How to build technology teams that power innovation and growth

Technology teams are the engine of innovation—but finding, developing, and deploying the right talent is harder than ever. Here’s how to align your talent strategy with business goals, close skill gaps, and leverage flexible solutions to build teams that drive measurable impact. 

Key takeaways 

• Align technology talent with business strategies to ensure teams drive innovation and deliver measurable impact. 

• Address skill gaps proactively by focusing on emerging tech, cybersecurity, cloud, and data capabilities. 

• Adopt flexible solutions—like contingent workforce models and managed services—to scale quickly and adapt to evolving digital trends. 

The demand for specialized technology expertise has never been higher. Whether you’re leading IT strategy, managing operations, or driving digital transformation, aligning your talent strategy with business goals is critical—and organizations across industries know their ability to innovate, adapt, and grow depends on assembling the right teams. Yet many struggle to bridge the gap between their strategic vision and execution.  

In fact, Highspring’s Agility Index Report found that only 45% of technology companies can quickly find and deploy critical talent in key areas like artificial intelligence (AI), DevOps, and cloud, leaving them at risk of falling behind in a fast-moving competitive market. To bridge that gap, leaders need a clear strategy for establishing technology teams that can power innovation today and adapt for the challenges of tomorrow—here’s where to start. 

Aligning technology teams with business goals 

Building effective technology teams begins with understanding how talent strategy connects to broader business objectives. Highspring’s Agility Index Report also reveals that high-agility organizations are nearly four times more likely to align strategy across talent, execution, and technology compared to their more rigid peers. 

We see this alignment show up in several ways with our most successful clients. First, technology teams need to understand not just the technical requirements of their role, but how their work supports company-wide innovation and growth initiatives. Second, leadership needs clear visibility into both current capabilities and skill gaps that could impact future projects. 

Technology talent is a strategic asset, not just an operational necessity. By investing time in identifying which emerging technologies—such as AI, cloud, and cybersecurity—are most relevant to your business needs, you can build teams to match them. But in a market where demand is outpacing supply, being unable to find the right talent isn’t just getting harder—it’s a growing business risk. 

Overcoming common technology staffing challenges 

Even with a clear strategy and alignment, there are real-world obstacles in building and maintaining high-performing technology teams. Talent shortages, shifting project demands, and structural rigidity can all prevent teams from reaching their full potential.  

Understand the skills gap  

Finding qualified technology professionals remains a persistent challenge, and global trends highlight this pressure. The World Economic Forum’s latest Chief Economic Outlook found that 87% of surveyed economists expect business to delay strategic decisions—but cybersecurity risks aren’t slowing down anytime soon. Highspring’s recent article on cybersecurity talent and operational trends found that 59% of CISOs said their organizations lack the skilled talent needed to both protect against AI-powered threats and support AI-enabled defenses.  

This requires creative approaches to talent acquisition. One method with proven success is incorporating flexible staffing models, including contract professionals who bring specialized expertise for specific projects and staff augmentation that scales teams without long-term commitments. Highlighting areas of highest demand—such as application services, data and analytics, and automation—help leaders prioritize their hiring strategies. 

Build agile technology teams 

Structuring teams for adaptability is critical. Highspring’s Agility Index Report found that 56% of organizations cannot move teams to a new initiative within three weeks. This rigidity limits innovation potential and slows response to market opportunities, especially in a quickly evolving digital landscape. 

High-performing technology teams share several key characteristics. They maintain cross-functional collaboration and regularly update their technical skills. Clear decision-making processes enable rapid pivoting when priorities shift, helping teams stay responsive in dynamic business environments. The next step is prioritizing the skills that enable your team to address today’s challenges and adapt as technology evolves. 

Equipping technology teams for the future 

To meet today’s challenges and adapt to evolving technologies, organizations must focus on the skills that make their teams effective, resilient, and prepared for what’s next. 

Develop expertise in emerging technologies 

Modern technology teams require skills across multiple domains. AI and machine learning capabilities top the list, with professionals needed to implement intelligent automation, develop predictive analytics models, and integrate AI solutions into existing workflows. 

Cloud expertise is equally important. Teams need architects who can design scalable infrastructure, engineers who can optimize cloud costs, and specialists familiar with multi-cloud strategies. As organizations shift toward cloud-first approaches, these skills directly impact operational efficiency and innovation capacity. 

Cybersecurity knowledge has become essential for technology roles. Every team member should maintain baseline security awareness, while dedicated security professionals manage advanced threat detection and response. These competencies also align with the highest-demand areas in contingent staffing projects, including AI, cloud, and automation. 

Strengthen data capabilities for informed decisions 

Technology teams increasingly serve as data stewards. Professionals must clean and organize data sets, implement robust governance practices, and translate analytics into actionable business insights. 

Experience in both structured and unstructured data sources is necessary, too. Teams need expertise in modern data platforms, real-time processing, and tools that enable self-service analytics across business units. Developing these capabilities ensures organizations can respond rapidly to evolving technological demands. 

With these skills in place, leaders can focus on applying them strategically by structuring and deploying teams to maximize impact and keep the organization agile in a rapidly changing technology landscape. 

Strategic approaches to technology talent 

Flexible staffing strategies, including contingent workforce solutions and managed services, balance technical expertise with business needs, helping teams adapt quickly to evolving technology demands. 

Leverage a flexible workforce  

Modern technology teams thrive when they can scale quickly and strategically. A flexible workforce blends direct hire solutions for key leadership positions, plug-and-play professionals for ongoing initiatives through contract staffing, and targeted staff augmentation to ramp up resources for time-sensitive projects or digital transformation efforts. By structuring teams this way, you’ll not only maintain business continuity—you’ll accelerate innovation and be able to rapidly respond to evolving business and technology demands with agility. 

Scaling your strategy and resources 

Managed services provide organizations with end-to-end management of critical technology functions, enabling internal teams to focus on strategic initiatives and innovation. This approach delivers specialized expertise in areas like IT infrastructure, cloud services, cybersecurity, and application management, while optimizing processes and maintaining operational continuity.  

By leveraging flexible delivery models—such as onshore, nearshore, and offshore—you can scale resources to meet changing demands and stay on budget with a global talent strategy. Long-term technology initiatives, ongoing IT operations, and complex digital transformation projects demand continuous innovation and operational efficiency that managed services provide. 

Start preparing your technology teams for the future today 

Creating technology teams that drive innovation requires more than filling roles—it demands agility, strategic alignment, and the right mix of skills. Flexible solutions like contingent workforce models and managed services help organizations scale quickly, address skill gaps, and stay ahead of emerging technology trends.  

Contact us today to learn more about our talent solutions and start building a team that protects current operations and positions you for tomorrow’s success.