IT is the skeleton of a well-functioning business, but it’s not so easy to manage. Companies have grown reliant on technology, and they look to the IT department to fix any problems and keep things running smoothly. However, there are a few misconceptions about IT, and it’s important to understand them. Otherwise, your IT techs will feel hassled more often than not. Here’s a quick list of things your IT team definitely wants you to know.
1. They’re not miracle workers. While IT techs are experienced in their fields, they won’t have the answer to every single problem. Technical issues can be basic or extremely complex, and IT can’t always perform technical wizardry when something goes wrong.
2. It’s hard to replace old tech. Legacy systems are there for a reason. Your IT team is knowledgeable about them, and that’s why upgrades aren’t commonplace. From operating systems to regular hardware, replacing legacy infrastructure requires a whole new form of understanding, something that can cause issues for IT in general.
3. Policies are important. Even though the workforce might feel disgruntled over the tech rules, they exist for a reason. Routine password changes, hardware checks, authentication requirements, and so on all make the job easier for your IT department. Even if they aren’t fun, it helps the tech department run that much smoother.
4. They don’t do outside work. Despite having lots of knowledge and keeping everything in working condition, IT techs aren’t there to handle personal problems. Although they can give a few tips, nobody likes being asked to fix a personal computer just because. You wouldn’t ask a mechanic to fix your car outside of their job, would you
5. You’re being monitored. Speaking of personal work, by extension of their job tasks, IT departments typically monitor network activity and what you do. Therefore, it’s best to keep personal things off the work computer. Nobody wants the awkward task of dealing with “issues” because someone at work was doing something they shouldn’t have.
6. IT doesn’t like problems either. IT can be just as frustrated by technical issues as you are, if not more so. The longer individual issues take, the more productivity suffers for everyone. Errors hold things up and generally make everyone a little angrier. Trust them, IT aren’t fans of computer errors either.
7. IT has to assume zero knowledge. For the various types of inquires IT gets, they must assume that people who need help have no prior knowledge about PC issues. This is why their first approach towards problems is to work from the “ground up,” or, in other words, trying the simplest solutions first.
IT can be a tough job, especially with the assumptions some make about tech experts. These factoids are definitely something they want you to know. When tech things go bad, it’s often IT that takes the blame, even though they’re trying to fix the problem.
