Only 10% of tech experts at 'agents of transformation' stage

Cisco AppDynamics, a provider of Observability and Application Performance Monitoring technology, has published findings from Agents of Transformation 2022, the fourth annual report that analyses the skills and attributes of elite global technologists.

In the wake of the pandemic, it reveals the emergence of a new class of technology experts stepping up to meet critical challenges that are blurring the lines between business strategy and IT operations.

The report also cites the demand to make all products and services digitally available in the experience economy amid heightened security threats, increasing complexity, and the accelerated shift to hybrid work and the cloud.

Liz Centoni, EVP chief strategy officer, GM of Applications, says, "The bar continues to rise, and over the last year we have seen a redefinition of what it means to be an 'agent of transformation'. These leaders are looking to better understand how issues in their respective domains impact the total experience of users and applications, adapting to change with solutions that positively affect the overall business."

According to the Cisco AppDynamics report, 74% believe that their experiences in recent years particularly during the pandemic have accelerated their careers, and 88% now consider themselves to be business leaders.

However, just 10% of technology experts have reached the elite status of 'agents of transformation'.

These individuals represent top-flight leaders who are reimagining and delivering high-value applications and services that create the always-on, secure, and exceptional user experiences now demanded by end users and customers.

Respondents cite a fundamental change in the role of technologists, including the skills and resources required to operate effectively and proficiently.

At the same time, they say they now contend with soaring complexity and volumes of data from across the technology stack and must integrate a massively expanding set of cloud-native services with existing on-premises systems and tools, the researchers find.

According to the findings:

• 88% believe that what it means to be a technologist has changed
• 84% say the skills and qualities that define an agent of transformation have evolved
• 66% indicate that it is now more difficult to be an agent of transformation
• One in four say their organisation remains stuck in reactive, fire-fighting mode

Digital transformation means almost every company and organisation interacts with consumers via web and mobile applications, and the transition to hybrid work means more interaction with SaaS tools and web interfaces.

While consumers can pivot fast to another brand's app or service, companies that cannot instantly improve digital experiences risk having loyal customers walk away.

Centoni says, "The new agents of transformation recognise a need to reimagine applications not just in response to post-pandemic challenges, but also, to create flawless, reliable digital experiences that address some of the world's greatest problems from meeting critical human needs to giving people the skills and resources to succeed in the digital economy."

While acknowledging the far-reaching consequences of this change, respondents in the Cisco AppDynamics report note that they need help navigating the technical and operational ambiguities of digital transformation.

Specifically, they are looking for unified visibility into their IT environments to better manage and optimise application availability and performance.

This requires focusing investments on application security, observability over cloud-native applications and infrastructure, and linking IT performance to business decision making.

The report states:

• 77% believe it will be important to invest in application security over the next 12 months to meet customer and employee needs
• 71% think their organisation will need to invest in observing cloud-native applications and infrastructure
• 84% say that the need to maintain the performance of business applications is now more important than ever
• 85% state that full stack observability is core to sustainable transformation and innovation in their organisation