Talent Shortages Are the Top Challenge
Talent shortages emerged as the #1 software development challenge: 50% of organizations citing difficulties in recruiting and retaining skilled technical staff; 80% reported that talent shortages are affecting their operations. The demand is acute for AI expertise, with 56% planning to invest in people to build AI capabilities. Nearly half of large enterprises (47%) say shortages are limiting their ability to meet goals.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading whitepapers__headline-dividers" id="chapter-2">How the Expanding Role of AI is Impacting Tech Hiring</h2>
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<img decoding="async" class="b-lazy img-fluid" loading="lazy" width="100%" title="AI Is a Dominant Force" src="https://static.infragistics.com/marketing/reveal/whitepapers/2026/survey-top-technology-roles-skills/reveal-survey-ai-dominant-force.svg" alt="AI Is a Dominant Force chart. Attribution: Reveal 2026 IT Talent Survey." id="ai-dominant-force-img">
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<p style="font-size:1.15rem" id="insights-text-2">Artificial intelligence has become a dominant force in hiring. In 2025, <strong>80%</strong> of tech leaders used AI in software development, and <strong>77%</strong> named expanding AI a top priority for 2026. This adoption is driving workforce demand: <strong>48%</strong> of companies report AI-related job creation versus <strong>18%</strong> reporting layoffs. AI expertise remains the top hiring priority, cited by <strong>89%</strong> of organizations in 2025 and <strong>91%</strong> in 2026. Productivity gains reinforce this trend, with <strong>66%</strong> of organizations attributing improvements to AI. As AI embeds into workflows, demand is rising for professionals who can build, deploy, and manage intelligent systems.</p>
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<h2 class="wp-block-heading whitepapers__headline-dividers" id="chapter-3">Hard-to-Fill Technical Roles</h2>
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<img decoding="async" class="b-lazy img-fluid" loading="lazy" width="100%" title="Hardest to Fill Technical Roles" src="https://static.infragistics.com/marketing/reveal/whitepapers/2026/survey-top-technology-roles-skills/reveal-survey-hardest-to-fill-technical-roles.svg" alt="Hardest to Fill Technical Roles chart. Attribution: Reveal 2026 IT Talent Survey." id="hardest-roles-img">
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<p style="font-size:1.15rem" id="insights-text-3">The survey highlights several hard-to-fill roles, led by AI engineers (<strong>39%</strong>) and cybersecurity engineers (<strong>38%</strong>). Cloud engineers (<strong>25%</strong>) and data analytics professionals (<strong>24%</strong>) also rank among the most challenging positions to staff. These shortages affect organizations of all sizes but are most acute in large enterprises, where nearly half report talent gaps limiting their ability to meet business goals. Only <strong>7%</strong> of respondents report no hiring difficulties, underscoring a widespread skills shortage. Demand is driven by the need for AI engineers to build and deploy intelligent systems, cybersecurity experts to address rising threats, and cloud and data professionals to support scalable infrastructure and analytics.</p>
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<h2 class="wp-block-heading whitepapers__headline-dividers" id="chapter-4">High-Value Technical Skill Sets</h2>
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<img decoding="async" class="b-lazy img-fluid" loading="lazy" width="100%" title="Most Sought After Skills" src="https://static.infragistics.com/marketing/reveal/whitepapers/2026/survey-top-technology-roles-skills/reveal-survey-most-sought-after-tech-skills.svg" alt="Most Sought After Skills chart. Attribution: Reveal 2026 IT Talent Survey." id="sought-skills-img">
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<p style="font-size:1.15rem" id="insights-text-4">The survey highlights the most in-demand technical skills, led by Python (<strong>56%</strong>), reflecting its central role in AI, automation, and data science. AI-related expertise, including machine learning, follows at <strong>47%</strong>. Other key skills include Java (<strong>34%</strong>), cybersecurity (<strong>33%</strong>), and C/C++. SQL, .NET, JavaScript frameworks, and web development tools also remain relevant. Demand varies by company size: smaller firms prioritize C/C++ and cybersecurity for infrastructure needs, while larger organizations emphasize Python and AI to support advanced digital initiatives. Overall, while core programming skills remain essential, AI and automation expertise increasingly set top candidates apart.</p>
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<h2 class="wp-block-heading whitepapers__headline-dividers" id="chapter-5">Senior-Level and Specialized Talent Over Entry-Level Hiring</h2>
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<img decoding="async" class="b-lazy img-fluid" loading="lazy" width="100%" title="Hiring Priorities" src="https://static.infragistics.com/marketing/reveal/whitepapers/2026/survey-top-technology-roles-skills/reveal-survey-hiring-priorities-senior-lower-level.svg" alt="Hiring Priorities chart. Attribution: Reveal 2026 IT Talent Survey." id="hiring-priorities-img">
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<p>Hiring patterns indicate a strong preference for experienced professionals. While 26% of organizations hired staff in 2025 and 30% plan to hire in 2026, only 12% expect to focus on lower-level talent. Instead, approximately 70% prioritize senior technical staff, particularly those with AI expertise.</p>
<p>This shift reflects the complexity of modern development environments. Integrating AI, ensuring regulatory compliance, managing cloud systems, and securing data require advanced technical judgment that is typically gained through experience. As a result, organizations are competing aggressively for a limited pool of senior engineers, architects, and security specialists.</p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading whitepapers__headline-dividers" id="chapter-6">The Growing Importance of Data and Analytics Roles</h2>
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<img decoding="async" class="b-lazy img-fluid" loading="lazy" width="100%" title="Business Intelligence Use" src="https://static.infragistics.com/marketing/reveal/whitepapers/2026/survey-top-technology-roles-skills/reveal-survey-intelligence-use.svg" alt="Business Intelligence Use chart. Attribution: Reveal 2026 IT Talent Survey." id="business-intelligence-use-img">
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<p style="font-size:1.15rem" id="insights-text-5">Business intelligence and embedded analytics have become core infrastructure in most organizations. <strong>85%</strong> of respondents use BI tools internally, and <strong>76%</strong> deploy embedded analytics. In addition, <strong>84%</strong> expect their focus on analytics to increase in 2026.</p>
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<p>This widespread adoption drives demand for data analysts, BI developers, and analytics engineers who can manage data pipelines, build dashboards, and integrate insights into business applications. Organizations increasingly rely on these professionals to support strategic decision-making, automate reporting, and identify operational trends.</p>
<p>Data integration challenges, such as incompatible formats, siloed systems, and lack of real-time synchronization, further elevate the value of professionals who can bridge technical and analytical domains. Individuals with expertise in data architecture, visualization, and governance are positioned for strong career prospects.</p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading whitepapers__headline-dividers" id="chapter-7">AI Governance, Ethics, and Security Skills</h2>
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<img decoding="async" class="b-lazy img-fluid" loading="lazy" width="100%" title="Greatest Ethical and Security Challenges" src="https://static.infragistics.com/marketing/reveal/whitepapers/2026/survey-top-technology-roles-skills/reveal-survey-greatest-ethical-security-challenges.svg" alt="Greatest Ethical and Security Challenges chart. Attribution: Reveal 2026 IT Talent Survey." id="ethical-security-challenges-img">
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<p style="font-size:1.15rem" id="insights-text-6">As AI adoption accelerates, organizations are paying greater attention to ethical and governance concerns. Half of respondents cite ethics and responsible AI use as major challenges, while <strong>48%</strong> identify security and privacy risks. In response, many companies have strengthened privacy policies and introduced ethical guidelines.</p>
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<p>This environment is creating demand for roles that combine technical knowledge with regulatory and ethical expertise. Professionals who understand explainability, data governance, bias mitigation, and secure model deployment are becoming increasingly valuable. AI governance specialists, compliance engineers, and privacy-focused architects are emerging as critical contributors to sustainable AI adoption.</p>
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<div class="custom-box-header"> Conclusion </div>
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<p style="font-size:1.15rem">The Reveal 2026 IT Talent Survey illustrates a technology labor market defined by rapid innovation, persistent talent shortages, and rising specialization. AI engineers, cybersecurity professionals, cloud specialists, and data experts are among the most in-demand roles, driven by widespread adoption of intelligent systems and analytics platforms. AI-driven job creation outweighs displacement, suggesting that AI is reshaping roles rather than eliminating them.<br><br>
Core skills such as Python, machine learning, cybersecurity, and advanced programming remain essential, while experience and domain knowledge are increasingly valued over entry-level capabilities.<br><br>
At the same time, the growing emphasis on governance, ethics, and security is expanding opportunities for professionals who can manage AI responsibly. Organizations are responding through aggressive hiring, reskilling initiatives, and strategic workforce planning. As digital transformation continues through 2026 and beyond, professionals who combine technical depth with adaptability and ethical awareness will be best positioned to thrive in the evolving technology landscape.</p>
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<div class="custom-box-header"> Survey Methodology </div>
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<p style="font-size:1.15rem">The Reveal 2026 IT Talent Survey was conducted in partnership with Dynata in December 2025. Dynata surveyed 250 senior technology leaders, including C-suite executives, CIOs, CTOs, VPs, IT managers, and directors responsible for software development and business intelligence across mid-market and enterprise organizations.</p>
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<div class="custom-box-header"> About Reveal </div>
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<p style="font-size:1.15rem"><a href="/">Reveal</a> is an embedded analytics platform from <a href="https://www.infragistics.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Infragistics</a> that enables software teams to bring conversational analytics and AI-driven insights into their enterprise applications. Built for developers, Reveal integrates seamlessly into any app with flexible SDKs for web, desktop and mobile. By embedding AI directly into the analytics experience, Reveal empowers end users to ask questions about their data, understand what’s happening and take action–all within the application they’re already using. With built-in governance and predictable cost controls, Reveal helps companies introduce AI-powered analytics at scale while maintaining the performance, flexibility and visibility enterprise environments require.</p>
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