The IT Talent Gap And PoE Plug And Play Networks

Many corporations feel a gap widening between the complexity of the advancing IT network, the technologies it must support, and the change in average skill sets among up-and-coming technicians. Though middle and upper management are still there to demonstrate a healthy level of IT proficiency, the skill gap that rapid tech adoption creates is concerning. That said, there may be help on the horizon thanks to PoE plug-and-play network technology.

To understand the solution, it’s important to identify the root cause of this IT talent shortage.

The Nightmare of Widening IT Skills Gap

While tech is a tool to help organizations meet their goals more efficiently, it’s only as good as those who manage and use it.

Recent research shows that 93% of employers in the USA report scarcity of IT skills, confirming a disparity between the required skill set and the existing ones. The study found that 80% of businesses report the IT skill gap affects at least one area in their organization, such as:

• Employee productivity
• Customer service or engagement
• Cybersecurity

As technology plays a huge role in overall business strategy, shrinking the skill gap is a critical investment for any business. One strategy to close the tech-talent gap is to adopt Plug and Play tech solutions.

What is Plug and Play?

Plug and Play are technologies that offer a much easier installation process and can be done by a person without IT skills. Such technologies deliver advanced solutions without demanding more time and expertise.

How Can A PoE Plug and Play Help Fill The IT Skill Gap in Your Organization?

A PoE Plug and Play can help organizations solve IT challenges by reducing the need for specialized IT skills and expertise in several ways, including:

Easy setup

The primary advantage of PoE (Power over Ethernet) Plug and Play is the delivery of data and power over a single Ethernet cable. You won’t need a qualified electrician when installing devices such as:

• Wireless access points
• CCTV cameras
• Digital signage on the top or sides of skyscrapers

Since the PoE technology eliminates the need for tethered electrical outlets, your IT team can place devices like wireless access points and IP cameras wherever needed and reposition them more easily. 

You won’t need to have specialized IT skills to protect your network against the following:

• Electrical overload
• Under-powering
• Incorrect installation 

Instead, you can easily back up your network with an uninterruptible power supply and control it quickly to disable or reset devices without advanced technical knowledge.

Automated troubleshooting

Networks are becoming too complex to operate manually because they involve managing and applying reasoning over a large volume of data. Done manually, it’s typically a high-touch, time-consuming, and error-prone endeavor.

Most of the time, network troubleshooting is a task left for masters of complexity —- network administrators with exceptional IT skills to diagnose symptoms, identify the root causes, and perform the necessary remediation steps to resolve network problems.

However, automation provides room for simplifying the tech issues, especially with all the strides made in the fields of PoE. PoE can be useful in troubleshooting network problems, especially with devices with difficulty accessing power.

Some ways PoE Plug and Play tech can help you troubleshoot network problems include:

• Remote booting: PoE allows you to remotely cycle power between network devices (such as IP cameras, wireless access points, and switches). When any device in your network becomes unresponsive or is causing network issues, you can reset them remotely without needing manual intervention from IT.
• Fault Detection: Some PoEs have integrated features that can allow you to detect problems with powered devices in your network, such as power surges, overloads, or short circuits. Your current IT team won’t need to waste time identifying and isolating network issues.
• Cable Testing: PoE switches can perform cable testing. Your organization won’t need the extra tech staff to identify cable faults or wiring issues that may cause network problems.
• Power Monitoring: Organizations can use PoE switches to monitor the power consumption of connected devices. Your IT team can quickly identify devices that draw too much power and behave abnormally. 

PoE is valuable in automating network troubleshooting, making it easier even for non-IT personnel to diagnose and resolve network problems.

Integrated network security features

You can add several integrated network security features to a PoE Plug and Play system to help you reduce the IT talent gap in your organization.

For instance, this Managed Gigabit Ethernet (Gbe) switch offers ways to strengthen a network and simplify the process. The switch has integrated features that newer technicians can use to deploy IT solutions without looking for new talent. A PoE switch can allow your current tech team to integrate:

• Port Security: Without demanding new talent, your team can deploy port security to restrict network access to specific devices by assigning a unique MAC address to each PoE port. Any device that doesn’t match the approved MAC address won’t access your network.
• VLANs: You can also integrate Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs) on a PoE Plug and Play system to segment your network into different virtual networks, each with access rules and security settings. That way, you can isolate sensitive devices and data from other network parts by utilizing the IT skills your team already has.
• Quality of Service (QoS): Some PoE solutions allow you to integrate QoS and let you prioritize network traffic, based on its importance. For instance, you can prioritize video conferencing traffic to a file download in the network, ensuring that bandwidth-hungry applications don’t interrupt important communication.
• Threat Detection: Some PoEs have inbuilt threat detection and mitigation features such as DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) protection and intrusion prevention. This feature can help you identify and block malicious traffic before it can cause damage to your network, even without specialized cybersecurity skills.
• Access Control: PoEs with access control features allow your organization to control who can access specific areas of the network and devices. The feature can help you prevent unauthorized access and limit security breach impact without adopting complex tech requiring different cybersecurity talent. 

The Way Forward for The IT Industry

Emerging technologies that promote corporate modernization and automation of service delivery have created urgency around bridging the tech-talent gap. However, there is no easy fix to this problem.

Given the competitiveness of the tech industry, organizations must map out a business plan for company growth. One of the solutions is the adoption of PoE Plug and Play solutions. The technology’s efficiency can reduce the need for costly IT staff.

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