We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again – technology is moving at an incredible pace.
So how do you prepare for the future - for your business, your industry, and just as importantly, your career?
We’ve listed our top five tips to ensuring your future and that of your business are secure:
1. Know your risks
There are many risks that can affect the performance of the modern IT manager and that of the future. Knowing which risks may eventuate will mean you’re better prepared to defend against them. Cyber attacks and a shortage of skilled employees are just two of the common concerns for IT managers that we expect to see continue into the future.
There is an ever-increasing risk of a cyber attack that could have a significant negative impact on your business. With zero day attacks, advances in malware and phishing style attacks and increasingly mobile workforces, keeping threats under control takes more vigilance than ever before and that will only continue to increase into the future.
Skills shortages are another concern (if they’re not, they should be). 86% of CIOs say that it’s more challenging to hire today than it was five years ago. And even with changes to visas that allow Australian businesses to attract international talent, the competition is fierce and is expected to remain that way for the foreseeable future. Let’s hope that the next generation of school leavers embrace technology and choose to work in STEM related fields.
2. Always analyse your data
Data is life. Without it, we’d all be operating based on a hunch. Being able to access and interpret data will put you and your team in an incredibly strong position.
Knowing the inner workings of your systems and people will mean that you can plan better, track security measures and build robust business cases for things such as increased headcount or budget or win over your management team with a foolproof strategy to implement the next game changing application or software.
Numbers matter and IT managers are up there with finance and marketers in terms of having an incredible advantage due to the access you have. Use it wisely, but please do use it.
3. Prioritise security
We know, we’re all about security, but that is because we know how important it is for businesses. Unfortunately, it’s not always given the time or resourcing it deserves. As mentioned above, attacks are getting increasingly sophisticated and we expect that this will only increase in the future.
This is not all bad though, as we, along with some of the best technology businesses in the world (many of whom are our partners), are constantly innovating to ensure that we stay one step ahead of the bad guys.
If you’re not sure where to start or if you haven’t spent as much time on this area as you’d like (we get it, time is a valuable, yet rare, resource) we’re only ever an email or phone call away.
4. Improve existing processes
Process should never be approached as a ‘set and forget’ activity. What worked 12, six or even three months ago may be out of date now.
Making time to regularly review and update existing processes will help define the future state of your department and potentially the wider business. Having buy-in from outside of your team is vital here, so aim to hold workshops with a variety of stakeholders across the organisation on a semi-regular basis will ensure you get the endorsement you need to make your policies a success.
5. Embrace change
There is never a dull moment in IT and the multitude of new and emerging technologies that are being adopted across businesses in Australia is incredibly exciting. AI and machine learning, VR, automation, voice, robotics and the world of IoT bring so many opportunities to every business.
It’s worth staying up to date on what’s coming down the line. An attitude of ‘we’ve always done it this way’ can mean the loss of a competitive advantage for a business, while excitement and openness to change can transform a business into a screaming success. We know which option we want for ourselves and our valued customers.
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