Your business might have a large IT department, complete with programmers, technicians, engineers, developers, designers, project managers, support specialists, and systems analysts. Or it might consist of a single person doing his or her very best to keep everything running smoothly. However, if you don’t fully understand what is IT management all about, not only your IT department but your whole business might not be functioning optimally.
What is IT management?
The short answer is that IT management has to do with managing IT-related assets and activities at your business in such a way that they work seamlessly together to achieve the goals of both the IT department and the business as a whole.
The three components of an effective IT management system
IT management consists of three components, which we will discuss below.
Having a strategy. This involves planning to ensure that your IT department always operates in a framework that will benefit the business as a whole. If your business grows and appoints more employees, your IT department, for example, has to plan for the heavier demands this will place on the computer network.
A good IT strategy should:
- Support business operations by ensuring that the head of the IT department regularly communicates with other department heads to ensure he or she has a holistic view of the company’s needs.
- Add value to the firm by ensuring reliable IT services
- Secure the firm’s (and third party’s) data by having plans in place to protect it.
Ensuring reliable service. An IT system is only as good as its reliability. Employees need to have reliable access to the computer network and internal data. Those who have clearance should also have reliable Internet access. Customers need to have reliable access to the company website, and they should not have to worry that their personal information might be compromised. If something does go wrong, there should be a system in place to ensure that it is dealt with promptly and efficiently. All of this is the responsibility of IT management.
Managing IT assets. An IT system consists of hardware, software, and people. All of these have to be managed and maintained in such a way that they seamlessly contribute to the company’s objectives. This could include (but is not limited to) planning the purchase and maintenance of hardware, regularly evaluating and updating software systems, and making sure that staff is properly trained and motivated.
The benefits of professional IT management
Now that you have a better understanding of what is IT management, you will probably realise that a well-managed IT department can benefit your business by increasing productivity and taking a lot of stress out of everyday processes. Employees will know exactly what they should do, how they should do it, and when they should do it. Equipment will run smoothly 99.9 per cent of the time and both employees and customers will have access to correct information whenever they need it.
Your business will save money. Systems that go down mean people can’t go on with their work, i.e. they are paid for doing nothing. Managing hardware and software properly will help to reduce the likelihood of this.
Having a long-term plan in place for the IT department will also ensure that unnecessary hardware or software is never purchased, and that existing hardware/software is effectively utilised.
Properly managed software systems will also dramatically reduce the chances of cyberattacks forcing the company to a (very expensive) standstill.
Your business will save time and be more efficient. A well-managed IT department will ensure that its employees are used more productively. If the business, for example, is expected to grow exponentially, IT management will already start planning for adding the necessary hardware and putting software systems into place that can deal with the increased demand.
An example is a help desk, where every employee can submit a ticket if he or she has a problem. The alternative is people running up and down the passage looking for someone to help them with a critical problem.
The bottom line
We hope that the above has helped you to better understand what is IT management, and how it can benefit your business. Contact us today for more information on how we can help you with your IT management needs!