The Great Resignation may or may not have eventuated depending on where you live. But
all organisations with an IT department are struggling to find technical expertise to support,
maintain and grow their business.
A global study found that by 2030, there will be a global human talent shortage of more
than 85 million people, which could result in about $8.5 trillion in unrealised annual
revenues 1 .
Closer to home, the Tech Council of Australia has forecast that “Australia will need 1 million
people in tech jobs by 2025. This means approximately 260,000 more people will need to
enter the Australian tech workforce in that time 2 .”
While industry, government and educators must work together to provide more pathways,
incentives and policies to address this drastic gap, the problem will not be solved in the
short term.
Market conditions are exacerbating an ongoing issue for businesses running stable releases
on older systems like Oracle EBS 12.1/12.0/11.5.9 and/or PeopleSoft 9.1/9.0 or earlier. A
recent study of CIOs found that 45% support older software versions but find it increasingly
difficult to get experienced support to keep them running—forcing them to consider
upgrades they don’t want.
Introducing a third-party support strategy equips businesses to meet these challenges
better.
Continue to grow
Lack of the right talent combined with semiconductor shortages and shipping delays mean
we’ve seen organisations put their digital transformations and growth plans on hold. It
doesn’t have to be this way.
DEC’s CEO Charlotte Walker says, “We’ve helped clients move forward with their growth
plans by leveraging hardware from our brokerage service. Vendors are telling some people
their new equipment is delayed by up to 450 days. Using new and quality recycled or
unused equipment means projects can continue, and upgrades can occur as and when.”
Get legacy support
With just under half of CIOs supporting older software versions, legacy support from a third
party offers a light at the end of the tunnel. Vendors simply stop offering support services
for older versions eventually, or they provide below-average service at an exorbitant price
for the privilege. Instead of hiring a single experienced person to maintain and run your
legacy system, third-party support means you’re gaining access to the knowledge and
value of many skill sets and removing key-person risk.
Save on costs
The average cost to bring a new hire on board currently sits at around $23,000 3 . Factor in
competitive salaries, sign-on bonuses, benefits, and the other ongoing costs of hiring an
employee directly; using a third party to plug your skills gaps can be a cost-effective option.
It also means you can redirect the savings to higher-priority projects.
The market continues to become increasingly competitive for technical professionals. The
number of software, hardware, and experienced firmware engineers are limited, and the
costs are high.
Get in touch If you need help closing the skills gap and want cost-effective support for your
legacy platforms,
Photo by Mick Haupt on Unsplash
1 https://www.kornferry.com/insights/this-week-in-leadership/talent-crunch-future-of-work
2 https://techcouncil.com.au/newsroom/2021sept-jobs-roadmap/
3 https://itbrief.com.au/story/the-cost-of-hiring-new-workers-doubles-to-more-than-23-000
