. Industry events/tradeshows (20 percent) 3. Online communities/forums (16 percent)

However, the ideal delivery format for IT skills training according to tech pros is (by weighted rank): 1. In-person workshop/user conference (full-day) 2. Self-guided online course 3. Pre-recorded training module



To explore and interact with all of the 2019 findings, please visit the SolarWinds IT Trends Index , a dynamic web experience that presents the study’s findings by region and additional insights into the data, as well as charts, graphs, and socially shareable elements.

The findings are based on a survey fielded in December 2018, which yielded responses from 104 technology practitioners, managers, and directors in Singapore from public-and private-sector small, mid-size, and enterprise companies.

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About SolarWinds

SolarWinds (NYSE:SWI) is a leading provider of powerful and affordable IT infrastructure management software. Our products give organizations worldwide, regardless of type, size or IT infrastructure complexity, the power to monitor and manage the performance of their IT environments, whether on-premises, in the cloud, or in hybrid models. We continuously engage with all types of technology professionals—IT operations professionals, DevOps professionals, and managed service providers (MSPs)—to understand the challenges they face maintaining high-performing and highly available IT infrastructures. The insights we gain from engaging with them, in places like our THWACK online community, allow us to build products that solve well-understood IT management challenges in ways that technology professionals want them solved. This focus on the user and commitment to excellence in end-to-end hybrid IT performance management has established SolarWinds as a worldwide leader in network management software and MSP solutions. Learn more today at www.solarwinds.com .

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