Nowadays, so much of business is technology-related that it’s almost safer to ask, “What does IT management not include?”
Employees gain access to your organisation’s network by using technology owned or paid for by the company. Customers can find out more about your company by visiting your website. Clients, potential new employees, and workplace visitors all demand guest internet access. Cybercriminals and hackers must be deterred.
Computer programmers, engineers, technicians, systems analysts or support professionals deal with these technologies.
But what is it that binds all of this machinery, software, and personnel together? In a nutshell, it is IT management.
What Is IT Management and Why Is It Important For Business?
Management of an organisation’s information technology systems, hardware, software, and networks, IT management focuses on optimising information systems. Also, it’s about making people work better.
It is possible to divide IT management into numerous categories. All of which align IT goals with business goals in a way that gives the most amount of value for your company.
A growing number of businesses are putting information technology at the heart of their plans. As a result, IT departments are being pushed to do more than ever before in the digital age, and they are becoming a fulcrum for change.
Typically, Chief Information Officers lead information technology divisions (CIOs). They establish the business’s IT objectives and goals and oversee their implementation.
Numerous CIOs expect their jobs will change significantly over the next two to three years. They anticipate refocusing their efforts away from maintenance and management and onto higher-value, strategic operations.
The Importance of the IT Strategy
Organisations no longer have the luxury of having an IT strategy. Instead, it has become a need for existence as a result of the rapid expansion of IT, with rising interconnectivity and connectivity in today’s modern world.
Organisations need a solid, coherent, and proactive IT strategy. Why? To leverage the power of IT, synergies across business processes, and economies of scale.
A typical IT strategy, like a corporate strategy, must first conduct an internal and external analysis. This analysis will give a framework for the alignment of its strengths, opportunities, and threats.
Before developing IT strategy as a discipline, the business strategy was expanded to include technological implications. As a result, the business strategy document became the de facto home of the IT strategic plan.
Today, however, the CIO likes to establish their own IT strategy team. The CIO also adheres to their own IT strategy process and expresses their plans via a particular IT strategic plan document.
Organisational goals must be closely aligned with IT strategic initiatives. A single logical process, structure, and communication document serve as the foundation for most organisations’ business and IT strategy.
Defining IT Services
An IT service is a service provided by a support organisation (or, more broadly, a service provider) to its consumers. These clients could be internal (i.e. the company) or external (i.e. the customers). In the latter situation, a business department is frequently present between IT and the external customer.
It’s an umbrella phrase for all computer, internet, and tech-related procedures. For example, IT services help businesses set up, maintain, and debug their networks, gear, software, cloud computing, and more.
IT services are usually characterised into:
- Hardware
- Software
- Infrastructure
- Communication
Understanding the various sorts of IT services can assist you in determining what you require today and in the future.
All of these services are strongly underpinned by:
- Cybersecurity
- Cloud, hybrid or on-premise technologies
- Availability of the service
- Access to support (help desk)
Depending on the experience of your employees, the time available, and the level of security needed, you may opt to engage an IT management firm (MSP). Many small businesses opt for this option since it enables them to access various services in one location. Alternatively, you may determine that it is more cost-effective to outsource certain services and contract for others only as needed.
Managing IT Assets
IT asset management (ITAM) is the process of tracking, maintaining, upgrading, and disposing of IT assets. Simply said, it means tracking and using your companies’ essential assets, tangible and intangible.
So, an IT asset? An IT asset is any piece of hardware, software, or data that an organisation values. Your company’s most valuable IT assets are the computers, software licenses and servers. This helps produce, market and support the software.
IT assets have a limited useful life. The IT asset lifetime can be managed proactively to optimise the value a business can derive from them. While each company defines its own lifespan stages, they typically comprise:
- Some planning
- Some procurement
- Some deployment
- Some maintenance
- Definitely some retirement
A critical component of IT asset management is the use of processes across all lifecycle stages. These stages help determine the total cost of ownership and improve asset utilisation.
Previously, IT departments could control assets within their domain. Asset management now extends far beyond the IT-approved gear. Customising tools via marketplaces and app stores raises new asset management issues.
To support the company, IT teams must be adaptable in their asset management processes. As teams compete for the best tools, asset management becomes a critical aspect of a company’s overall strategy. This reduces risks and expenses.
An asset management process creates a single source of truth for budgeting, lifecycle management, and organisational decisions.
So It Really Is Important!
An IT Strategy is not an end-state; it is a journey that is continuously changing. So, we hope we have explained and covered what IT management is.
Regardless of the size of your company, you may assume that your IT management is taken care of because you have an IT department. However, IT management involves much more than simply appointing someone to handle all things tech-related.
You will need to continuously review your approach to IT Management, if nothing else, to protect your investment.
Are you looking for expert IT management support? Contact us, and we will customise solutions to fit your industry!
