Revamp Your IT Department For An Era Of Technological Advancement
The age of the IT department is coming to an end. Advances in technology require a new approach to IT that will give your company the skills and solutions it needs.
We love the IT department. In fact, we are the IT department, in many ways. But the simple fact is that the IT teams of old aren’t cutting it anymore. Now, business leaders have the unique opportunity to revamp their understanding of Information Technology in this new era of rapid change.
How IT is Evolving
One analyst and CEO predicted that one of the things we need to understand when “managing the growing pains of IT is that it’s no longer the work of a single department.” Instead, those in other departments must be trained to understand the technology they use, just as IT teams must be upskilled to handle the constantly changing technology being introduced to the world.
In this sense, the IT department can no longer be a single person, or small team, that is a catch-all for everything technology related. When once the IT department did everything from upgrading your phones to managing cybersecurity, the world of IT has grown too large for one single team or person. In fact, 83% of Canadian companies reported cybersecurity breaches in the past year and 76% reported an increase in cyberattacks. Cybersecurity alone is holding businesses back as their teams work hard to keep up with the increasing threats.
One solution is to make your current IT department more agile and broaden their skills across the board. Training them to understand how technology impacts marketing to customer service can help, but the need for skills in managing increased cyber risks, firewalls, and cloud-based servers is more than one department—or person—can handle.
The Disadvantage of Skills Shortage
Finding the right people with the right skills to manage the changing face of IT is one of the biggest challenges that businesses face when it comes to protecting their data, servers, and devices.
Canada is in the midst of a huge skilled labour shortage, and that includes those who are familiar with the latest methods in cybersecurity. And Canada is not alone. The global cybersecurity skills gap alone is predicted to reach 1.8 million by 2022, making it more and more challenging for business to ramp up their IT departments to meet their changing needs.
One study by BDC found that these labour shortages are holding companies back. In fact, they indicated a “direct link between a shortage of workers and slower growth in company sales.” While the statistics are not all directly related to IT, the message is clear. Labour needs are changing, and finding new solutions is the only way to change along with them.
The New IT Department
Instead of scrambling to hire more IT workers and build a department that still lacks the necessary skills, many companies are turning to managed IT services and support companies to supplement their in-house IT departments. Rather than trying to manage the evolving needs of IT in one single department, adding managed services allows your IT department to hone in on the aspects of their role that they are most skilled to handle. Outsourcing things such as cybersecurity, disaster recovery, and cloud solutions gives your IT department the freedom to become more agile and handle your company’s IT needs with a broader, more strategic approach.
Managed IT services gives you the opportunity to know your company’s data is secure, while still depending on your IT team for day-to-day onsite fixes, problem-solving, and support.
An MSP for Vancouver-based Firms
Compunet Infotech provides a variety of IT services for firms and enterprises in Vancouver, BC and the surrounding area. We gladly help supplement your current IT teams or help you fulfill all of your IT services for companies lacking an in-house IT department. From cybersecurity to cloud solutions and beyond, we are here to help make your IT department as advanced and cutting-edge as your business itself.
