Many Kiwi companies are desperate for outside help from IT services companies as recruiting and retaining the specialist tech staff they need gets harder, an industry executive says.
"The challenges of today's skills shortages are really starting to hit home and have become chronic," says Greg Mikkelsen, sales and marketing director for IT services company Securecom.
"A lot of firms are calling us because they just can't find enough of the right people they need, and if someone leaves they often find it hard to replace them. One firm called us last week looking to partner with us after two of its six IT staff resigned.
"They've decided not to replace them, so we are helping them with networking support, a few hours for servicing each week, and to assist with the security side as and when needed. They are now paying no more than they actually need - and their recruitment struggles are a non-issue.
"I think we are going to see a lot more of that type of arrangement."
Mikkelsen says with all manner of IT jobs on the government's official long-term skills shortage list, and with fewer people arriving in New Zealand looking for work, IT services firms such as his are in demand.
Of equal importance is cyber-security. Mikkelsen says this pressure, together with the challenges of a tight labour market and spiralling IT costs, have come at a difficult time for businesses.
"But Securecom's practical 'common sense' cyber-security approach can keep businesses safe in the face of this threat."
Securecom provides businesses of all sizes with IT expertise. Among its clients are Mercy Hospice, Armstrong Motor Group and The New Zealand Health Group.
Mikkelsen says: "We were a pioneer in the cloud computing space 20 years ago and as fibre internet connections have caught up so our services have expanded."
To help business owners and company IT managers understand any underlying issues when it comes to the service desk calls Securecom handle, it provides detailed reports.
Securecom has a model (TotalCARE) that provides insights to help understand where IT is driving cost instead of saving money - and they can provide the right mix of resource and capability to lower your Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).
"We handle thousands of IT help desk queries every month," says Mikkelsen. "We analyse all the data, share it with the relevant client, and help them identify where any problems may be with their systems or staff training.
"And with that, we help them address issues and lower the number of service desk calls made to us. This reduces cost, increases customer satisfaction, and efficiency; that's our aim, to lower the cost of IT for clients."
Securecom staff also help clients stay legal when it comes to data security and meeting legislation requirements, particularly for firms working in sectors such as banking and insurance.
"Companies we work with want to know if their systems meet best practice, so we offer an audit – a standardised process – to establish if there are any areas that need attention," says Mikkelsen.
"Based on what we find we can advise clients on where they are, where they need to be, and how to get there. Staying legally safe is critical, but requires a mixture of technology and governance – each is as important as the other.
"People who sit on boards are typically not technical people, so we provide the information they need so they can make good decisions."
While Securecom also help clients adopt cloud technology, the firm is seeing that many prefer to start with what Mikkelsen calls a hybrid model.
"Most businesses are on a journey to the cloud," he says. "They tend to have a foot in the future and a foot in the past.
Mikkelsen says companies that like the flexibility and security of cloud-based services tend to work in a mix of environments, and start by moving their servers to the cloud, implementing automated off-site secure data back-ups, and then grow into the cloud based on their needs.
"This allows clients to buy a monthly subscription-based service based on need, our services can be scaled up and down as their business changes.
For more information go to: www.securecom.co.nz