Artificial Intelligence, Workforce Globalization Are Returning Power to Employers

ISG presentation at All Day DevOps focuses on the trends changing the global IT talent market, skill acquisition and job stability

Businesses and technology workers should acquire and implement new skills, including generative AI capabilities, “cautiously but continuously” as talent acquisition power swings back to the employer, says an expert with Information Services Group (ISG), a leading global technology research and advisory firm.

Speaking during the annual All Day DevOps virtual event, Ola Chowning, partner and Digital lead for ISG North Europe, said the rise of new AI technologies and increased globalization are changing the balance of power in the global market for IT talent. Software developers and IT operations professionals, she said, are being forced to skill up or be left behind.

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“2023 has been the year of widespread worry about the ‘AI-apocalypse,’” Chowning said. “The potential implications of generative AI, the growing maturity of the DevOps skills market and the willingness of employers to source cost-effective digital talent from new geographies like Spain, Portugal, Mexico and Vietnam, have put additional strain on an already nervous talent market.”

Chowning’s comments came during her 30-minute online presentation, “DevOps Talent & Skills – 2023 Update. This is Chowning’s sixth consecutive appearance at All Day DevOps, the largest event of its kind in the industry.

In her presentation, Chowning explored how organizations and DevOps experts are coping with a changing global market for IT talent that is being impacted by technology that can deliver dramatic increases in productivity, and at the same time, also increase employee concerns over job stability.

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Chowning said organizations and DevOps practitioners need to lean into AI’s abilities to generate original ideas, designs and solutions, simulate outcomes of creative strategies, allow team members to collaborate with less friction and deliver greater insight and efficiency with cautious optimism rather than fear, uncertainty or doubt.

“We are not in an AI apocalypse,” she said. “Companies that can stay agile in the face of rapid change in technology, promote self-learning and empower talent will see a real boost in innovation, productivity and continuous transformation. The key for businesses and DevOps practitioners alike is to proceed cautiously but continuously.”

Leaders should establish an AI architecture and environment (including appropriate policies as necessary) and educate IT teams in how to recognize, access and use the right AI tools for the right job, ideally through an already established cognitive framework and environment for AI tools and capabilities, she said.

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“Technology employees know that natural language processors and service provider talent and skill sets in traditional and emerging geographies are likely to be part of organizations’ labor strategies,” Chowning said. “Despite this shift in power, deep technology skills and expertise will never lose their value. Organizations should be transparent about their company and IT values to attract employees even in turbulent times.”

The eighth annual All Day DevOps 24-hour live stream event started at 3 a.m., U.S. Eastern Time. The conference features 180 practitioner-led sessions, across six tracks: CI/CD Continuous Everything; Modern Infrastructure; DevSecOps; Cultural Transformation, Site Reliability Engineering and the Software Supply Chain.

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