Heading into 2014, organizations are starting to realize that IT is now more strategic than ever before. In an era where mobile, social networking, cloud computing and big data are all converging at the same time, many organizations have realized they need to raise their IT game to stay competitive. A new survey of 900 IT leaders in the U.S. and Canada conducted by the IT services firm TEK systems finds that realization is leading to new levels of optimism about IT budgets that hasn't been seen since the Great Recession began. However, the biggest issue facing IT leaders is hiring the right talent, especially programmers and developers, to execute their IT strategies. This shortage of skill talent also appears to be driving more reliance on external services than in the past. Even still, IT leaders say they are committed to increasing head count and, despite larger investments in the cloud, are continuing to invest in new applications and IT infrastructure. While a sudden downturn in the economy could adversely affect those plans, it's starting to look like 2014 might be shaping up to be one of the best years for IT in recent memory. Source: SAM Daily Times
