Tech Leaders Expect IT Budgets, Salaries to Rise in 2018: TEKsystems

More than twice as many tech leaders expect IT budget increases in 2018 than those who anticipate cuts, according to a recent survey from IT staffing/services provider TEKsystems. Similarly, an overwhelming majority predict that tech salaries will grow in 2018, as opposed to decline. The higher investment will support a number of IT-supported initiatives, in hopes of expanding cyber-security, cloud and mobile application capabilities/delivery while boosting overall efficiencies. Finding qualified IT job candidates to fill needed roles, however, remains a challenge—especially for positions such as software engineer and developer, as well as those related to DevOps and data analytics. More than 1,000 IT executives took part in the research.

Two of five of survey respondents expect their organization’s IT budget to increase in 2018. Only 16 percent expect it to decrease.

Nearly three of five anticipate that their tech staffers’ salaries will increase in 2018. Just 2 percent believe IT salaries will decrease.

TEKsystems reports that 42% of survey respondents said salaries for IT security professionals will increase in 2018—tops among tech professional categories—while 40 percent said the same for software engineers/developers/DevOps workers. Other tech professional categories best positioned for salary increases include data analytics (35 percent), cloud computing (35 percent) and IT architecture (31 percent).

More than three-quarters of respondents are confident in their IT department’s ability to satisfy and support core tech needs, while 72 percent express confidence in their IT department’s ability to satisfy and support line of business requirements. When it comes to satisfying and supporting new initiatives, 59 percent express confidence.

When asked about tech initiatives for 2018, 77 percent of respondents said they will prioritize security projects—the most of any particular area of focus. Cloud computing and mobile application initiatives ranked second, both cited by 62 percent of respondents.

When asked which IT roles are most critical for enabling success in 2018, 48 percent of respondents cited programmers and developers. Project managers were selected by 32 percent of respondents.

Software engineering, software development and DevOps ranked at the top for roles that are considered the most difficult to hire “exceptional” talent for, as selected by 45 percent of respondents. Both data analytics and security ranked second-highest, in a tie at 29 percent.

According to TEKsystems, 35 percent of respondents predict that their organization will most need IT to improve efficiencies, in terms of business objectives. One-third said their company will most need IT to implement new IT applications and infrastructure.