TLDR
- Demand for AI skills is rising in every part of IT operations, according to IT trade group, CompTIA.
- Data management and analytics is seeing the strongest demand, followed by cybersecurity.
- Most companies plan to purchase business tools with AI features, instead of building their own.
CompTIA, or the Computing Technology Industry Association, said it is seeing demand for AI-related skills rise in every area of IT operations.
This demand reflects the belief that AI will become part of the overall tech stack, the IT trade group said in a white paper released this week.
CompTIA also noted that the number of AI-related job openings rose 16% between November 2023 and May 2024, a “significant” increase at a time when overall tech job postings stayed steady.
Among the different fields, data management and analytics is generating the most AI interest since data is key to gaining competitive advantage as cloud computing has become commoditized.
Another area of high interest is cybersecurity, as companies seek to understand the new vulnerabilities being created in the age of AI. Enterprises plan to use AI to improve their cybersecurity prowess, which includes routine tasks, analysis of incidents or creation of tests to assess defenses.
Using AI to help with coding tasks also garnered strong interest, emerging as a common use case early on in the generative AI wave. CompTIA said many companies struggle with parts of their DevOps workflow, such as version control or secure coding. As AI accelerates this process, developers will need to update their skills.
Infrastructure will also be touched by AI. Systems operations has long aimed at greater automation and AI will speed up those efforts while offering new techniques around machine-driven decision-making, according to the trade group.
AI skills rising in importance
Among corporations surveyed, AI fundamentals ranks only second to automation for skills in demand. This mirrors CompTIA’s January 2024 job seeker trends report showing AI fundamentals are second on a list of perceived digital skills needed.
“Building awareness and acumen around AI is one of the best preventive measures against job disruption,” according to CompTIA.
However, despite the demand for AI skills, few companies are planning to develop their own AI algorithms and tools internally, despite having software and web development staff. Cost is one factor, but the bigger reason is the complexity of developing the core functions of business applications.
Most companies surveyed plan to buy business tools with AI features, including those for customer relationship management, business productivity suites and HR systems. These tools are already integral parts of the business workflow – and they will be made even more powerful with AI.
Bringing AI into the business workflow
Much has been written about the costs of building and maintaining large language models, but CompTIA said many companies will access AI through the cloud and need not incur the costs of developing proprietary systems.
However, data is another matter. The trade group said that data that has been cleaned and prepared for AI training should be given more importance within companies.
When incorporating AI into the workflow, CompTIA said, questions to ask include the following:
- What data will be needed to train the AI? This may require locating data across the organization and collecting it together.
- What cybersecurity considerations come from the new AI tool? Along with potential vulnerabilities stemming from a new vendor, there are also privacy considerations depending on the data being used.
- How will the AI output be used? In many cases, there will need to be decisions around evaluating the output and plugging it into a new and improved workflow.
