According to new research released today by Opengear, a Digi International company (NASDAQ, DGII, www.digi.com) and provider of secure and Smart Out of Band management solutions, 86% of U.S.-based CIOs surveyed expect at least 25% of their network engineers to retire in the next five years.

The networking industry is facing a skills shortage as engineers continue retiring. Almost every CIO (95%) surveyed said that a shortfall in engineers has led to an inability to manage networks, and 91% of U.S. engineers and 81% of global engineers surveyed agree with this. Additionally, 79% of U.S. CIOs state that they are now struggling to meet user or customer expectations in today’s economic environment.

The Opengear study surveyed 502 CIOs and 510 network engineers across the U.S., U.K., France, Germany and Australia. It shows that 98% of U.S. engineers surveyed have been forced to achieve more with fewer resources over the past three months, which is even higher than those in the U.K. (88%) and globally (87%). To remedy this issue, both surveyed CIOs (61%) and engineers (62%) identify investment in automation, AI or other emerging technologies as vital to addressing the tech skills shortage, along with remote/hybrid working capabilities (47% of CIOs and 37% of engineers).

“As skills shortages persist, technologies such as Smart Out of Band can empower under-pressure IT teams to flexibly deploy, manage and remediate business networks, allowing them more time to focus on critical network tasks for better business performance and improved customer satisfaction. Reliable remote access also means that businesses can securely manage their IT networks from any location with a hybrid workforce,” said Gary Marks, President at Opengear.

About Opengear

Opengear, a Digi International company, delivers secure, resilient access and automation to support critical IT infrastructure on the First Day, Every Day and Worst Day. Through presence and proximity, Opengear solutions enable provisioning, orchestration, and remote management of network devices through innovative software and appliances. Opengear solutions are trusted by global organizations across financial, digital communications, retail, and manufacturing sectors. The company is headquartered in New Jersey, with an R&D center in Brisbane, Australia.

For more information, visit www.opengear.com/.

About Digi International

Digi International (NASDAQ: DGII) is a leading global provider of business and mission-critical Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity products and solutions. We help our customers create next-generation connected products and solutions to deploy, monitor, and manage critical communications infrastructures and compliance standards in demanding environments with high levels of security, relentless reliability, and bulletproof performance. Founded in 1985, the company has helped customers connect more than 100 million things – and counting. For more information, visit www.digi.com, or call 877-912-3444 (U.S.) or 952-912-3444 (International).

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