Shortage of staff with tech skills is a big threat to 58% of businesses in Nigeria - survey
A survey of Nigerian companies showed that 58% of IT decision makers in Nigeria consider the shortage of staff with IT skills as one of the main threats to their business.
The survey also revealed that 34% of technology decision makers in Nigeria plan to move to a new region and 33% to a new country, while 58% consider the shortage of staff with IT skills as one of the main threats to their business.
The investigation was conducted by Equinix, which completed the acquisition of MainOne in Nigeria earlier this year.
The company said that as part of the Equinix 2022 Global Technology Trends Survey, 100 Nigerian business leaders were asked about the opportunities and challenges facing their organizations, as well as their plans for the future.
The survey found that 54% of respondents plan to expand to an existing country in the next 12 months, 34% to a new region, and 33% to a new country. It also showed that 93% of Nigerian IT managers said improving the customer experience was a priority.
About 55% said their business was plagued by global supply chain issues and shortages, while 50% said the global microchip shortage posed a threat to their business.
However, a number of potentially limiting factors have been identified by companies with respect to global growth, including concerns and challenges related to supply chain, cybersecurity, as well as retention and recruiting staff.
As part of their digital-first strategies, 85% of respondents in Nigeria confirmed that a key priority was to improve cybersecurity, while 88% said it was essential to comply with the local market data regulations. An additional 85% highlighted the need to future-proof their businesses. According to Nigerian IT professionals, the most feared threats are cyberattacks (73%), security breaches and data leaks (68%).
Staff retention and recruitmentDespite having one of the youngest population and workforce in the world, 58% of IT decision makers in Nigeria consider the shortage of skilled personnel as one of the main threats to their business. The survey showed that some of the most common concerns of businesses in Nigeria include candidates with the wrong skills applying for jobs (56%), salary and compensation (49%), changing expectations regarding methods (41%) and retaining current talent (38%).
Furthermore, in Nigeria, the most in-demand tech employees are those with skills in areas such as AI/Machine Learning, Data Analytics, Cloud Computing Specialists, Data Protection, security software development, IT technicians and security analysis
Tools to grow businessesTo help grow their business, 77% of Nigerian IT managers said they plan to move more business functions to the cloud, including mission-critical applications and security functions.
Hybrid cloud models were the preferred approach of 36% of respondents in Nigeria, although 18% still rely on a single cloud provider and 2% do not use the cloud at all.
About 40% of Nigerians said they plan to facilitate their global expansion plans by deploying virtually through the cloud, and more than a quarter (26%) (21% among IT decision makers in Nigeria) do so using a bare metal solution.
At the same time, 47% of respondents globally (46% in Nigeria) said they expect increased spending on carrier-neutral colocation solutions to facilitate expected increase in digital deployments, while an even higher number (59% globally, 70% in Nigeria) said they intend to increase investment in interconnection services as they plan advance digital transformation and build resilience.
COVID is accelerating digital evolutionThe pandemic also continues to have a significant impact...
A survey of Nigerian companies showed that 58% of IT decision makers in Nigeria consider the shortage of staff with IT skills as one of the main threats to their business.
The survey also revealed that 34% of technology decision makers in Nigeria plan to move to a new region and 33% to a new country, while 58% consider the shortage of staff with IT skills as one of the main threats to their business.
The investigation was conducted by Equinix, which completed the acquisition of MainOne in Nigeria earlier this year.
The company said that as part of the Equinix 2022 Global Technology Trends Survey, 100 Nigerian business leaders were asked about the opportunities and challenges facing their organizations, as well as their plans for the future.
The survey found that 54% of respondents plan to expand to an existing country in the next 12 months, 34% to a new region, and 33% to a new country. It also showed that 93% of Nigerian IT managers said improving the customer experience was a priority.
About 55% said their business was plagued by global supply chain issues and shortages, while 50% said the global microchip shortage posed a threat to their business.
However, a number of potentially limiting factors have been identified by companies with respect to global growth, including concerns and challenges related to supply chain, cybersecurity, as well as retention and recruiting staff.
As part of their digital-first strategies, 85% of respondents in Nigeria confirmed that a key priority was to improve cybersecurity, while 88% said it was essential to comply with the local market data regulations. An additional 85% highlighted the need to future-proof their businesses. According to Nigerian IT professionals, the most feared threats are cyberattacks (73%), security breaches and data leaks (68%).
Staff retention and recruitmentDespite having one of the youngest population and workforce in the world, 58% of IT decision makers in Nigeria consider the shortage of skilled personnel as one of the main threats to their business. The survey showed that some of the most common concerns of businesses in Nigeria include candidates with the wrong skills applying for jobs (56%), salary and compensation (49%), changing expectations regarding methods (41%) and retaining current talent (38%).
Furthermore, in Nigeria, the most in-demand tech employees are those with skills in areas such as AI/Machine Learning, Data Analytics, Cloud Computing Specialists, Data Protection, security software development, IT technicians and security analysis
Tools to grow businessesTo help grow their business, 77% of Nigerian IT managers said they plan to move more business functions to the cloud, including mission-critical applications and security functions.
Hybrid cloud models were the preferred approach of 36% of respondents in Nigeria, although 18% still rely on a single cloud provider and 2% do not use the cloud at all.
About 40% of Nigerians said they plan to facilitate their global expansion plans by deploying virtually through the cloud, and more than a quarter (26%) (21% among IT decision makers in Nigeria) do so using a bare metal solution.
At the same time, 47% of respondents globally (46% in Nigeria) said they expect increased spending on carrier-neutral colocation solutions to facilitate expected increase in digital deployments, while an even higher number (59% globally, 70% in Nigeria) said they intend to increase investment in interconnection services as they plan advance digital transformation and build resilience.
COVID is accelerating digital evolutionThe pandemic also continues to have a significant impact...
What's Your Reaction?
