Debate: Let technology show the way out of the IT crisis

This discussion expresses the views of the author. Debate entries can be sent to [email protected]

The fact that there is a shortage of IT professionals is nothing new, and a report from TEKNA, Negotia, EL and IT Association indicates that an additional 40,000 employees with ICT education will be needed by 2030.

Study after study shows that a shortage of employees with the right IT skills is costing companies significant losses in lost profits, profits and little growth. At the same time, we are seeing an increase in digitization in many Norwegian companies that will demand more and more IT departments. These are already very stressed and struggle to deal with the endless flow of tasks.

Refer to the public

We say that there are three ways to solve this huge problem:

First, we can and will educate more people, but it takes time. Second, we can do everything we can to attract experts from other companies and other countries, but this does not change the general shortage of IT experts and may be somewhat costly.

The third option, I think, is the most viable one at the moment: hiring experienced technical specialists instead of the IT experts you don’t get right now anyway, and then implementing the appropriate technical platforms. The so-called low code and automation – IT professionals can put them to good use.

Low code is a technology that combines the advantages of rapid software development and a drag-and-drop user interface. This means that the great coding work that usually lies at the bottom can not only be minimized, but democratized, so that others who aren’t IT experts can create new digital solutions.

With low code, almost anyone – from analysts to production managers – can structure the business processes and functions they need, without having to spend time and money on external programmers, and in fact with a great deal of help from IT experts.

Low code and automation

The pandemic has caused many companies to go digital at record speed to facilitate offshore work. IT departments have had great experiences. Many IT workers then realized that with reduced code and automation, they could easily handle many of the simpler tasks and thus save time on larger and more complex projects.

For example: The team responsible for data and analysis will develop a company calendar that will be able to communicate across business areas. The goal is to be able to manage events, campaigns and product launches, while simultaneously coordinating with global holidays and the like.

With the help of a low code platform, one can develop this into a separate program in just a few days, which would have taken months earlier to complete. With low code, you can trust that all organizational processes across it will have access to the right set of data, and at the same time you can be confident that budgets won’t get derailed.

Low code turns out to be stronger when the department itself has access to the necessary data sets, so that you can easily develop new applications.

The lack of IT expertise and overcrowding in IT departments will only get worse. Fortunately, low code and automation can help ease this workload. This technology can help with everything from coding new applications to managing cloud environments. With these two technologies, you get a chance to focus more on business innovation, and employees get a good balance between private and professional life, while benefiting from the entire business.