NBN service complexity changing training, outsourcing mix: survey

NBN Co subcontractors may be struggling to find enough qualified workers to keep the pace of the massive rollout – but public and private sector enterprises may soon face similar problems as they get hit by a drought of staff with adequate network skills to take advantage of the NBN, a recent study has warned.

In a survey of over 200 Australian IT managers, IT management vendor SolarWinds found that 52% of respondents expect that IT skills will be a key challenge in managing IT environments in the NBN area. Fully 56% agree that network complexity will be a core challenge of the NBN.

“IT managers are looking forward to an era where the NBN is fully deployed, and available to both consumers and small businesses,” SolarWinds vice president and market leader Sanjay Castelino told GTR, noting that the NBN will bring about the same complexity to network architectures as server virtualisation did to what used to be a “pretty straightforward job” as a server administrator

“When you have ubiquitous broadband like the NBN is going to provide,” he explained, “you end up having a whole new set of services that people want to consume over that broadband. When you add that in, you tend to be deploying more and more complex technologies. As a result, you need further specialisation.”

This was expected to drive an uptick in outsourcing of network-management capabilities, with 59% of respondents expecting a greater level of outsourcing in the next three to five years. This includes two-thirds of respondents that already outsource over a fifth of their IT functions – suggesting that the depth and commitment to outsourcing is increasing.

Not all functions will be outsourced, however: the survey found that areas involving particular risk management, for example, will be brought inhouse for tighter control. For example, 61% of respondents – and 75% of respondents in organisations with over 100 employees – planned to “reintroduce” data storage and access, while 56% planned to bring cyber-security protections back into the organisation.

“Local and other governments will have challenges in delivering some of the new services, and organisations will outsource many things where they don’t have the expertise or the staff,” Castelino said, noting that a rise in NBN-related and networking-specific certifications will help many IT managers stay current. “Coupled with outsourcing in areas where are skills deficiencies in the organisation, organisations will be training IT staff that want to learn.”

“You’ll see a balance around how skills are developed in organisations, and things identified that are strategic to the ability to develop applications and services. The balance between the number of people wanting to insource and outsource, is a healthy sign that the market recognises that while there are things that need to be outsourced, there’s not such a skills shortage that the organisations can’t take it inhouse.” – David Braue