The IT leader’s report to overcoming the software skills crunch

As technology continues to play a critical role in the success of businesses, software development has become an increasingly important aspect of IT. However, some countries are struggling with a shortage of skilled software professionals, making it challenging to attract developers, driving up salaries, and costs of operations. To address this issue, various solutions have been proposed, such as outsourcing, hiring remote team members, partnering with offshore development companies, or establishing subsidiaries in countries with an adequate supply of developers. Each approach has its advantages and drawbacks for the parent organisation. In this report, we explore how staffing solutions and resourcing strategies in this field are changing, based on the feedback from 50 IT leaders and managers. If you anticipate or are already facing resource challenges in software engineering, this report will provide valuable insights.

Understanding the software skills crunch

What’s the state of the software skills crunch? We wanted the answer, so we collaborated with CIO WaterCooler and Freeform Dynamics to produce the CIO Pulse Report.

The report aims to help organisations navigate this software skills crunch in the IT industry. It explores the reasons behind the skills shortage, offers solutions, and provides insights into how companies can bolster their recruiting processes with remote or offshore teams.

We found that many parts of the world are still experiencing a severe shortage of software skills. It’s especially present in developed economies where salaries are prohibitively high, yet the focus on IT education, infrastructure, and resources is low. Nevertheless, this is expected to change in 2023, and beyond.

Key finding: The importance of offshoring with the right partner

The growing demand for skilled IT talent has made finding the right candidates challenging for many companies. 52% of IT leaders say they need help finding suitable offshore talent. However, this is not the case in emerging tech economies like India, which have made the IT sector an issue of national interest and continued investment.

The survey found that most software teams already have developers working from home, at least part of the time. This means, moving away from a local ‘in-house’ team is not only a reality for these companies, it’s an inevitability. In this blog, we will take a deeper look at the findings.

Benefits and challenges of remote and offshore teams

The software skills crunch has increasingly made remote and offshore solutions more appealing due to access to a larger pool of talent with diverse skills and experience, faster time-to-market with 24/7 development cycles, increased flexibility to scale their software development teams as needed, and often more cost-effective solutions. At the same time, organisations rightfully have many concerns over possible obstacles they might face when adopting remote and offshore teams.

However, companies can overcome these challenges with the right offshore development partner. 25% of IT leaders are already fully leveraging remote and offshore staff availability and cost benefits, whereas 31% have adoption or expansion plans that include it.

According to the report, most IT leaders source software developers through a traditional in-house model and only occasionally use overseas contractors. However, this is rapidly changing as remote and offshore developers refine their processes and adopt more improved best practices.

Best practices for working with remote and offshore teams

When considering an offshore vendor, there are several best practices to keep in mind. One of the key strategies is to train and manage offshore staff as part of the core team, to ensure that they are fully integrated into the company’s operations and culture. Motivating and retaining offshore staff is also important to ensure that they remain committed and productive over the long term. Integrating offshore and local teams operationally and culturally is another essential step, and developing a plan to establish a branded presence can help to build trust with customers and stakeholders. It is also important to tackle organisational challenges quickly, particularly as companies grow and face new obstacles.

IT leaders have many concerns about the software skills crunch and selecting a remote and offshore model, but by following these best practices, companies can maximise the benefits of working with offshore vendors while minimising the risks and challenges. Even though the in-house model dominates, remote and offshore partners offer solutions to many problems companies face. They can help companies address their organisational concerns.

Read the full article at: https://thescalers.com/the-it-leaders-report-to-overcoming-the-software-skills-crunch/