IT has many departments, but we are going to focus on the main three: enterprise, network, and function. The top 3 qualities that each support team should have are subjective, but our list encompasses what each should generally strive to attain at all times. It is important to remember these qualities as a guideline and to recognize them not as rigid structures but great stepping stones to achieve efficiency and great quality of work within each department. Each department has a different function so each quality will be different for each respective support team. Despite the different qualities, the end result is the same, a connected and unified understanding of how each department functions and what you should expect from each team. Here are the 3 qualities that each different department of IT should come to know of their respective support teams.
IT Department: Function
When it comes to function, also known as the service department of IT, the top 3 qualities to keep in mind are proactiveness, educational ability, and responsiveness. Proactiveness refers to the idea of keeping vigil over the day to day operations being conducted to make sure the office is running smoothly at all times. Being proactive means preventing threats and mishaps before they occur and a great IT service support team will make sure that this is a quality trait that they pride themselves on being the best on. Preventing issues before they arise and properly surveying the hardware and software they are responsible for is a key trait that should not be overlooked. Educational ability is in reference to the department’s ability to educate office workers and other people using office or business technology about how to properly maintain and use printers, computers, etc. The support team’s ability to educate others on how to use technology properly will reduce service needs and is a quality to cherish, uphold, and foster. Lastly, responsiveness is key. Getting backed up on requests is frustrating to the department and to the people waiting in a long queue to get their work done. Being responsive to issues and making sure things are resolved in a timely manner is an extremely important quality to look for in this department.
IT Department: Network
The network department has a similar job to function but needs to concern its qualities to 3 different things: strong security sensibilities, ability to create strong contingencies and backups, and showing proper maintenance of the network. Network security is important for the office and having a lack of it will most definitely open up a Pandora’s Box of issues. Having a strong security sense, showing concern, and prioritizing attention to privacy and security is a top quality that should be found within the support teams in this department. Creating backups and strong contingency plans for when things go wrong is a quality to possess. In other words, how calm and logical is the team when they respond to disaster and do they have the foresight necessary to create robust and in-depth backups of necessary files. Maintenance, similar to being proactive, is about making sure that the network they are responsible for stays up and does not go down for any reason. These are definitely great qualities to have and to look for when understanding what makes a good network department support team strong and able to take on daunting tasks.
IT Department: Enterprise
The enterprise department should be looking forward to the issues of tomorrow and not the issues of the present as the other two departments described tackle those issues. If there are going to be new innovations or issues in the future, it requires a team with foresight and the ability to read the motions and paradigms of the present day. While being a fortune teller is impossible, these qualities are quite possible to attain and should be a part of this department’s support team. The enterprise department support team should concern themselves with emulating these 3 top qualities: modernization, knowledgeability of industry trends, and scalability.
Modernization is all about knowing and acknowledging the technology is rarely a static thing. New technological innovations come out every day and modernization is less about modernizing but more about constantly shifting with what is up and coming. In essence, it is about adapting and changing to the times as painlessly and efficiently as possible. Knowledgeability of industry trends is self-explanatory. Knowing what is going to come allows for modernization and adaptation to take place. Having a forward-thinking mindset and being educated on the latest trends set forth in the industry is a great competitive quality to maintain. Scalability is another important quality because it allows your team and the entire IT department to suit the needs of the business or office accordingly. This aids in modernization and also aids the IT department to become a strong and sizable force when necessary. The common overarching theme of scalability, knowledgeability, and modernization is that they are all concerned with what will come. Being ready for the future allows you to work in the future and come out on top every time.
In short, there are many qualities to consider for each IT department support team. While every team and every office is different, these are a short list of what should be expected from them. These qualities are mainly to help provide a good guide on what to look for in each department. Being able to understand these qualities and where they apply is a great benefit to and will help uncover new strategies and ways to structure how things are run. Understanding what each department does and what qualities that should exist within them will help your IT department as a whole continue to innovate, maintain, and overcome obstacles it will face.