Majority of IT firms unprepared to tap digital disruptions: Gartner

Study also finds areas such as cloud computing, analytics, mobility and security will most influence IT jobs in next 18 months

Almost 60 per cent IT organisations around the world are unprepared for the digital disruption business that will be up for grabs over next two years, said a new study by Gartner, Inc. on Wednesday.

The study, which looked at 948 clients across 30 countries, surveyed IT professionals representing many job categories and technology disciplines.

"IT professionals indicate that their investment priorities, infrastructure changes, skills development and business-IT interactions are in flux, and that they are unsure how their IT organisation will make it through any digital transformation," said John Hagerty, Vice President and Distinguished analyst at Gartner. "For some, change is coming too fast. For others, it's not coming fast enough. Many know they need to change, to think and act differently, but they struggle with these shifts. Many find it hard to balance today's demands - including simply keeping their organisation running - with tomorrow's must-haves."

The study also found that the technology areas such as cloud computing, analytics, mobility and security will most influence IT professionals' jobs and careers in the next 18 months.

Twenty-two per cent IT professionals identified the cloud as the technology that will have the single-biggest impact on their career in 2016.

"Emerging technologies in fields such as cloud computing, mobility, and data analytics, in addition to security and risk management, are permeating nearly every aspect of the IT landscape," said Hagerty. "It's essential that IT professionals identify and fill the main technology- and effectiveness-related skills gaps now -- otherwise, they risk impeding their organisation's progress toward strategic goals."

"Acquiring cloud skills quickly is essential for IT professionals to be able to re-imagine and remake their firm's IT infrastructure to better enable digital business strategies," added Hagerty. "However, it's not only cloud -- there's a whole collection of technology- and effectiveness-related skills that IT professionals must plan for now."

The study also noted that IT organisations, globally, are trying to ramp up their employees' skills pertaining cloud and data analytics so as to prepare for get ready for the digital disruption business.