FEATURE: TRAINING

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Ned Baltagi, Managing Director, Middle East and Africa at SANS, says training can be the most efficient and thorough way to rapidly ramp up technical skills.

This is true of both in-house IT teams that are entrusted with managing and optimising IT investments while fostering innovation, and of technical teams in channel organisations that must demonstrate high levels of technical expertise to differentiate themselves from the pack in a highly competitive market.

Globally, there is a growing requirement for qualified IT professionals and this is nowhere more acute than in the domain of cybersecurity. Predictions vary but all agree there is and will continue to be a significant gap.

Symantec, for example, has predicted that by 2019, there will be 1.5 million unfilled cybersecurity jobs worldwide and a 2016 study by Enterprise Strategy Group( ESG) and Information Systems Security Association( ISSA) found that 69 % of organisations had already been impacted by the global cybersecurity skills shortage. With this acute shortage of skills a major issue in the Middle East and Africa( MEA), organisations must take proactive steps to secure their digital future.

Why training matters

While the merits of on-the-job experience cannot be overstated, training can be the most efficient and thorough way to rapidly ramp up technical skills – provided of course that it is done right. This is particularly true when an organisation is looking to utilise new technologies that require deep domainspecific knowledge. And it is particularly true when it comes to cybersecurity.

By undergoing training, not only do employees become more efficient and have a better understanding of the technologies they work with – critical when defending against cyber criminals – but they can also become more knowledgeable in front of customers, troubleshoot better and so on.

Vendor training

Technology vendors, such as Microsoft, Cisco and SAP, offer training and certifications specific to their solutions that are aimed at helping IT professionals install and maintain the products correctly. Typical IT infrastructures however are hybrid in nature with integrated architectures consisting of best-in-class products from a variety of vendors.

Product specific knowledge therefore only goes so far whereas domain specific knowledge has far greater practical advantage. For long-term success, organisations are better placed opting for vendor-neutral training courses that focus on principles, knowledge and capabilities.

52 INTELLIGENTCIO www. intelligentcio. com