IT Management

It is handy to think of the “IT Management function” as managing “the business of the IT organization” within the company. This means there is a strong focus on the money involved, how people and resources are allocated to different parts of the organization, how the teams are managed, and how the overall IT functions work for the business.

Generally speaking, the IT organization is led by a Chief Information Officer, or someone with a similar title, who is responsible for the IT division and directs an IT leadership team.

Their responsibilities include a wide range of things, such as:

For simplicity, we break IT Management into just two function layers: Internal IT Management and External IT Management.

While much of what IT Management focuses on is internal to the business, managing an IT organization also involves using many “external components” and leveraging them for the organization’s benefit.

This sounds abstract, but Vendor Management is a good example of what we mean here. Large IT organizations use many external providers for hardware, software, support services, networking and communications, etc.

So, IT Management and the IT leadership team are focused on determining how to use a selection of the numerous “external technology ingredients” and combine them to best serve the organization’s internal business goals.

Many pieces of IT Management are internally focused. For example, when a company spends a lot of money on IT equipment, you need an Asset Management process to know what was bought, where it is located, who is using it, when it should be retired, etc.

The business also expects the IT solutions to perform properly, so you need Capacity and Performance processes to ensure the systems can handle the workloads.

The business also needs to recover quickly from significant problems, so Business Continuity Planning is critical to avoid extended outages that can impact the business. The IT organization can also use Audits to confirm that such processes and all their documentation are in place and regularly tested.

The longer-term technical strategy for IT solutions is also part of Internal IT Management and can be considered an IT Architecture process. Companies need to have clear plans for evolving the various “IT ingredients” over time to stay current and deliver the right results for the business.

For example, companies have moved from COBOL software on mainframes to Java/J2EE programs on servers to cloud-based solutions over the past 40 years. Now, AI is upon us, and IT teams will need to find ways to integrate these capabilities into their architectures. In short, this cycle never stops!

With the complete reliance of organizations on their IT teams, the effective and successful management of the IT organization itself is critical.

On the external side, IT Management needs to be very aware of developments with vendors they depend on for hardware, software, services, and support. Sometimes, a company will start using products and services of relatively new providers because of some significant benefits that can be gained. However, you then need to closely monitor such a vendor’s further evolution and health to avoid any surprises that can impact the business.

Many IT companies are bought up over time, technology strategies are changed, support can become hard to obtain, etc. These developments can impact an IT organization and its business, so active Vendor Management and monitoring are crucial IT Management responsibilities.

Similarly, IT Architects must closely follow technical developments in the marketplace to determine how to plan for an orderly and wise evolution of an IT organization’s technical frameworks over time. IT Architecture is about translating external developments and options to internal plans for the IT organization, as mentioned above.

IT leadership should also be very aware of developments in supply and demand for IT specialists, compensation trends, certifications, and more. Managing HR aspects in a technical organization is essential for ensuring that IT can deliver the services that the business expects.

Big picture, the IT Management team needs to constantly engage with the overall IT vendor, product and services landscape to maintain a solid understanding of trends, opportunities and risks.

Splitting the IT Management function into two layers with an Internal and External focus provides an intuitive and practical breakdown.

It lets you quickly recognize where things fit and what their focus is for the IT organization.