2024 IT Industry Snapshot
- April 5, 2024
The IT industry faced various economic pressures throughout 2023. Uncertainty with regards to market conditions has led many companies to change hiring strategies, product lineups, and other capital projects. As a result, hiring managers and those looking to start a career in IT have dealt with difficulty and may not be out of the tunnel yet.
2023 also saw a boom in AI technologies and services, which has had trickle-down effects on AI subsectors like machine learning, natural language processing, and robotics. Whether this will lead to a bloated tech bubble is yet to be seen, but for now, many companies are entering the space.
In this eBook, we explore an overview of the 2024 IT industry as well as key trends to be aware of.
Industry Overview
A recent survey found that more than 50% of CIOs expect IT budgets to increase in 2024, as opposed to 33% in 2023. With a smaller labor supply, however, it’s more difficult for firms to fill IT jobs. Consequently, less complex IT roles like data processing and forecasting are becoming more automated. The rise in generative AI and machine learning has especially contributed to firms building out significant automated systems.
Internal IT divisions are also shifting their priority to modernization. This means a buildout of new enterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer relationship management (CRM) software. Organizations are finding it vital to keep pace with competition through digital transformations.
High inflation in 2023 does, however, put a dent in spending on non-critical areas of the industry this year. Spending on new devices, for example, is expected to decline as companies wait longer to update. This may be indicative of a change in mindset from pandemic device spending in which firms splurged to bolster remote work.
Finally, labor supply continues to clash with demand as hiring managers struggle to fill roles. Positions with the most growth include cybersecurity, web developers, and cloud engineers. Emerging sectors like AI are also eager for talent as the market is projected to reach a valuation of over $400 billion by 2027. Firms may be forced to offer additional incentives like increased remote work to capture the best talent.
DOWNLOAD THE FULL 2024 IT INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT BELOW.
Contributions from Jake Park-Walters