What is hybrid IT, and what does it mean for managed service providers (MSPs)? 

A new SolarWinds (SWI) study of 257 North American IT professionals examined the importance of hybrid IT, along with the skills that are top of mind for today’s IT professionals. 

Hybrid IT represents a “once-in-a-decade shift in the technology landscape,” SolarWinds noted in its “IT Trends Report 2016: The Hybrid IT Evolution.”

The report indicated the IT market is evolving from traditional, on-premises-only IT to a hybrid strategy that connects internal and external IT services driven by the cloud.

This has led the majority of businesses to move away from on-premises-only infrastructure to hybrid IT environments, creating new concerns and pressures for IT professionals and new opportunities for MSPs. 

“The findings of this year’s study paint a clear picture: Cloud adoption is nearly ubiquitous,” SolarWinds Chief Information Officer Joel Dolisy said in a statement. “The resulting dynamic — one set of critical on-premises services connected with another set of services in the cloud — is hybrid IT.”

Today’s IT professionals must be able to provide ongoing support for applications, devices, networks and systems — regardless of location — to deliver hybrid IT, according to Dolisy. 

“[IT professionals need] to be empowered with the support to gain the skills and tools required to properly monitor and manage hybrid IT environments, which in turn will allow businesses to truly unlock the potential of the cloud.”

The study indicated IT professionals require skills in the following areas to better manage hybrid IT environments:

Leadership support is also important for IT professionals, and the study found that 56 percent of respondents indicated they have the level of support needed from leadership and, the organization as a whole, to develop/improve the skills they need to better manage hybrid IT environments.

More IT professionals who can manage hybrid IT environments will be needed in the future, as customers increasingly utilize such systems.

“IT runs the world and without it, our technological existence would come to a screeching halt,” Dolisy said. “In short, IT is everywhere.”

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