Today’s users are more tech-savvy than ever. Users have different expectations of IT departments today than they did in the past due to technology’s accessibility and democratization. Technology has made it possible to change our taste and habits, including data processing, media streaming and networking. These changes brought IT new challenges as well as obstacles.
One example of an IT department working hard to bridge the gap between corporate business and mobile device usage is the consumerization of IT. Mobile device usage has become a major business factor in many business environments. IT’s challenge was to be more than a support service.
These technology trends aren’t slowing down, and IT administrators need to be prepared. It is becoming increasingly important to have a diverse team of IT professionals. We will discuss five essential skills every IT department should have, regardless of size.

1. Project Management
It is fascinating to see how this skill which was once considered production or administrative is now essential for IT. This skill is crucial when you consider all of the advanced IT projects IT has had, such as virtualization implementation and cloud integration storage increases, disaster recovery, and unified communications (UC). Each of the new technologies IT is implementing will have many moving parts and strict deadlines. There is very little room for error and compromise.
It is easy to understand why companies expect normal business operations during IT implementations. IT project managers and IT staff must have a deeper understanding of the business than the IT world. IT is the center for complex technical initiatives and technology development. Companies will be looking for this skill set as they improve their technical environments to keep pace with their competitors and new innovations.
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2. Security
Malicious software, Distributed Delusion of Service (DDOS), and cyber attacks are all part modern corporate computing. {IT professionals must be aware of all aspects of internal security, from the simple to the complicated, and understand the vulnerabilities in their networks, including operating systems, servers, and basic hardware.
IT professionals must be aware of all aspects of internal security, from the simple to the complicated, and understand the vulnerabilities in their networks. This includes operating systems, servers, basic hardware, and cabling.|This includes operating systems, servers and basic hardware as well as cabling.} Although it is great to be able focus on one area of IT, these examples show that IT professionals can benefit greatly from being able to learn and apply knowledge across many security issues.
Identity and access management, threat/vulnerability analyses, encryption, data loss prevention, incident analysis, compliance, auditing, and biometrics are some of the most important security skills. While it is becoming more common for security professionals to outsource sensitive or technical areas, it is important to protect data and prevent attacks by using in-house capabilities. IT must be able make sound security decisions. This requires that all members of an IT team have security expertise.
Check out our Cybersecurity Training Portfolio.
3. Virtualization/Cloud