The Changing Role of the IT Manager

The modern technology landscape is constantly changing: Security threats are becoming more sophisticated and the importance of data protection is increasing. As the challenges faced by many firms grow, how are they transforming the role of today’s IT manager?

The constant development of new technologies makes it hard for IT managers to stay on top of their game. And they are under increasing pressure to do more with less – resources are tight, budgets are limited. IT professionals are now required to demonstrate an array of skills and expertise that goes far beyond simply keeping up with technological advancements.

So what exactly does it take to be a successful IT manager nowadays?

Legal and security expertise:
A variety of laws affect IT operations. The emergence of the Internet of Things and Big Data means regulation on security and data privacy always has to be kept in mind. Today’s IT manager needs to provide compliance that won’t hamper the company’s business operations. This works best if there is a reliable provider at hand: Only a secure network offers secure solutions. In an era when high-profile data breaches can permanently damage customers’ confidence in an organisation, paying attention to IT security and compliance risks is imperative.

Corporate finance knowledge:
A detailed understanding of how a company makes and allocates money is also essential. IT managers increasingly need to work with an entire organisation to understand how technology fits into the overall corporate budget. Technology developments, new software and cloud solutions are emerging daily, challenging the related fit of IT purchases. Understanding this will result in a positive financial outlook of any company, including its future IT decisions.

Smart network management:
If you’re doing cross-border business, having a provider present in more than one country will save significant time and money – at very least by minimizing administrative effort. To learn more about centralized network surveillance and maintenance within CEE, check one of our reference customers: TESCO.

Mentoring skills:
IT managers also have to teach others what they know. As tech professionals they must pass on their knowledge to less experienced colleagues so they can deal with priorities. As more pressure is placed on high-performing IT professionals, it becomes critical to broaden the pool of expert individuals in order to spread workload. In turn, IT managers will evidently have more time to focus on the important things in bigger pictures!

The influence of new technologies:
Whole departments are turning towards software or technology solutions to simplify their daily operations and to cut costs. This also requires additional effort by IT managers, because leading workshops, training to explain and introduce new technologies to employees shifts into focus. Yet this work is rewarded by simplified business processes and decreasing cost. Developing practical business solutions helps improving the performance of the entire company. Mobile Device Management Solutions for example enable employees to work anywhere without breaching corporate policies or loose time in between-meeting transits. And social collaboration tools from the cloud can simplify daily communication and teamwork in every company.

The cloud also offers additional advantages for securing sensitive company data: reduced total cost of ownership including pay-as-you-grow- model,  access to an elastic pool of computing resources, that can be rapidly deployed in response to your business demands, dynamic and fully scalable virtualized IT environment.. That’s why every company should consider moving their physical data infrastructure to the cloud. The next logical step virtualises all CPE (Customer Premise Equipment) functions in the cloud. You can see the benefits of Cloud CPE here.

The skills required to be an effective IT manager increase daily. Supporting them with fitting cloud capacities is certainly worth the effort. The IT sector remains an exciting place to work exactly because of this challenge – which is here to stay for a long time to come. Growing with this change will define the IT manager with an equally bright future.