IT manager: what is needed for the position and how to manage

Increase productivity, achieve good results, manage projects effectively and control all industry information. This is every IT Manager's dream , isn't it?

In fact, in any company, the search for excellent results works as a strong source of motivation for daily work.

But when we talk about Information Technology, some challenges are unheard of for professionals working in the sector.

Among these challenges faced by IT teams, we can mention the need to ensure that installed software and hardware work fully and securely.

To ensure that the service is performed in the best way, it is necessary that the IT Manager is prepared to deal with these challenges, which are common to a team's daily routine.

When you finish reading this article you will:

• Know exactly what an IT Manager does;
• Know what the profile of this professional is;
• And receive important tool tips for managing the IT area.

Read on and learn everything an IT manager needs to master.

What does an IT manager do?

To start our conversation, it is important to make it clear: the IT Manager is the professional who knows in detail all the administrative routine and the technological tools used in the company.

In other words, the IT manager will seek, based on the knowledge he has about how the company works, ways to optimize processes and maximize results.

Therefore, we can say that it is the responsibility of the IT manager to manage the entire IT team , the deadlines and deliveries made by the professionals, as well as the collection of tasks.

The IT Manager must also assign team members to certain roles according to their aptitude.

Another function of the IT Manager is to choose the IT projects that will be implemented in the company, as well as the integration of those used.

In addition, the Manager creates projects that will facilitate the operation of the business according to the needs of customers (internal or external).

For the creation of these projects, the IT Manager can have a closer relationship with the customer in order to better understand their main needs and expectations.

Thus, it is possible to manage the team according to what is expected by the customer, in order to guarantee their satisfaction .

Earlier in our article, we commented that one of the challenges within the IT industry is to ensure that installed software and hardware work fully and securely.

Therefore, one more of the IT Manager's functions is to evaluate the security, information and database systems in order to analyze if everything is as planned.

If something is out of line with the aforementioned challenges of full and secure operation , the IT manager must prepare a contingency plan for the team to execute.

Also, we cannot forget another essential task in the IT Manager's daily life, which is to measure and monitor important indicators for the organization.

In this way, the IT Manager is able to identify which aspects of the team need to be worked on.

The IT Manager Profile

When reading about the functions of the IT Manager, you can see that this position has a very important role in the organization.

But not only that, we can also see that it takes a broad knowledge to perform its functions.

This broad knowledge is needed not only in IT, but in management, project and team management, and also people.

Saying that an IT manager needs to know how to deal with people seems far removed from their main role, but it isn't. He needs to be a leader for the team.

The IT Manager needs this knowledge in people to better manage their team members.

He must be able to engage his team in the proposed objectives and goals, in addition to transmitting knowledge and having good communication with everyone.

The internal integrated communication is very important for a company processes are aligned and thus errors are avoided.

Another important characteristic that the IT manager must present is the proactivity in seeking new forms and technologies capable of improving the productivity of the team and systems to better serve the company and customers.

And obviously, above all, an IT Manager must know how to manage. To help you with this, we have separated some important tips!

Tools that help with good IT management

To make a good team and project management , technical knowledge is an essential part, but it is not all.

There are several management tools that can help us right now and we'll show you which ones so you can apply them in your daily life.

1. Ticketing Software

A Call Software becomes an indispensable tool for any IT Manager who wants to better control their team's calls.

The track support helps the IT manager to know which are the most critical problems and in need of greater attention.

With this tool, the IT Manager will also have access to detailed reports, which will allow them to analyze the entire history of incidents and discover those that most impact the business.

Thus enabling the creation of efficient strategies to optimize processes, invest in technologies and always obtain better results.

Added to all this, it will be possible to analyze the team's productivity and the performance of each technician, measure the fulfillment of the agreed SLAs and even the User Satisfaction Level - extremely important information that can generate improvement insights at all times and justify new investments.

2. Business Model Canvas

BMC is a tool that aims to create or improve a business model.

The Canvas can be understood as a map of your business, divided into blocks by which you can determine the step by step of the model.

In some companies, it is common for the Canvas board to be available to the entire team so that, in moments of discussion and reformulation of the process, everyone can give their opinion.

Using the BMC, it is easy for the IT Manager to map and identify difficulties in each business process that can be resolved or optimized.

3. Runrun.it

The Runrun.it is a work management software, which allows you to manage projects, costs and flow of tasks and increase the productivity of your company.

With it, you can distribute demands among your collaborators and organize your team's communication within projects.

The tool also gives actual estimates of the delivery of activities and whether a project is likely to be delayed.

4. Gantter Charts

Gantter Charts is an important feature of Microsoft Project that allows a more objective view of when a project starts and when it ends.

Thus, it is possible to have a clear idea of ​​the time spent in each phase of the project.

5. Xmind

The XMind is a useful tool to establish clearly what is the main idea of the project in question.

This tool is open source for creating diagrams and mind maps with ready-made templates or also with the possibility of starting a creation from scratch.

Xmind is widely used in the initial phase of projects when many things are still being defined by the team.

6. Create a mind map

One of the most common communication barriers people face is explaining complex concepts and processes. It can be easy to skip the steps and it can be difficult to effectively connect the dots.

A mind map is the perfect way to visualize any topic that has many steps, nodes, or subsections. Simply start with a central idea and then branch out into connection points. Not only is it a well-crafted mind map that's easy to follow, it's more visually appealing than a boring report or step-by-step list.

7. ROI Calculator

How to calculate ROI may be more important than it sounds. ROI is the Return On Investment rate, that is, the rate that indicates the return on investment.

It is important because it provides information necessary to determine the possibility or not of maintaining the project and even its profitability.

Using the ROI calculation, the IT Manager will have valuable information at their fingertips that can help justify any investment.

So it will be possible to detail all the return that this investment will bring and how long it will take.

IT tools are very much needed in today's market. They have a direct and very positive impact on the productivity of a team.

Source: Business world pk