Member Article

What Successful IT Managers Do from 8am-8pm

Find out how successful IT managers make the most of their time and make every day an IT success story.

The role of an IT manager can be a highly rewarding but challenging one – so how do the most successful IT managers make each and every day count?

Schedule for Success

8am

Checking emails and reading the latest industry news and views via your mobile device during the commute.

The successful IT manager understands how imperative it is to stay on top of breaking IT developments that could benefit the company.

9am

Group meeting with IT staff to monitor performance on ongoing projects and ensure deadlines and quality standards are on course to be met.

9.30am

Checking in with IT suppliers and their progress.

39% of IT staff lose around one working day or more per week dealing with IT problems and chasing suppliers. A successful IT manager understands that to avoid wasting time and resources, suppliers must be monitored on a regular basis.

10am

Meeting with the CFO to discuss an IT issue that the department is experiencing, before delegating to IT staff to ensure the problem is dealt with quickly and efficiently.

11am

Meeting with the marketing director and a consultant about rolling out a new company-wide system, ensuring that:

• The consultant isn’t trying to sell the company a ‘pup’.
• Any subsequent rollout is achievable from a technical point of view.

Midday

Holding a Skype call with a vendor about a potential product that could help streamline the company’s operations.

The successful IT manager understands that any software solution must move the business forward and show ROI to the board.

12.30pm

Meeting with the CISO to discuss the company’s Bring Your Own Device policy to ensure that company data leakage remains a ‘non-issue’ within your company.

By 2017…

40% of enterprise contact information will have leaked into Facebook via employees’ increased use of mobile device collaboration applications. The successful IT manager understands that BYOD is here to stay – whether companies like it or not – and official policies, procedures and safeguards must be put in place.

1pm

Taking time out for lunch, while checking in on breaking IT news and investigating any vendor offers that you may have received via email.

2pm

Organising the rollout of a critical software update to ensure that the company’s IT network is operating at maximum efficiency and has the latest security updates.

4.30pm

Updating key stakeholders on all project progress to keep them in the loop and help ‘educate’ the board about the challenges that the IT department faces daily.

The successful IT manager understands that it is critical to the IT department’s continued funding and success that the C-Suite is kept up-to-date in jargon-free language.

5pm

Vetting the CMO’s finalised presentation pack that was discussed at the 11am meeting, checking that all technical details discussed are present and correct for the pitch being given the next day.

How much budget projects have been known to go over by: 400% with only… 25-50% of the estimated benefits to the company being realised.

The successful IT manager understands that bridges must be built to ensure that traditional silos between departments are banished forever so any project stands the best chance of succeeding.

6.30pm

Fielding a late call from a panicked employee in sales who believes they may have ‘broken the internet’.

The successful IT manager understands that not all employees are IT literate and IT support’s attitude should reflect this.

7pm

Checking in with your preferred IT news sites on the way home.

8pm

Checking work emails from the late-shift IT workers before finally winding down for the night.

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This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Billy Lyle .