The Art of IT Savings a.k.a. the Manager Stays Happy, You Keep Your "Toys"
I recently came across a funny video where some very experienced person was cutting translucent thin slices from various fruits and vegetables and then there was a description – marketing budget. I laughed at that, but isn’t that the same with IT?
I don’t mean the size of the budget, but the approach that quite often slips into companies – spend gazillions on IT infrastructure but save on equipment for technicians and our “toys”.
But it’s not some useless gadgets and gizmos, it’s extra equipment that helps us technicians move forward. When we move, the whole company moves with us.
Sun-ts’ gave people advice on how to fight literally, but as IT guys we need to fight differently. What arts do we need to know?
- Explain
- Justify
- Search
- Use
💡 The Art of Explaining
Common users today have to accept that they need to understand IT more than ever. We, in turn, have to come to terms with the fact that we have to better understand managers, for whom it is almost a superhuman feat to navigate IT without any explanation.
I see the functionality and know why I want to use a system in my company. But the manager just doesn’t have that insight. He needs to translate functionality into benefits. So I, as an ajjak, will save a lot of time when I have this translation ready.
Why do we do things this way?
Why do we need equipment that is “not” efficiently used?
Learning to point to the long-term benefits keeps the manager happy, and we all know what that means.
🎯 The Art of Justification
Why do we do it this way when it can be done cheaper?
Although many companies today have resigned on reducing budgets for IT infrastructure, the situation is different for internal equipment. Don’t take this as an attack on your competence or expertise, managers are not supposed to know the technical side of things. This is our job and therefore requires our effort to explain.
Who doesn’t want to save? But of course not on themselves. So we go through the reasons for such a decision, why it can’t be cheaper. And if it can be done cheaper, then also show under what conditions. It often becomes more expensive.
🔍 The Art of Search
This is close to all of us. The leading positions on Google have long belonged to sponsored sites, so searching for a product, service or solution takes up much more time. We can click on the first result, but it probably won’t be exactly what we need.
We know this very well from our industry. You are looking for a cloud infrastructure and you settle for a more expensive global option rather than a better and cheaper solution in the Czech Republic, because a marketing budget is a marketing budget and it is the one thing that convinces Google.
💪 The Art of Use
Of course not people. But this is about time. As IT guys, we are always in the same rut, and even if we wanted to have enough time for something new, we still end up trying to salvage the remaining minutes, because there is always something that takes priority.
But investing the time to try out the environment is simply worth it. Just the fact that the company offers you a trial and not a cut-and-dried demo can give you a hint whether you will build your infrastructure with such a company.
We’re conservative, but isn’t it worth a little time to find a better solution?
Summary
There are many arts that we need to master as IT guys but it is true that we are not the only ones. The non-technical parts of our companies, on the other hand, have their own arts that they must master. And then everyone will be happy…
