I’m an IT manager, get me out of here!

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A recent survey of chief information officers by hosted desktop specialist Nasstar, resulted in a top six list of irritations suffered:

1) Password resets
2) Email management
3) End users in general
4) Fixing broken printers/photocopiers
5) Support of remote/mobile working
6) Upgrade cycles/applying patches

This means that talented IT resources are being wasted on basic maintenance tasks, according to chief executive Charles Black.

“I don’t suppose for one minute the chief executive of these companies runs around with a vacuum cleaner while the chief financial officer (CFO) collects dirty plates and mugs from people’s desks at the end of the day,” he said. “So, why are well-paid and well-skilled IT professionals still losing sleep over patching and upgrades?”

Recent research conducted by Sunrise Software concurs with Nasstar’s viewpoint. It revealed that half of IT managers are spending at least 10 per cent of their time dealing with personal technology queries from the rest of the office.

“Prioritisation is still a major issue for IT managers. Even with service management solutions in place, if the chief executive wants to know why his iPhone isn’t working, you have to go and sort it out,” said Julie Roberts, professional services manager at Sunrise Software.

“So, longer-term initiatives that would make a real difference to the business, like introducing ITIL or virtualising your servers can fall to the bottom of the ‘to do’ list or worse never see the light of day.”

New tech woes
The headaches don’t end there. In addition to the powers that be almost monopolising IT management time, there’s also the rise of bandwagon mania, with companies keen to embrace new technologies with little understanding of what they are or how they will affect – adversely or otherwise – the business.

“One of the biggest challenges for IT managers is the rise of new technologies such as virtualisation,” said Michael Allen, Compuware’s director of service management. “With many companies keen to adopt virtualisation to become both leaner and greener by improving server utilisation, IT managers need to ensure that they prepare for the transition.”

Kevin Dean, marketing and strategy director for COLT’s major enterprise division, agrees.

“Board members and senior management decision makers are more aware of what technology is available today,” he said. “They often have their own perceptions that it is a simple matter to do more with less – less equipment, fewer skilled resources and less real estate.”

Data overload
We all know that information is the lifeblood of any business. But when the growth of that information and data starts to strangle resources and systems, it can all but kill a company.

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