Companies need greater business expertise from IT workers, says Gartner

The supply of IT skills is failing to meet the demand for properly qualified professionals in the field, according to new research from analyst Gartner.

The study suggests that traditional technology skills will no longer suit the market’s needs.

“This is a massive and devastating skills shortage, and it is coming when there is a surge in the number of projects that are required from IT,” said Gartner vice president Andy Kyte.

“I keep meeting CIOs who say they will be running resource-constrained projects in 2008,” he said.

“But the constraint is not from the budget but from the lack of the right people.”

According to the Gartner report, companies should explore alternative ways of delivering IT services and keep monitoring markets to spot emerging threats.

And employers are increasingly demanding professionals able to drive business growth through the use of technology.

“What constitutes ‘qualified people’ will change,” said Gartner vice president Diane Morello.

“The intersection of business models and IT requires people with varied experience, professional versatility, multidiscipline knowledge and technology understanding – a hybrid professional, in other words,” she said.