Top 6 Challenges faced by IT managers

March 9, 2023
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IT Management
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Discover the top 6 Challenges faced by IT Managers.

At aDataTribe, we exist to become a key IT partner for dynamic organisations by delivering world-class information technology solutions and services.

For some time now, the train of thought within companies was that the IT department was simply responsible for setting up new users and resolving technical issues when they happened, and in the early years, they happened a lot. However, more and more businesses are beginning to understand the strategic potential and need for IT to transform business operations and deliver a competitive advantage in a rapidly evolving world.

Whilst this is positive, what it means is that the scope of the IT department has grown substantially.

With this comes new challenges to address:

Cost

Companies face rising costs and do not want IT delivery to be compromised. They must look to save costs and bring about a cultural and behavioural change to maintain fiscal discipline. As we enter the post-COVID world and the next stage of the economic cycle, IT leaders must now work smart to ensure business efficiency through firm cost management.

Talent Drain and Skills Gap

IT Managers have to deal with a general gap in tech and IT skills. Equally, when companies have the correct resources, the high demand for these skills and the lack of suitable talent in the open market means people regularly change roles and companies.

These gaps will only continue to grow and cause further harm unless action is taken. IT Managers must convey to senior management the value of continual and strategic training for technical employees and a secure budget to ensure this can happen.

However, even with training, it’s unlikely that one or two IT professionals will be able to meet all the technical and strategic skill requirements of a mid-sized business unless you’re solely focused on ‘keeping the lights on’. It can be prohibitively expensive to build a large internal IT team and retain individuals long-term. IT managers often turn to outsourced IT support to gain the specific skills they need, often at a fraction of the cost.

New Technologies

Keeping up with new technology and new requirements is a challenge. In line with talent retention, this is a major problem.

Although keeping up with the new technology is challenging, the bigger issue is working out the best fit for the business, communicating this to Senior Management and implementing it.

Digital Transformation

Digital transformation is complex, and it can be difficult to achieve success. Yet to prevent savvy competitors from overtaking them, businesses need to focus their efforts in this area.

Initiatives fall in IT managers’ hands as they are seen as technical, but digital transformation requires the whole leadership team of a company to be engaged.

Doing this can establish a clear focus for the project and the required drive.

Cloud/Not Cloud

Following the pandemic, there has been more of a drive to go to the cloud, bringing questions such as around public and private environments. Of course, given the scalability and flexibility of these platforms, it makes it difficult to ignore.

If you do move look at these options, it is essential to consider security across multiple platforms. Multiple clouds mean managing multiple inconsistent and incompatible security systems. A better option would be a cross-cloud, cloud-agnostic security platform which ensures complete enterprise-wide security, regardless of asset location.

Asset Management

The ever-increasing number of devices in the workplace means more monitoring and maintenance. To deal with this effectively and safely, it’s crucial that the IT strategy includes appropriate information and governance programs.

IT Managers must also be aware of the threat of the unknown. Hardware and software used by staff without the IT department’s approval or knowledge is an increasing problem in mid-market businesses. This can include things like using cloud file stores like DropBox or Google Drive to share files and personal instant messaging apps.