Decoding IT Jobs 2024: Increasing Demand for Product-Heavy Hiring in the IT Sector

The 2024 outlook for the IT sector in India looks promising after sailing through a sluggish phase in the preceding years. According to the latest projections from Gartner, India’s IT spending is on the brink of marking a substantial 10.7% increase from 2023. 

In this anticipated IT upswing of 2024, software and IT services will take center stage, experiencing the highest annual growth rates. Projections reveal an 18.5% surge in software spending and a forecasted 14.6% growth in IT services. This numerical uptick in spending on software and IT services signifies a renewed focus on tangible product development, giving a boost to product-heavy hirings.

In Taggd’s #IndiaDecodingJobs2024 Think Tank session, Mr. Sailesh Menezes, VP & Head HR-HPE, emphasized the imperative for recruiters to align their strategies with the rising demand for product-focused expertise. 

He stated, “In 2024, the Indian IT landscape is poised for robust growth, with a 10.7% increase in spending, fueled by strategic investments in AI, automation, and digital technologies. Globally, the IT spending surge of 8% to $5.1 trillion reflects the pivotal role of AI in supporting overall growth, particularly in cloud spending,” 

According to Taggd’s India Decoding Jobs Report 2024, the IT sector will see a rise in intelligent product offerings in established as well as early-stage companies, with an estimated 10,000 deep tech startups set to be established in India in the coming years.

Product-heavy hiring focuses on assembling a team of specialists who can drive innovation and contribute to the entire lifecycle of a product. The hiring approach warrants recruiting professionals with specialized skills and expertise in product development, management, and enhancement. The job roles extend beyond traditional service-oriented positions, delving into the creation and advancement of proprietary software, applications, and other technology-related products.

In anticipating the demands of 2024, the imperative for new-age skills cannot be overstated. Despite a vast pool of applicants, the scarcity of emerging technical skills essential for IT product development looms large, further intensified by a pronounced shift in hiring attitude towards value hiring, where the priority is to hire skilled candidates with the capabilities to consistently add value in the organization’s growth plans. 

To close the talent gap and rise up to this challenge, IT companies have proactively initiated upskilling and reskilling programs, forging strategic partnerships with esteemed institutions and deepening their sourcing network in non-Tier-1 locations. 

As product remains at the core of organizational success, recruiters will consistently seek talent with a healthy balance of technical and soft skills. Underlining some of the critical technical skills in the IT sector, Mr. Menezes highlighted recruiters’ attention to skills, stating, “Despite a challenging hiring landscape, the Indian IT sector embraces strategic hiring with a focus on skills vital for the future, including Cybersecurity, AI, ML, and Cloud computing.”

According to the Decoding Jobs Report 2024, Generative AI is expected to see significant growth in the coming years with 85% of the senior executives already seen investing in the area of cloud computing to meet the needs of Generative AI. 

In terms of the roles that will be in demand, Mr. Raj Raghavan, Chief People & Culture Officer-CoreStack said, “In the IT/Tech sector, the future outlook involves hiring specific skills, particularly for roles like Cloud Architects and Software Evangelists, along with focusing on product-heavy hiring. Despite limited hiring in India, there is a net positive hiring intent. In 2024, an innovative strategy aims to reward employees showcasing enhanced productivity with better compensation.” 

As we set our sights on the IT hiring of 2024, recruitment will be dominated by modern technical competencies including cloud computing, AI and Machine Learning, cybersecurity, IoT integration, and blockchain fundamentals.

Amid all the global uncertainties, IT hiring in India is set to see positive hiring with a 3% YoY increase in hiring intent in 2024 with further strengthening of several trends. 

Sustainability is another theme that will play a significant role in the IT industry in the coming years, along with a heavy focus on platform engineering, cybersecurity, and AI.

The share of permanent employees in the workforce is set to witness a steep decline from 76% to 28% with IT companies increasingly opting for flexible workforce models to optimize costs. The call to make the workforce more diverse is increasing, with the share of women set to increase from 33% to 36% in 2024. 

Further, in stark contrast to the situation over the past few years, the number of employees expected to work from home is set to decline from 23% to 12%, primarily due to concerns about data security and the growing demand of companies to promote deeper collaboration and engagement between employees by encouraging work from office.

In addition to the insights mentioned above, the India Decoding Jobs 2024 report provides several other data-backed actionable inputs and trends for 2024 that can help recruiters in the IT space take quicker and more effective decisions to shape a workforce and organizational culture ready for the future.

The comprehensive report is a culmination of well-structured surveys and in-depth discussions with esteemed talent acquisition professionals across different sectors in India and has grown to become a preferred source of data and inputs to drive recruitment decision-making. 

To download your exclusive copy of the report, click here or write to us at contact@taggd.in!