Can managed service providers solve IT skill shortages in Southeast Asia?

The shortage of skilled IT professionals in Southeast Asia remains a big problem for organizations investing in newer technologies.

Businesses in Southeast Asia continue to experience rapid digital transformation. However, more enterprises, both large and small, are concerned if they have a sufficient workforce to cope with increased tech adoption.

There is no doubt that the region is witnessing increasing adoption of emerging technologies like AI, quantum computing and such. However, this also means that the demand for skilled IT professionals is growing faster than the supply.

For many organizations, AI was supposed to help them manage some of the skills shortages they have. For example, AI solutions in cybersecurity would be seen as a way to minimize the workload on cybersecurity professionals so that they can focus on more important tasks.

In fact, the adoption of emerging technologies like generative AI in the workplace may have solved the skills shortage problems faced in non-technical roles as well as improve employer productivity and efficiency. However, businesses soon realize that there is a need for more skilled IT professionals are they need to manage these AI applications.

Hiring more skilled employees would be ideally the best way to solve this problem. But the region continues to face a huge shortage in skilled IT workforce. Some businesses have even partnered with universities to directly hire fresh graduates in IT to fill up these roles while others have moved on towards reskilling and upskilling initiatives.

Unfortunately, these solutions take time, and businesses may end up losing out to their competitors just because they lack a skilled workforce to help in their digitalization journey.

And this is where managed service providers (MSPs) come in. Managed service providers (MSPs) continue to play an important role in helping organizations in their digitalization journey. While MSPs focus mostly on bridging the tech adoption between an organization and a tech vendor, more are beginning to help businesses also address other problems they face.

When it comes to addressing skills shortages, MSPs have the capabilities to help businesses in several ways. First, MSPs can help bridge the skills gap as they have access to a wide range of resources. Be it cybersecurity, data analytics or AI, companies can partner MSPs to access these skills without the need to hire new staff. For example, a business having shortages of cybersecurity professionals could outsource it to MSPs to manage it for them.

For businesses that have concerns about working with MSPs, especially when it comes to dealing with sensitive data, they can opt to have MSPs train and reskill their workforce as well. MSPs can assist companies in training their internal teams or provide supplemental expertise to enhance their capabilities which in time will improve local talent pool.

Apart from that, some MSPs have access to a pool of talent globally. These specialized professionals can help with certain IT functions that have been outsourced to MSPs. Some businesses in Southeast Asia have already started implementing such initiatives. However, it is imperative that businesses are aware of data regulatory and compliance requirements when outsourcing certain services.

Businesses also need to realize that by partnering with MSPs, they are also indirectly capable of improving their cost effectiveness. Hiring skilled IT professionals remains a costly affair, especially for some businesses in the region. With an MSP, businesses can take a more cost-effective approach to managing their talents.

The bottom line is MSPs can help address skills shortages in the region as business continue to invest in emerging technologies to improve their products and services. However, businesses need to also realize that while MSPs can solve the problem, there is still a need to develop in-house talent in the long run.

Becoming overly dependent on MSPs can be a pitfall as well. Just like any business, MSPs are also vulnerable to cyberattacks and can have downtime. For example, the Kaseya ransomware attack in 2021 resulted in customers having severe downtime issues. As such, businesses need to have ensure they have a sufficient balance when it comes to depending on skills from MSPs.