Ten percent of Atlanta-area technology executives recently surveyed expect to expand their IT teams in the second half of 2014, according to the just-released Robert Half Technology IT Hiring Forecast and Local Trend Report. This compares to 18 percent in the previous six-month period (January – June 2014). In addition, 82 percentplan to hire only for open IT roles, 7 percent plan to put hiring plans on hold, and 1 percentexpect to reduce their IT staff in the last six months of the year.

In the same survey, 88 percent of Atlanta-area chief information officers (CIOs) said they are optimistic about their companies' prospects for growth in the second half of 2014, and 70percent feel confident in their firms' plans to invest in IT projects.

"A lot of hiring in the Atlanta area took place at the beginning of the year, but we continue to see demand for IT professionals in many industries," said Chris McCrae, Atlanta senior regional vice president of Robert Half Technology. "Right now, the most sought-after tech professionals include .NET developers, network engineers and systems engineers."

The 2014 hiring projections are based on interviews with 100 CIOs who were asked to provide a six-month hiring outlook. The surveys were developed by Robert Half Technology and conducted by an independent research firm. In order to ensure that companies from all segments were represented, the sample was stratified by number of employees. The results were then weighted to reflect the proper number of employees in the greater metropolitanAtlanta area. Robert Half Technology is a leading provider of IT professionals on a project and full-time basis and has been tracking IT hiring activity in the United States since 1995.

Recruiting Challenges 
In terms of recruiting, 57 percent of Atlanta CIOs said it's somewhat or very challenging to find skilled IT professionals today. It is most challenging to find skilled talent in the functional areas of software development (19 percent), networking (16 percent) and applications development (16 percent).

Confidence in Business Growth and IT Investments 
The survey results suggest that Atlanta CIOs are optimistic about their companies' growth and IT investments. Eighty-eight percent of CIOs reported being somewhat or very confident in their companies' prospects for growth in the second half of 2014. This compares to 90 percent in the first half of the year.

Sixty-seven percent of CIOs also said they are confident that their firms will invest in IT projects in the second half of 2014. This compares to 65 percent in the first six months of the year.

Skills in Demand 
Fifty-five percent of Atlanta technology executives surveyed said that database managementis among the skill sets in greatest demand within their IT departments. Network administrationand desktop support followed, with 54 percent and 45 percent of the response, respectively.