Budgetary pressures eroding IT leaders confidence

IT is having a crisis of confidence.

That’s the conclusion of the latest study conducted by TEKsystems, a provider of IT staffing and services. The company surveyed more than 1,000 IT executives in October 2017 and found that budgetary pressures and new demands are eroding IT leaders’ confidence in their ability to provide core services and satisfy their end users.

The respondents also indicated that their leadership responsibilities have diminished, and they are no longer responsible for strategic decisions. Instead, their role is increasingly limited to maintenance activities—especially with regard to data access and security.

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Contradicting other recent reports, the study found that only 40 percent of the executives expect their budgets to grow in 2018, down from 49 percent the year before. On the other hand, 58 percent expect IT staff salaries to increase in 2018, compared with the 36 percent who expected the same for 2017.

The respondents’ confidence in their ability to satisfy basic service demands dropped 10 percent from 2017 levels, although their confidence in successfully completing new initiatives has remained the same. This correlates to their budgetary expectations, according to the report. With fewer IT leaders expecting budget increases in 2018, they are more inclined to question their ability to satisfy their end users due to fewer resources at their disposal.

The most common new initiatives that these IT managers are undertaking include projects related to the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality and blockchain.

This story originally appeared in Information Management.
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