The Top Challenges IT Professionals Face (and How to Deal with Them)
Although the IT profession covers a wide range of job descriptions and responsibilities, certain challenges facing IT professionals are universal. The challenge is always about how to stay up-to-date with new developments while taking care of the day-to-day.
Most Challenges Faced by IT Professionals Can Be Solved With Organization and Communication
Many of these IT challenges are based on how organizations as a whole adapt to technological changes and digital culture. So how can IT professionals make sure that they are most efficiently and effectively dealing with the challenges that face them in their industry? Read below to understand the most common challenges and learn how to address them in your own workplace.
The Top 3 Challenges Today
1. Sifting Through New Technology
We live in a digital age, and are almost constantly inundated with new technology. Even people who do not work in IT are receiving regular ads and notifications about new technology that promises to make our work lives much easier. Because of this, IT teams are regularly pressured by users at all levels to implement new company-wide software solutions regardless of whether or not those solutions are actually worth the effort.
A universal challenge for IT thus becomes developing systems to track software requests, test them for usefulness, update users about the IT team’s verdict, and possibly roll out a plan for implementing new software. To face this challenge head-on, organization is key.
Keeping track of the tasks associated with each stage of this process and which team member is in charge of completing that task (whether it is installing and testing the new software or developing the plan for rollout) is crucial to the process. Using a productivity and accountability platform like CommandHound to keep it all organized is critical. Clear organization, assignment of responsibilities, and follow through around the stages and steps involved helps keep the challenge of sifting through new technology in check.
Organization and Clear Communication with Users Help Prevent Confusion with New Technology
2. Generational Gaps
As more Baby Boomers prepare to retire every day, IT departments all over the country have to develop plans to replace some of their most skilled professionals, who have a powerful combination of advanced knowledge of their field and knowledge of the specific company they work for. While the young people who replace these Boomers in IT departments often have intuitive knowledge of the current technological climate, companies would be remiss to simply let the Boomers’ knowledge slip away.
IT departments can prevent this by setting up opportunities for older IT professionals to pair up with new employees. The exchange of knowledge that happens in mentorship programs or tutorials can help new employees understand the specifics of the company and the IT department better and help the Boomers understand newer trends in technology.
3. Streamlining Devices
With the huge number of devices available nowadays (desktop computer, laptops, tablets, smartphones, etc.), IT departments have to figure out secure ways to make information available across all platforms and devices. Since security is a top concern but companies are frequently opting to allow employees to use any devices they choose for work, using two-factor authentication or secure servers with login portals is becoming the norm in the IT field.
Any new software must be compatible with any type of device, which is why open architecture solutions and any framework that easily communicates with other systems are becoming the norm. As a whole, face this challenge by optimizing for flexibility but never compromising security. Satisfaction comes from having freedom to choose whatever option feels best for each individual, but it is IT’s responsibility to make sure those choices never compromise the company’s security perimeter. Pro tip: Use a platform like CommandHound to develop and monitor your IT security strategy with the COBIT or ISO frameworks. Learn more here.
Final Conclusions
In the end, IT is all about maintaining security while also pushing your company to be on the cutting edge of technology. Keep these two in balance by staying organized, encouraging communication, and driving a culture of accountability to make sure things get done. Would you like to learn more about how CommandHound can help?
