SolarWinds, a leading provider of simple, powerful, and secure IT management software, announced the findings from its IT Pro Day 2021 survey: Bring IT On.
Amidst ongoing pandemic-driven change at work and at home, this year's
survey seeks to understand how tech pros feel about their daily roles
and responsibilities, the lessons they learned over the past year, and
what they think of the primary technical and nontechnical skills needed
to capitalize on opportunities for their future career growth.
The survey supports IT Professionals Day,
which is observed on the third Tuesday of every September (September
21, 2021) and aims to celebrate the invincible heroes of IT who rise to
the challenge every day in navigating monumental and ever-shifting
transformations across the globe.
After
a year of unprecedented challenges and change, tech pros responding to
this year's survey report a positive perception of their roles and say
they look forward to what lies ahead. Almost half (48%) of tech pro
respondents say they're proud of what they do, another 44% love what
they do, and 41% believe this year has proven they're more capable than
they realized. As tech pros look to the future, 62% of respondents say
they're motivated to succeed in their roles and nearly all (81%) of the
tech pro respondents agree there will be multiple opportunities to
develop and enhance their careers in the next year.
"This
year's IT Pro Day survey results showcase IT pros' adaptability and
dedication to expanding the more prominent roles they've taken on over
the past year to support remote and hybrid work," said Chrystal Taylor,
Head GeekTM,
SolarWinds. "As more tech pros embrace the ‘Bring IT On' mentality,
reaching for more responsibility and a leading role in the digital
transformations of their businesses-and setting goals to get there-we
can certainly expect how the IT organization is viewed by the business
to completely transform in the future."
Tech
pro respondents also agree a balance between nontechnical skills and
more traditional technical certifications and experience will play a
large role in enabling career advancement, though past surveys showed
finding time to cultivate these skills is often limited. This year's IT
Pro Day survey shows life is an IT classroom, and many of the
nontechnical skills key to advancement can be gained at home or through
hobbies, reducing the barrier to advancement for tech pros seeking
higher-level opportunities at work requiring those skills. Collaboration
(teamwork, listening to others, networking; 66%), innovative or
creative problem-solving (48%), and communication (public speaking,
written documents; 46%) are the most important nontechnical skills
necessary for advancement.
These
nontechnical skill sets will play a large role in enabling tech pros to
achieve advanced responsibilities, such as project management and
becoming part of the decision-making process, which 34% of tech pro
respondents say is their biggest opportunity at work in the next year.
Meanwhile, tech pros are also cautious of challenges on the horizon,
like cybersecurity threats and burnout, but are confident the continued
evolution of IT operations in the new normal-such as new tools and
processes-will create positive change.
"As
tech pros gear up for what lies ahead, SolarWinds will be by their
side, providing the best tools, advice, and insight to help them tackle
everything head on," Taylor continues. "Whether it's through our free
THWACK® community
of over 150,000 registered members, our affordable IT operations
management solutions, or our Customer Success Center, we'll be on hand
to guide tech pros and make their lives easier."
Key Findings:
After
a year of unprecedented challenges, tech pro respondents say "Bring IT
On" to the year ahead. They feel a sense of pride in their achievements
and are highly motivated to expand their responsibilities and embrace
new opportunities for professional growth.
- When
reflecting on positive lessons learned about themselves in the last
year, 41% believe this year has proven they're more capable than they
realized.
- Nearly
a quarter (24%) of respondents say they learned they have leadership
skills, which will benefit them as they look to higher-level, more
cross-functional responsibilities and roles in the future.
- Forty-eight percent of tech pro respondents also say they're proud of what they do.
- More
than two-thirds (67%) of the respondents say they expect their level of
responsibility at work to increase over the next year.
- Twenty-seven
percent of those surveyed are extremely motivated to succeed in their
roles, saying they've set specific goals and look forward to achieving
them.
- Eighty-one
percent of tech pro respondents agree there will be multiple
opportunities to develop and enhance their careers in the next year, the
biggest of which is continuous education (gaining new skills and
certifications), chosen by more than half (56%) of the respondents.
Tech
pro respondents increasingly recognize a balance between nontechnical
skills learned in daily life and technical skills/professional
certifications will be key to career enhancement and new opportunities
in the future.
- Tech
pro respondents report security (57%), troubleshooting (51%), and
network management (49%) as the top technical skills needed to progress
in their careers.
- At
the same time, collaboration (for example, teamwork, listening to
others, and networking at 66%), innovative or creative problem-solving
(48%), and communication (such as public speaking, written documents at
46%) are seen as the most important nontechnical skills necessary for
advancement.
- Respondents also say the following experiences at home or in general daily life are perceived as most useful at work:
- Time management (e.g., prioritization, organization; 69%)
- Communication skills (verbal and nonverbal; 67%)
- Interpersonal skills (e.g., adaptability, flexibility, patience; 66%)
- Problem-solving (65%)
- Additionally,
nearly three-fourths (70%) of those surveyed say they have a hobby that
helps them in their day-to-day role as a tech pro.
- These
nontechnical skill sets will play a large role in enabling tech pros to
achieve bigger responsibilities, such as project management and
becoming part of the decision-making process, which 34% of respondents
say is their biggest opportunity at work in the next year.
- Further,
more than half (56%) of tech pro respondents believe they'll have the
chance to broaden their education to acquire new certifications and
skills, helping them excel in their careers and workplaces.
Though
tech pros are wary of future challenges like cybersecurity threats and
burnout, they believe an evolution in the IT operations of their
organizations will create positive change.
- More
than half (53%) of tech pro respondents cite cyberthreats as the
biggest challenge they expect their organizations to face in the next
year, followed closely by employee burnout (48%), the struggle to hire
for specific roles due to ongoing skills gaps/skills shortages (40%),
and an increased or unmanageable workload (37%).
- Regarding cyberthreats, the SolarWinds IT Trends Report 2021: Building a Secure Future revealed
a similar statistic-46% of the survey respondents cited external
security threats and breaches (like cyberattacks) to be the biggest
external factor influencing their organizations' risk exposure.
- However,
respondents anticipate their organizations' IT operations will evolve
in the "next normal" to better prioritize investments and address these
potential challenges:
- Implementing new tools and processes to better address security, compliance, and risk (68%)
- Adding more collaborative technologies (44%)
- Adopting next-generation IT operations solutions (40%)
The
SolarWinds IT Pro Day 2021 survey was conducted throughout August 2021
and surveyed 287 IT professionals globally who participate in the
SolarWinds THWACK user community, including a mix of IT generalists,
software engineers, developers, and security and data professionals.