Reasons for the IT Department Shortage? Risks and Solutions for “One-Person IT Department”

The IT department (Information Systems Department) protects the company’s IT assets and supports its foundation, but many companies are facing a shortage of personnel.

There is even a term called “one-person IT department,” which refers to a situation where one person or a small number of people are in charge of the IT department. Many people may be worried that “the person in charge has a heavy workload.”

A shortage of IT staff can endanger a company’s IT assets and damage its operating profit. This article explains the risks of IT staff shortages and solutions and tools to solve them.

If you are a company representative who is thinking, “I want to reduce the burden on the IT department even a little,” please read to the end.

Is the IT Department Shortage Getting Serious? Why are There “One-Person IT Departments”?

Lack of Understanding of the Importance of the IT Department
Shortage of IT and IT Personnel

Risks Caused by IT Department Shortages

Insufficient Security Measures
Business Delays Due to Personalization
IT Staff Turnover Due to Overwork

Solutions to IT Department Shortages

Training and Hiring IT Personnel
Introduction of Tools and Services to Reduce Workload

How to Choose Tools and Services to Supplement IT Department Shortages

Does it Have the Functions Your Company Needs?
Is the Administrator Page Easy to Use?
Is the Cost Performance Good?

Summary

1. Is the IT Department Shortage Getting Serious? Why are There “One-Person IT Departments”?

Why has the IT department been in short supply in recent years? Here are three main reasons.

1-1. Lack of Understanding of the Importance of the IT Department

One of the reasons why IT departments tend to be short-staffed is that the company, especially management, does not fully understand the importance of the IT department.

The IT department is an important position that manages the company’s IT assets from the perspective of IT technology. However, unlike the front office, it does not directly lead to sales, so management may not spend much budget on it.

In a 2022 survey, of the companies that answered that “there are no or not enough people who can promote IT investment,” 53.2% plan to maintain or decrease the number of IT personnel.

Many companies feel the need for IT investment, but the unbalanced situation of not investing in personnel is creating one-person IT departments.

Source: https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000143.000025237.html

1-2. Shortage of IT and IT Personnel

IT personnel, including IT departments, are chronically in short supply, and it is predicted that the supply-demand balance will collapse even faster in the future.

There are several reasons for this, including:

70% of IT personnel are concentrated in vendor companies, and user companies are not promoting personnel recruitment and training.
The demand for IT personnel is increasing not only in large companies but also in small and medium-sized enterprises, resulting in a shortage of personnel.
Many IT personnel who can manage traditional core systems are reaching retirement age.

The DX Report released by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry points out that the number of IT personnel that will be in short supply in 2025 will be approximately 450,000.

Source: https://www.meti.go.jp/shingikai/mono_info_service/digital_transformation/pdf/20180907_03.pdf

2. Risks Caused by IT Department Shortages

IT departments are chronically short-staffed, but what kind of risks can occur due to a continued shortage of personnel? Let’s take a closer look from here.

2-1. Insufficient Security Measures

If there are not enough people with sufficient IT skills within the company, the response to a problem may be delayed in the event of a problem.

Also, if a person without sufficient security knowledge is operating the system, the system may be exposed to danger.

If security measures are insufficient, there is a risk of unauthorized operations due to virus infection, service disruption due to service disruption attacks, and information leakage due to cyber attacks.

System outages can result in lost sales opportunities, and the leakage of customer information can result in claims for damages, which can reduce profits.

2-2. Business Delays Due to Personalization

If the IT department is short-staffed, only employees who are familiar with the work tend to know the details. Therefore, if that employee is unable to come to work due to illness or injury, there is a risk that the work will not run smoothly.

Also, if they quit, there is a risk that no one will know about the system. It is very dangerous if the company’s system cannot run without relying on people.

2-3. IT Staff Turnover Due to Overwork

In a 2021 survey of people belonging to the IT department, approximately 40% are considering changing jobs, and 65.5% of them are already looking for a job.

There are several factors behind the turnover, including:

Management does not understand the work or the system.
The workload has increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The scope of work is diverse and skills cannot be improved.

It is believed that the digitalization that has progressed due to the COVID-19 pandemic has further intensified the work of the IT department, accelerating turnover.

Source: https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000075.000072698.html

3. Solutions to IT Department Shortages

From here, we will consider how to solve the workload caused by the shortage of IT staff.

3-1. Training and Hiring IT Personnel

One possible solution to the IT staff shortage is to increase the number of IT staff.

For example, you can train IT staff within the company or hire new IT staff. However, it is actually difficult for IT staff, who are already busy, to take the time to train personnel.

Also, IT personnel who can become IT staff are in a seller’s market, so it is difficult to hire them. Even if you succeed in increasing the number of staff, you must keep in mind that if the work is busy and dissatisfaction accumulates, there is a risk that they will quit again.

3-2. Introduction of Tools and Services to Reduce Workload

What can be expected as a different approach from increasing the number of IT staff is the introduction of tools and services that reduce the workload of IT staff.

For example, you can introduce IT tools or use outsourcing services. However, outsourcing tends to require man-hours for communication. Also, depending on the outsourcing destination, skills may be insufficient or costs may be high.

If you want to avoid the above problems, we recommend standardizing and automating operations using IT tools.

If you select a tool that suits your company, it will be easier to improve cost effectiveness. Even if you are not an expert, you can take certain security measures by using tools, which will make it easier to reduce the burden on the IT department.

4. How to Choose Tools and Services to Supplement IT Department Shortages

What points should you pay attention to when selecting tools and services that reduce the workload of the IT department? Here are three points.

4-1. Does it Have the Functions Your Company Needs?

If you identify the purpose of using the tool and the functions necessary to achieve the purpose, you can reduce the burden on the IT department and solve problems efficiently.

The areas you want to leave to the tool differ depending on the company and the IT department system. Also, the strengths and coverage areas differ depending on the tool.

It is important to select a tool that matches the issues your company wants to solve, the terminals and OSs you want to support, and your security policies.

4-2. Is the Administrator Page Easy to Use?

If the administrator page is easy to understand even for employees who are兼任IT or who are not confident in their IT literacy,業務の属人化 will be less likely to occur. For that reason, we recommend selecting a tool with an intuitive and easy-to-understand appearance.

Some of the tools provided have a trial version that you can try for free. You can try the usability in advance before purchasing, so let’s actively use it.

4-3. Is the Cost Performance Good?

For example, even if it is a famous tool that has many functions, if there are many functions that are not important to your company, costs will be wasted.

Even if you choose a tool that does not meet the needs of the IT department because you focus too much on costs, it will not be easy to reduce the burden.

It is important to select a well-balanced tool that covers the functions your company needs and that can be expected to have effects beyond the cost.

Summary

The shortage of IT staff is expected to become more serious in the future due to the impact of the shortage of IT personnel. If the shortage of IT staff is left unattended, security measures may not be taken sufficiently, which may cause problems that cause significant losses to the company.

There are various ways to solve the IT staff shortage, but IT tools with a free trial have the advantage of making it easy to try out usability and consider cost effectiveness.

EXO Security, which is provided by our company, is security software with an excellent balance of functionality, price, and ease of use.

The intuitive interface makes it easy to understand security, so it is designed so that even people who are not familiar with IT can easily find the information they need.

There is also a free trial, so you can actually try it out and check its usability. If you are suffering from a shortage of IT staff or feel that you have problems with security measures, please try it.

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