Earlier this month, we as a technology community, celebrated IT Pro Day. As part of that, SolarWinds also conducted their annual survey, asking IT pros to provide some important feedback — this year with a hard look at something that has affected us all — COVID-19. To learn more about that survey and its findings, VMblog spoke with Patrick Hubbard, Head Geek at SolarWinds.
VMblog: SolarWinds recently released findings from their annual IT Pro Day survey for 2020. Can you give readers an overview about the study and what it covers?
Patrick Hubbard: This year’s survey results explore IT professionals’ journeys throughout the COVID-19 pandemic-how their responsibilities shifted and how they envision the role of IT evolving in the future. SolarWinds asked their THWACK® community of technology professionals to share their experiences in supporting organizations through the impact of COVID-19, including how their responsibilities shifted, the new skills they gained, their perception of what the future of IT might look like, and any other insights they had to share.
The IT Pro Day 2020 survey “You Were Built for This” supported IT Professionals Day (September 15, 2020), and aims to celebrate IT pros and recognize the expanding range of technologies they manage and the rapid pace of change they face.
VMblog: What were some of the most significant findings in this year’s report and why?
Hubbard: One of the more interesting findings shows IT pros gained an increased sense of confidence in their expanded roles, responsibilities, and ability to adapt to an unexpected change in the future, even though they’ve had to contend with more challenging working conditions throughout the pandemic.
This year’s findings revealed nearly two-thirds (64%) of surveyed IT pros were instilled with a new sense of confidence despite contending with challenges such as reduced budgets, greater decision-making responsibilities, and longer hours due to their organizations’ response to the pandemic. Likewise, just under half (46%) now feel empowered to bring more ideas to the table, while 58% said they now feel more prepared to succeed in similar unexpected situations.
This response is due in no small part to IT pros’ inherent sense of preparedness and experience in adapting and managing through substantial change and their ongoing efforts to upskill.
This newfound self-confidence, combined with IT pros’ achievements during this time, stands to transform how IT is viewed by the business in the future. IT may earn a more prominent voice in the C-suite, as 40% of surveyed IT pros believe they’ll now be involved in more business-level meetings. Likewise, the role of IT will be up-leveled due to the vast upskilling more than a quarter (26%) of IT pros underwent during this experience. With 31% admitting there’s a need to rethink internal processes to better accommodate the rapid change of pace required post-COVID, it’s likely a focus on IT pros’ upskilling will continue.
VMblog: What kind of impact or challenges did COVID-19 and the shift to remote work play in your findings?
Hubbard: COVID-19 accelerated IT pros’ ongoing efforts to upskill in critical competencies, such as systems management, network management, and security policies and compliance.
Even though more than half (61%) of the survey respondents felt they were at least “semi-prepared” for the move to a fully remote workforce, the poll found only 34% of IT pros were “very prepared” for the switch. The breadth of skills IT pros needed during this time shows how silos are disappearing as roles start to blur together. As explored in the SolarWinds IT Trends Report 2020: The Universal Language of IT, today there’s more crossover between traditional roles than there has ever been before, and we’ll continue to see these lines blur. Some silos may end up completely gone.
Since 2015, IT Pro Day has been held to show gratitude to those who keep the wheels of IT turning. This sentiment rings truer than ever this year. Changes brought about by COVID-19 have impacted not just our health concerns but our lifestyle considerations-from sharing workspaces with family and pets to learning how to homeschool our kids and many other things in between. Many of the lifestyle shifts we’ve had to make couldn’t have happened without modern technology. If we’ve learned anything from our IT pros this year, it’s that they’re ready, willing, and able to tackle any challenge head-on.
VMblog: What do the findings reveal about IT roles going forward, and how they will evolve in the future?
Hubbard: In the coming months, IT organizations will undergo many transformations-in technology, processes, and team structures-to accommodate the new IT requirements associated with extended remote work scenarios in a post-pandemic future. Over two-thirds of the survey respondents (71%) said they felt supporting a remote workforce struck a balance in which some aspects of day-to-day management were better and others were more challenging. Another 31% of the respondents agreed there’s a need to rethink internal processes to better accommodate the more rapid pace of change required post-COVID. Though 18% of the respondents reported their tool sets and technologies fell short in addressing the unique challenges of remote workforces, nearly one-third (28%) of IT pros flagged a need to consolidate existing solution suites (and their vendors) to simplify management, maintenance, and the cost of upkeep.
Although most IT organizations successfully managed the transition to remote work and played a critical role in ensuring business continuity, IT pros expect several trends to shape the future of their respective organizations. These include greater cross-team collaboration (53%), more responsibility (46%), IT inclusion in more business-level meetings and decision-making (41%), tighter budgets (even post-economic recovery; 26%) and more opportunities to upskill/attend trainings (25%).
The IT Pro Day 2020 survey “You Were Built for This” aims to highlight how relevant and important IT professionals are at any minute of any day of any year. It aims to celebrate those who worked to have their businesses and companies prepared through it all-pre-pandemic, during the pandemic, and in a post-pandemic future. IT pros are built for this-for any challenge, difficulty, or situation they face.
VMblog: Finally, where can readers go to find out more about the report?
Hubbard: You can read more about the findings of the SolarWinds IT Pro Day 2020 survey “You Were Built for This” here.
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