CompTIA’s 2017 IT Industry Outlook Predicts Strong Growth

Strong cloud services adoption and rapid growth of internet of things deployments will contribute to a particularly strong year for the IT industry worldwide.

Core IT is cementing its presence in the industry, according to CompTIA. Spending on IT hardware, software and services reached 59 percent of the global spend last year, while telecom services accounted for 41 percent of total IT spending last year.

The CompTIA IT Industry Business Confidence Index is forecast to reach almost 70 points out of 100, its highest point in years. In contrast, during the third quarter of 2009, IT industry business confidence stood at less than 50.

The U.S. IT workforce grew considerably in 2016. Total IT jobs in core IT markets reached 5.3 million, up 2.5 percent compared to the 5.1 million in 2015.

More than 2 million of IT workers reported being employed in the professional, scientific and technical services space, followed by 681,000 in the Information segment and another 490,400 in the government space. California, Texas and New York have the largest number of IT workers.

According to the report, the average IT worker makes $85,977 a year. The top 90th percentile of workers makes more than $141,000 a year and the lowest 10th percentile makes more than $45,000.

IT industry executives in the United States believe this year may prove challenging in finding good talent. In fact, 47 percent of respondents said hiring will be either “significantly more” or “moderately more” challenging in 2017 than it was in 2016. Just 10 percent of executives believe this year’s IT job market could be stronger.

According to the report, 56 percent of American IT executives expect difficulty in finding the right talent for emerging tech fields, while 40 percent predict difficulty in finding workers with the right soft skills. They’re also concerned about competing with other companies for sought-after talent.

There are several “emerging” job titles for which companies will be looking to hire in 2017, according to CompTIA. Chief data officer, chief marketing technologist, data architect, cloud services engineer and AR/VR engineer all made the list, as well as internet of things architect.

Technology continues to play a critical role in business. In fact, 43 percent of executives said technology allows for certain business processes to be run. Another 39 percent said technology is driving business outcomes. More than a third of respondents believe IT is driving corporate strategy and “redefining” businesses.

Opinions are mixed over the cloud’s value to customers. While 39 percent of respondents said the opportunity from cloud computing is the top reason companies should be optimistic, 30 percent said the cloud is a leading reason companies should be pessimistic.