Today, it is not easy to imagine a business that has nothing to do with technology. Therefore, the question comes to the fore: what is IT management?
IT management is little more than keeping a regular system administrator in companies to oversee the company’s website, set up a communications network, and work with contractors and customers.
Of course, this area covers a wide range of people responsible for IT management: site developers, programmers, various project managers, engineers, systems analysts, and many others. However, it is also essential to distinguish which specific elements make up the management of IT processes and technologies.
So what are the main components of IT management?
It is essential to recognize that each of the identified IT management elements must align with the business’s strategic objectives to ensure that the company’s full potential is exploited, thus offering high value to all stakeholders.
Hence, we have identified three main components of IT management.
1. IT strategy
This component of IT activities predetermines the success of the implementation of IT management in the company. It provides a precise, clear, and correct definition of the goals of the IT department.
At this stage, it is crucial to evaluate all the pros and cons in terms of the added value that this decision will bring to both companies and external stakeholders. It is equally important to assess the positive and negative scenarios. Your team should always consider this issue.
For example, when network activity increases due to the company’s expansion, employees should find out the ways to manage this flow of information. On the other hand, speaking of the adverse effects, it is necessary to purposefully identify ways to overcome the consequences of cyberattacks and the loss of compromised information.
A successful IT strategy must perform the following tasks:
- Maintain the natural flow of business operations based on the strategic goals of the business, which the IT department must continuously review and improve. It is also necessary to calculate a sufficient budget and coordinate with other departments to obtain complete information about the organization’s real needs.
- Create a system of adequate protection of company and customer data by adapting your business to new information security strategies.
- Add value to your company by providing reliable IT services and creating the ground for a system to improve your IT department that will reflect your organization’s holistic development and growth.
2. IT service
It is effortless to assure customers that your technical team will provide quality IT services. However, it is crucial to ensure that real value is offered to your subcontractors. It means developing a holistic system of goals and standards that your team must meet.
Create a security system with a Firewall to deliver the best possible service.
In order to provide first-class IT services, it is worth looking at the prospects:
- Customers should be aware that their data is secure and cannot be compromised due to security malfunctions. However, it would be best to distinguish between less complex tasks such as a feedback system about user problems related to technical solutions.
- Employees must have reliable access to the Internet and internal communications system. Moreover, the connection must be secure and ensure awareness of external users who do not belong to the IT department about responsible access to the network. Furthermore, they should also have the option to report any technical problems to ensure that any current issues are resolved quickly.
3. IT assets
Last but not least, you need to effectively manage all the necessary assets for the company’s staff to perform planned tasks and works. It means addressing the availability of laptops and their distribution among employees and the timely update of operating systems and software. This step is critical because it prevents many problems and anticipates disruption of the company’s operational process. Typically, IT assets include the following categories:
- Hardware. It is the most straightforward view of the company’s assets in terms of IT activities. Hardware management includes maintaining technical equipment, tracking depreciation, and those employees who use such assets in their work.
- Software. Keep in mind that software is also an essential element of a company’s assets. You need to know which systems are used by different employees, and when you need to update the license agreement, determine the responsibility for troubleshooting the network. To manage this IT asset, these are the basic starting points.
How exactly can IT management help your business?
Given the above, IT management’s essence is to define and reconcile the organization’s technical and business goals, which is a fundamental condition for creating and ensuring value through the proper operation of the company’s IT assets.
In general, the business’s strategic vision prevents misunderstandings in the process of technological development of the company. A clear plan for proper technology management ensures that the entire business system’s adequate functioning prevents uncertainty in decision-making.
To do this, you should consider the employees` daily tasks and pay attention to the device they use for work and their access to the Internet through the business network. From the customer’s perspective, it is worth thinking about how they learn about your company and start working with you. So it is worth clarifying this issue at the micro-level.
Nevertheless, it is worth considering two specific benefits of using IT management in your company.
1. It can save you money
The overall IT strategy identifies critical priorities and goals that are important for successful business development. Thus, it is possible to diversify risks by investing more in those IT projects that deserve financial support and achieve initial goals.
If you prioritize IT management, you do not need to use external sources of funding
High-quality and well-established IT services ensure a continuous work process, and you do not have to waste time and money to solve technical problems. Your customers will be convinced of your reliability and will transfer cooperation to a permanent mode. In other words, you minimize the possible financial risks provoked due to insufficient protection of company and customer data.
Effective IT asset management saves enormous amounts of money on hardware upgrades, as regular and well-established processes require precise verification. It also allows you to make sure that the software is updated on time. In general, all of the above indicates the minimization of financial costs and improving the company’s image and efficient use of its capabilities.
2. It can save you time
With the company’s rapid development, new employees join the existing team of professionals, and additional financial resources and new prospective clients appear. However, such positive dynamics create many problems for your business’s technical team, as the environment of information management becomes complicated.
A measured, practical, well-developed action plan will help save time to develop alternatives to overcome unexpected situations. If you know that your employees often face some technical issues, you should invest in a service that will be managed by a technical team and allow you to address specific problems immediately.
It is worth noting that the implementation and necessary testing of such a help desk service takes some time. However, it fades in comparison with those catastrophic events that can be prevented in the future.
Adhering to your IT team’s management strategy will reduce the likelihood of such situations occurring. Preliminary assessment and identification of scenarios allow the development of best practices. It indicates the possibility of using proven plans to solve problems, which will not provoke more dire consequences.
Saving time is closely linked to saving resources, including money because they complement each other.
How to optimize IT management costs?
Effective IT management requires a professional IT manager. Such a manager should have walked the path from the bottom of the IT career ladder to understand all IT processes. If he or she is familiar with sales and marketing, it will allow him or her to look at the business’s global goals – to help increase the company’s value. In order to optimize IT costs, such a manager needs to be aware of and be able to apply advanced technologies such as Cloud/Managed Services. It is also vital to continually maintain knowledge, participate in specialized IT activities, implement and use advanced technologies.
Unfortunately, there is currently a shortage of such specialists. Besides, they are not cheap, and not all companies can afford to hire an experienced IT manager. Some businesses employ inexpert IT managers or try to develop such talent within their company. Such a compromise solution can greatly slow down the development of your company, negatively affect its profit.
Considering the high costs and lack of professional IT managers, it becomes common to outsource IT management to specialized companies like ours.
IT management companies have extensive experience in different business areas and use modern and optimal IT technologies and solutions. Each new company enriches their knowledge, which they are happy to share with their clients.