Technology:
Data, analytics and cloud
The significant growth and demand during 2022 meant market conditions were always going to get tougher in 2023. Although there was a reduction in largescale RFPs and new data and cloud transformation programmes, there was a continued uptick in requirements and budget. Tom Hilkene, associate director of data, analytics and cloud, highlights the latest market trends for 2024.
Here are the key areas leaders need to prepare for in 2024:
The cloud catalyst – the transformative power of the cloud.
The science of data – how data analysis continues to help companies predict the future.
T&M vs outcome based contracts – strong competition for talent in change and transformation projects.
With many cloud and data transformations someway through their long-term journey, projects continued to grow in line with budgets and we saw a greater demand than ever across mobile device management (MDM) and data governance. Our data advisory practice grew significantly as organisations looked to further align their business strategy with internal and external data.
The move to the cloud continued to be popular, with Azure skillsets the most in demand, followed by Amazon Web Services (AWS) and then Google Cloud Platform (GCP). At the same time, however, increased demand across DevOps and the relevant relationship with infrastructure is slowly levelling the field.
To undertake a cloud transformation, companies don’t just need to hire a few data engineers – they need resources across the entire data platform and architecture. We saw a huge increase in demand for data, solution and cloud architects as well as modellers – but perhaps most significant was the demand for data governance, MDM and integration architects as companies have scaled rapidly.
Modernising IT and data platforms are the top priorities for many organisations. The data scientist and AI market continues to grow as companies want to predict the future whilst avoiding risk and maximising revenue. Dashboarding and application programming interfaces (APIs) on the frontend are equally important and demand for Power BI developers and subject matter experts has skyrocketed.
Demand for specific skillsets is expected to remain high. As programmes move through the various stages of delivery, it’s likely to create a greater demand for data lake and integration engineers/developers, with Snowflake currently the ‘go-to’, as well as huge demand for dashboard developers in the years to come. Power BI continues to be the preferred choice of reporting tool given its cost and integration capabilities, with significant demand expected in 2024.
After significant demand and growth in 2022, day rates and permanent salaries remained consistent. Permanent hires will naturally always be preferred, but with strong competition for talent, a large percentage of clients preferred to engage contractors in either time and materials (T&M) or fixed price models until the permanent market cools.
Bringing tech and real-time data streaming is a gamechanger for any forward-thinking company and this requires huge investment. For most skillsets, contract was by far the preferred route for speed to hire and often more cost-effective. With many projects being change and transformation, it generally makes sense to bring in contract resources to deliver results quickly and efficiently before handing over to BAU functions.
The move to cloud shows no sign of slowing down in 2024. Multiple FTSE 100 companies are engaged in multiyear cloud transformation programmes and will continue to hire at scale. Multiple FTSE 250 companies haven’t even begun the move to the cloud, so demand in the next 3-5 years is expected to remain much the same.
Data governance and MDM specialists will be in demand, particularly from companies which have rapidly scaled and left gaping holes which need to be filled. MLOps and machine learning will continue to grow, and 2024 is predicted to see further niche technologies such as Datamesh become more of a commercial offering.
The ability to derive meaningful insights from vast datasets is becoming a critical competency across industries. As technology continues to develop, so too will both the skills of IT professionals and the expectation on them to work quickly and flexibly at the forefront of this technological new-normal. Emerging cloud capabilities will continue to evolve the digital landscape.
