The Four Essential Skills That IT Managers Need In Today’s Digital Transformation Time
Ever since the COVID19 pandemic struck, many things have changed. Despite the difficulty, many businesses have managed to turn around. Digital adoption is increasing as a result of COVID19. One of the common themes between these companies is the constant changes in IT roles in their organizations. According to Gartner, global IT spending is expected to increase 6.2 percent, which is around $3.9 trillion this year compared to 2020.
The increase in IT spending may be related to the growing role of IT for businesses during and after the pandemic. Besides making sure your mail server is up and running, you’ll have to have all the applications you need to get your job done, IT managers now have to play an active role in the business’s decision making. Technology is no longer a “small” part of the business; it is the main driving force in businesses nowadays.
In order for all businesses to keep pace with digital innovation, create as well as maintain a competitive advantage, there are several skills that your IT team/software development team must possess to run a successful business. Although they don’t need to be the expert in all information technology domains, IT managers and their team should make sure that the IT department is optimized in the following areas:
Cloud computing
Since the pandemic hit, all businesses have been in a rush to digitize and move to the cloud. All assets like desktops and data, applications are moved so that businesses can continue to work uninterruptedly. As we move to the hybrid workplace, IT managers and their team need to understand the cloud architecture to drive the company forward. Having this solid knowledge allows the IT department to make the right decisions when setting up virtualized workplace, migrating a legacy application, or even purchasing new cloud-based applications. While it seems like almost everyone is in the cloud and has basic knowledge of the technology since we all use Google drive, iCloud, etc at the moment, we are still in the early phase. Therefore, a cloud expert is highly needed.
Identity and policy management
As many companies are now working remotely and hiring many offshore outsourcing companies to help to achieve success, IT leaders should make sure that they have all procedures, identity, and policy management in place. This ensures that employees can work from home or on the go with the same level of access they get in the office without the data security compromises. Identity and policy management is an important role in cybersecurity measures. Zero-trust policies and multifactor authentification can prevent any cybercrime from accessing your network.
Data Science and Management
Although IT managers don’t have to understand data science in-depth, they must know how important data is to the business; therefore, make great decisions about it. Along with artificial intelligence and machine learning, data science and big data are becoming essential in the next few years. Currently, IT managers need to have the tools and experts ready to extract and analyze enterprise-level data in order to better provide information for critical decisions.
Furthermore, they need to understand which applications need to be linked in order to share and analyze information. Having a powerful data pipeline can automate workflow and move data from one location to another, ensuring that no data is missed, the data is securely protected, and all departments are kept in sync.
Agility and adaptability
The last skill that all IT managers should have related to agility and adaptability. IT leaders must master the technology ecosystem to a certain extent, and they need to be willing to learn new technology trends and skills instead of being satisfied with the status quo and stick with it. They don’t have to be engineers, but in order to make effective technical strategic decisions, IT leaders need to have more in-depth knowledge. Especially in this digital transformation era, IT managers have to embrace agile methodology for a better development process.
When technology is not as complex or diverse as it is today, decision-makers can rely on their technical experts to ensure that everything runs smoothly and their business has the latest innovations. However, the table has turned, now there are new complexities and many IT services providers to choose from. Knowing which software development company to go to is critical. Not only IT managers should embrace agility and adaptability, but the software outsourcing company they choose must also provide agile methodologies and the latest engagement model like the dedicated development one. By being able to choose from the top software development companies, you will get the greatest return on investment and achieve success.
IT managers are at the forefront of business growth and digital strategies. In the digital transformation era, all people who work in IT must keep embracing new technology trends, responsibilities, and accountability to keep the business run smoothly in crisis times like now, as well as gain a competitive edge in the market. While it seems like the world is returning to normal, IT leaders should continue to pay attention and keep themselves updated with the latest technologies and ensure that these investments are aligned with their business strategies.
