What an IT career will look like in 5 years
What an IT career will look like in 5 years By 2028, IT professionals will be able to collaborate with colleagues equipped with AI. Teams will no longer need to be physically present but will have fully embraced this notion of hybrid work and will be able to better evolve from one company to another, thanks to key skills, IT market analysts say.. While crystal ball technology is notoriously fallible, IT experts say there are a handful of changes to IT work we’re likely to see in half a decade. They predict IT workers will work in more task-oriented environments than job-oriented ones, relying even more heavily on automation and AI, and using increasingly portable yet powerful tools. At the same time, AI-powered automation in particular will require a human touch to scrutinise processes and outcomes, creating a greater need for soft skills in IT ranks than ever before. Here’s a look at how IT teams will operate and collaborate across the enterprise in the near future. Automation attacks productivity Driven by advances in AI, IT work will become increasingly automated over the next five years, according to those at the forefront of these changes. In addition to general workplace improvements, automation will play a critical role in all areas of IT, including software development, by streamlining IT processes and increasing IT productivity. “IT leaders have led their organisations through immense workplace changes over the past three years, and it will only get more complex in five years,” says Saket Srivastava, CIO of Asana. “Companies are facing a shortage of resources and skilled profiles, so we need automation to be our ally to automate mundane, repetitive, and low-value tasks so our talent can work on more impactful projects.” According to Srivastava, companies will automate low-skilled tasks to reduce mental load and save time. “Think about how you can implement advanced data science models to understand customer pain points and improve service,” he says. Jim Flanagan, CIO of Hanscom Federal Credit Union, predicts that natural language processing (NLP) will work in tandem with automation to enhance the technology IT teams will soon rely on. “NLP is able to discern intent, context, and ambiguity in written text or speech,” Flanagan says. “Our calendars will automatically schedule our workday based on variables like deadlines and estimated time frames, and our inboxes will automatically group emails by priority, taking into account the sentiment of the sender’s message, ensuring the most important emails receive the quickest attention, at our convenience.” AI-driven “do not disturb” features will prevent us from receiving emails when we need to focus, and this technology will help us compose responses faster, often with minimal effort on our part.” AI increases the value of computer work. Like many other industry experts, Mike Hendrickson, vice president of technology products and development at Skillsoft, sees a bright future for AI in the IT workplace. But for Mike Hendrickson, the future of AI in IT will involve collaboration between IT staff and AI technologies. And as more and more tasks are handled by AI, basic human skills will be more important than ever, especially when it comes to troubleshooting automated processes. Kim Huffman, CIO of TripActions, agrees. AI will reduce the number of repeat internal support requests that require human intervention, freeing up IT support employees for more personal interactions. “We will see the use of AI increase in software development and testing functions, shifting the role of these employees to higher-level, more personal tasks,” says Kim Huffman. Mike Bechtel, chief futurist at Deloitte Consulting, warns that adopting AI to improve IT operations and employee productivity will require a new level of trust in the technology. “The experience of an augmented workforce—in terms of recruiting, productivity, learning, and more—will certainly be one to watch, as the level of trust we place in our AI colleagues could be surprising,” says Bechtel. “Having confidence that AI is providing the right analytics and insights will be paramount. To build trust, AI algorithms must be visible, verifiable, and explainable, and employees must be involved in the design and production of AI. Organizations are realizing that competitive gains will be easier to achieve when trust in this technology is established.” Additionally, the increased reliance on AI for IT support and development work, such as entry-level coding, as well as cloud and systems administration, will put pressure on IT professionals to upskill in more challenging areas, says Michael Gibbs, CEO and founder of Go Cloud Careers. “With artificial intelligence replacing hands-on technical work, IT workers need to improve their business acumen, leadership abilities, communication skills, emotional intelligence, and architectural skills,” says Michael Gibbs. “The world will need more people with deep architectural experience to better connect new technologies to maximize business performance.” Skill-based teamwork and dynamic sourcing Speaking of skills, there’s a focus on business and deeper technical know-how. These points will be associated with a shift in organisations that, in the coming years, will seek flexibility by prioritising skills over jobs, according to a Deloitte study. Deloitte’s Bechtel cites the example of Mercedes-Benz, which he says has “organised some of its IT profiles into ‘capability sets’ to improve the flexibility of assigning staff to new roles or new products.” And Mike Bechtel says the results speak for themselves: “Competency-based companies have a greater than 100% chance of placing talent effectively and a 98% chance of retaining top performers.” IT professionals who tend to change jobs every few years may, in fact, be exactly what future companies are looking for, and we could see a shift in how they think about long-term careers, he says. “Companies that are ahead of the curve are already using talent outsourcing, through temporary workers or contractors, to fill gaps and free up their internal resources so they can focus on the most challenging and interesting tasks, and we expect more and more organisations to adopt this approach, much to the delight of these bored IT professionals,” says Mike Bechtel. Teleworking in force The pandemic … Read more
