Companies' hybrid IT systems, which grew in parallel with the rise of the work-from-anywhere model, are creating challenges for technology professionals, but those in the Middle East are more confident of dealing with them, according to a SolarWinds report.
Overall, the continued expansion of these set-ups is causing a lack of confidence for IT professionals, citing the rising complexity, the lack of proper tools to manage them and increased technology requirements from departments as some of the biggest challenges, the Texas-based IT management solutions provider said in its Getting IT Right report this month.
In the Middle East, however, 24 per cent of respondents said they felt “extremely confident” to handle hybrid IT complexities, compared to the world figure of 16 per cent. More than a third in both categories admitted they were not fully equipped to manage complexity and felt only “somewhat confident”.
Those who “weren't confident at all” in the Middle East was at 10 per cent, higher than the global figure of 6 per cent.
“In managing hybrid IT complexity, tech pros should always consider the size of their organisation because resource needs and capabilities play essential roles in knowing the best direction to take,” Brandon Shopp, vice president for product at SolarWinds, told The National.
“Large organisations are often faced with maintaining and upgrading big legacy tech stacks. Tackling complexity at this scale requires investment, which can run a higher percentage of spending than it would for a small business.”
Hybrid IT is the process of combining in-house and cloud-based services to satisfy an organisation's requirements.
The work-from-home — and, subsequently, work-from-anywhere — model grew during the Covid-19 pandemic, and remains popular. Offering flexibility to employees is also key for companies to attract and retain talent in a post-Covid-19 working environment.
Globally, hybrid work is the most preferred model across all ages, with about 70 per cent of Generation Z, millennials, Generation X and Baby Boomers all preferring the flexibility it offered, US technology firm Cisco said in a study last month.
Those who want a fully remote set-up are a distant second at about 20 per cent, it said.
Technology roles are also rapidly increasing, particularly in the UAE, due to companies digitising their processes to enable, among others, flexible working, according to a report from UK-based recruitment firm Michael Page.
In-demand technology roles include front end and full stack developers, heads of software engineering, cloud architects and engineers, and IT project managers, it said.
The SolarWinds report said one in five of those surveyed said the acceleration of hybrid IT has increased the complexity of their organisation’s IT management, with 60 per cent saying inefficient change management processes was the top concern.
This was followed by outdated staff skill sets that are no longer aligned with new technologies (40 per cent), increased technology requirements from multiple departments (40 per cent) and new tools and/or technologies (35 per cent).
“Moving to the cloud could no longer be phased luxuriously for years in the future. It happened overnight, as workers everywhere went remote and were no longer within the office’s four walls,” Mr Shopp said, referring to how the pandemic forced a drastic change in working conditions.
“The move to the cloud, with distributed workforces, and the accelerated adoption of new technologies will invariably lead to a rise in IT complexity, and this is where observability can help organisations manage greater levels of complexity in diverse and distributed environments spanning on-premises, private and public clouds.”
Moving to the cloud could no longer be phased luxuriously for years in the future. It happened overnight, as workers everywhere went remote and were no longer within the the office’s four walls
Brandon Shopp,
vice president for product at SolarWinds
The lack of insight into networks also affects returns on investment, the SolarWinds report showed, with 84 per cent of respondents in the Middle East agreeing that ROI was hit during an IT project they oversaw in the past 12 to 18 months because of increased hybrid IT complexity, compared to the global figure of 75 per cent.
Investing in improving hybrid IT infrastructure is seen to be key in boosting an organisation's overall performance, with 42 per cent of Middle East respondents saying the best solution to manage increased complexity is to adopt IT management tools — almost at par with the 44 per cent global average.
“As organisations look beyond the pandemic, they must re-examine their investments from the past few years,” Sudhakar Ramakrishna, president and chief executive of SolarWinds, said in a statement.
“Part of that requires organisations to have visibility into their IT environments to understand what’s working and not working, and where to prioritise their efforts to achieve the ROI targeted in their planned projects.”
The SolarWinds report was based on a survey from more than 100 technology practitioners, managers, directors and senior executives in the Middle East, and was part of the global study that spanned more than 1,100 respondents across geographies.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
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