The panel expressed overriding optimism for the ICT and digital services sector as evidently there is no shortage of demand out there. As we emerge from the pandemic, more demand is anticipated, but the panel felt it was important that CEOs avoid chasing too many opportunities and instead cherry-pick the better ones to focus on. The high demand also creates challenges, primary among which is human resource. While falling short of calling it a universal talent war, our panel conceded there were some fierce battles going on in certain segments of the market. Cyber, data and cloud infrastructure skills are key skill gap areas.

To many CEOs, it feels as though there is always a competitor that is able to pay more for talent. Martin Hess, Managing Director of Telefónica Tech UK&I, shared that for the first time in his career – which dates back to the 1970s – staff are being given a 5% cost-of-living rise.

Wage inflation and talent squeezes naturally go hand in hand, but tech CEOs can try to break the loop by focusing on culture and purpose within their organisation. These need to be communicated clearly and often, and staff want to see genuine impact, especially around a business’s purpose. It’s not all about money, after all.

To increase the feel-good factor and help retain staff, businesses should consider enhancing their office environment by making it attractive for people to engage and collaborate with colleagues. At NatWest, the approach has been to create collaborative spaces to enrich the in-person work experience and veer people away from a full day at their desk. Related to this is moving beyond traditional work patterns of five days a week in the office and instead providing flexibility for employees to adapt. Indeed, as a subsector that helps large organisations create such workplaces, ICT and digital services should see the intrinsic value of this approach.

The panel also suggested that “growing your arms and legs” – by having a greater number of smaller regional offices, perhaps including overseas – can open up pools of talent, sometimes at lower cost, and help colleagues gather in-person more easily.

The first generation of cloud adoption was a ‘lift and shift’ of computing from on-premises to the cloud. Cloud 2.0 describes the process of moving firms into the cloud, ie making the best of the environment to deliver productivity gains, automation and artificial intelligence (AI). As a result, we’re seeing a convergence of telecoms and technology.

An example of this is the dichotomy between the openness and ease of mobile and remote computing on one hand, and the need for cyber-security expertise on the other. It also means that companies that specialise in the cloud are becoming experts in one or two core providers and can no longer claim to be expert in all platforms.

This phrase is a strong contender for buzzword of the year, but the low-code/no-code approach is here to stay. At its core is the idea that, as part of the cloud computing environment, you’re giving control to the user. This means that users don’t keep having to redesign a system if they wish to put new demands on it – and paying to hire a firm in the process. These environments thrive with a low-code, no-code approach and, like some of Microsoft’s data platforms, allow users to manipulate and use their data how they see fit.

Tech companies are using mergers and acquisitions not only to deliver accelerated growth but also to acquire new complementary products and talent that’s in hot demand. Following a merger or acquisition, it can be tempting to leave the existing team in place to get on with what they’re good at, but our panel described this as parking a problem for the future. It may take time, but integration of the merged companies’ teams is key: bolt-on acquisitions, by contrast, create additional operating expenses and leave you with a split culture, which never works in the long run. In such cases, companies should consider pursuing partnerships and use of associates in favour of full-time employees.

Overall, there is a tremendous amount of optimism on the prospects for ICT and digital services in 2022 and beyond. Businesses do face headwinds – especially around recruitment and costs – but they are well placed to offset these. As it continues to innovate and evolve, the subsector is ideally poised to help the UK both recover and grow. 

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