6 IT Trends Taking us into 2022

In 2021 we saw a massive shift towards remote work and the continued increase in demand for skilled IT professionals, in many avenues. If we’ve learned anything over the previous year, it’s to be prepared for the unexpected, and that the journey within IT will always be an exciting and progressive one.

Here are 6 IT Trends to watch in 2022:

1. An increase in IT budgets

Over 50% of businesses plan to increase their IT budgets in 2022. The main factors driving this growth will be an increased priority on IT projects, the need to upgrade outdated infrastructure, employee growth, and the need to support and secure remote workers.

2. A continuation of the tech skills shortage

In as many as 3 in 4 IT Teams are dealing with a critical skills gap. A larger emphasis will hopefully be placed on investing in employee training, empowering professionals to upskill, and filling vacant roles with diverse candidates. The massive shortages within the IT industry have restricted digital transformation initiatives. Changes have outpaced the skills of existing team members faster than new people can be found.

3. A continued shift towards the Cloud

Predictions indicate that spending will increase on cloud services in 2022, and that 50% of workloads are expected to run on public clouds by 2023. The reason being that over half of IT professionals feel that cloud providers can offer a more cost effective and secure solution, compared to self-managing and hosting. There is however, much debate building around this.

4. An abundance of job opportunities

Recent data reflects that up to 40% of companies, and 60% of enterprises, plan to hire additional IT staff within the next 12 months. This comes at a time that up to a quarter of IT professionals will be looking for new job opportunities.

5. The preference for remote work

In a recent study results showed that over 80% of would-be applicants are most likely to consider remote jobs in 2022, and over 75% would prefer this option. IT professionals are demanding more flexibility and this is becoming more and more realistic with an estimated 25% of the workforce expected to fulfill remote roles once offices re-open for employees to return.

6. The rise in AI and automation

The Australian Government is investing $124 million into their AI action plan, which includes the development of the National Artificial Intelligence Centre in Canberra. Forward thinking businesses and IT teams will head into 2022 expecting the adoption of AI and automation tools to keep picking up pace, and take action accordingly.

References: www.spiceworks.com | www.ia.acs.org.au | www.industry.gov.a