Full Form of IT

IT or Information Technology, for a number of people, is basically synonymous with the help you call out for when there is an issue with your computer. Well, that might not be totally wrong but it drastically understates the scope of this critical career field.

For the people out there, who want to get a better hold of what Information Technology really is, you have come to the perfect place.

What is Information technology (IT)?

The most basic definition of IT would be that it is the application of technology to solve organizational problems on a very broad scale. The members of the IT department solve all your technology-related problems, whether big or small.

For an IT department, there are three primary pillars of responsibility:

1. IT governance: IT Governance refers to the combination of processes and policies that make sure that the IT systems are running effectively and in accordance with the needs of the organization.
2. IT operations: IT operations refer to the daily work of the IT department, which includes, network maintenance, providing tech support, security testing and device management duties.
3. Hardware and infrastructure: As the name suggests, this focuses on all of the physical components of IT infrastructure. This includes the very important setup and maintenance of equipment like routers, phone systems, servers, and individual devices like laptops.

Andrey Prokopchuk, head of IT at Belitsoft, says the perfect IT department is the one you aren’t even aware of, in spite of its various functions. This just goes on to show that they are able to create and automate processes for many of their daily tasks, to make sure that the business keeps running smoothly. Any ideal IT department of an organization runs in accordance with the goals of the company and keeps its activities transparent in a manner that the rest of the business can understand and provide some input on it.

Importance of IT

In the simplest of terms, it would be fair to say that the work of most organizations would slow down to a crawl without an effectively functioning IT department. It would be very tough for you to find an organization that doesn't at least partially rely on computers and networks that connect them. Maintaining good security, a standard level of service and connectivity is a magnanimous task, but it is not the only potential challenge or priority on their plates.

Companies want to implement more sophisticated and intuitive solutions. As Edward Kiledjian, the Chief Information Security Officer and technology blogger says, "IT can provide the edge a company needs to outsmart, outpace and out-deliver competitors".

These are the needs that the IT specialist would be working for:

• Data overload: Huge amounts of data have to be processed by businesses which require large amounts of sophisticated software, processing power, and human analytical skills.
• Mobile and wireless usages: As we move into a post-covid world with increasing Work-From-Home opportunities, employers are offering more remote options for work, stressing the importance of laptops, tablets and wireless hotspots.
• Cloud services: To store massive amounts of data, most businesses now with cloud services instead of the "server farms".
• Bandwidth for video hosting: With the remote options for working, video conferencing solutions have become more and more popular. Therefore, more network bandwidth is needed to support them sufficiently.

After taking a glance at these needs, the fact that employment of computer and information technology occupations is projected to grow 13 percent from 2016 to 2026 won't be very surprising to you. According to the Bureau of Labour Statistics, this is faster than the average for all occupations.

IT: Career Opportunities

After knowing the general responsibilities and duties of the IT department, now you might wonder what the individual roles within the department are. These are some of the positions that you will find in many of the IT departments:

• Computer support specialists: Their main role is to work on the front lines and troubleshoot any issues related to technology including computer crashes, software issues and hardware trouble. The specialist would also assist the IT members of the senior level with larger-scale network issues.
• Network systems administrators: Their main focus is on the bigger picture, i.e. of the security, network system, and the performance.
• Computer systems analysts: Working behind the scenes, their main job is to marry IT with smart business solutions. Usually, their expertise lies in a particular industry while working for a technology firm or working directly in an industry, like government or finance.
• Information security analysts: They are mainly responsible for the security of the computer networks of the whole organization. They have to conduct tests and develop best security practices throughout the company.

You need to keep in mind that depending on the size and scope of the company some of these roles would change. Most of the daily work, in smaller companies, may revolve around relatively mundane things like troubleshooting printers, but in such organizations, you need to be the jack of all trades and have the knowledge of more departments of technology.