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What does an IT Manager do?
Malcolm Tatum
Malcolm Tatum
Managers of Information Technology departments, also known as IT managers, are responsible for the overall performance of the electronic networks that allow a business to function. The exact scope of these responsibilities varies from one setting to another. In some companies, an IT manager focuses strictly on computer networks. At other times, this technology professional may also be involved in the creation or upgrade of telephone systems and other electronic support systems connected with the operation.
At the core of the IT manager job description is the care of the in-house network. This often means that the manager is involved in the selection of hardware and software used in the network. For example, an IT manager would likely be involved in any discussions about updating the internal servers and computer work stations. There is a good chance that the manager would also work with other personnel in the selection of software, such as accounting programs or some type of sales and customer database.
Along with helping to establish the overall structure of the network, an IT manager would also oversee the routine maintenance of the system. This would mean regular testing of the various components to ensure they are functioning at maximum efficiency. The manager would also establish and oversee processes that would seek to identify any potential glitches in any programming that could cause some sort of system failure. There is a good chance that the manager would also put in place an ongoing process that would monitor employee usage of company resources, such as the Internet, internal email, and other electronic tools.
It is often the responsibility of the IT manager to create training materials that help new employees understand how to make the best use of the technology currently utilized in the company. This can include everything from helping to design in-house training manuals to walking new employees through the process of accessing key programs, establishing login credentials, and other essentials. Depending on the structure of the company, the IT manager may be called upon to hold regular training sessions that help remind all employees of the most effective ways to make use of the electronic tools available.
In small companies, the IT manager may constitute the entire Information Technology department. When this is the case, there is a good chance he or she will personally handle many of the functions that are dispersed over an IT team at larger businesses. Still, most managers are fully trained and capable of handling any IT task, from evaluating new hardware to assisting to running cables for the creation of new work areas.
Malcolm Tatum
After many years in the teleconferencing industry, Michael decided to embrace his passion for trivia, research, and writing by becoming a full-time freelance writer. Since then, he has contributed articles to a variety of print and online publications, including PracticalAdultInsights, and his work has also appeared in poetry collections, devotional anthologies, and several newspapers. Malcolm’s other interests include collecting vinyl records, minor league baseball, and cycling.
Learn more...
Malcolm Tatum
After many years in the teleconferencing industry, Michael decided to embrace his passion for trivia, research, and writing by becoming a full-time freelance writer. Since then, he has contributed articles to a variety of print and online publications, including PracticalAdultInsights, and his work has also appeared in poetry collections, devotional anthologies, and several newspapers. Malcolm’s other interests include collecting vinyl records, minor league baseball, and cycling.
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![In smaller businesses, an IT manager may be the only member of the IT team.]()
By: corepicsIn smaller businesses, an IT manager may be the only member of the IT team. -
![IT managers are responsible for the overall performance of the computer networks that allow a business to function.]()
By: .shockIT managers are responsible for the overall performance of the computer networks that allow a business to function. -
![IT managers may be responsible for creating the training materials regarding a company's computers, software, and technology for new employees.]()
By: polydsignIT managers may be responsible for creating the training materials regarding a company's computers, software, and technology for new employees.
Discussion Comments
I get irritated when some people question my job as an IT manager. They say sometimes am not doing anything on my computer except using facebook, etc., when in fact, my contacts are in facebook. Yes, I do have an email account but not everybody does.
One time, I was studying which equipment our network needed, and some people asked what was in it for me if I kept on looking at those things.
It's just so irritating that they can't understand what I'm doing. How am I supposed to react to those things? Maybe they are thinking that I am too young for my position.
Their salary is very good, but I can only see this career on the mainland. Are there IT manager careers in Hawaii, too?
I am an IT manager and I can tell you that some of those cocky managers give us a bad reputation. Although we live in a world difficult to understand by the average person, we are a service department.
All the employees in my company are my customers and they are all treated with respect. I often remind them that "the only stupid question is that which doesn't get asked". So remind your IT people that they exist to serve the employees. So, go ahead and ask, and if you get a cocky IT guy who makes you feel stupid, be cockier and make him feel incompetent. We IT guys hate that.
The IT manager at my company helped us install new software throughout the whole office. We were shifting from one design program to another, and this was a lot more involved than a simple upgrade to a newer version of the old program.
He went around to each work station and did whatever needed to be done. He made sure that everyone had access to the same fonts so that everything would run smoothly within the network.
He also helped install new accounting software. This totally changed the way we kept records and handled payments, but it changed it for the better. We never could have done it without his help.
He works for a big corporation with advanced computer systems, and he has plenty of work to keep him busy every day. He definitely earns his salary.
When new employees start, he helps them set up their email accounts, and he gets rid of old accounts of previous employees. If someone's computer crashes and won't restart, he knows how to disassemble it and find the problem.
He only gets one week of vacation a year, and I think this is because they are so highly dependent upon him. He has to make sure that another IT manager will be available to fill in for him before he schedules his time off.
@orangey03 – My brother is an IT manager, and sometimes what sounds like cockiness is actually him trying to put technical things in a language that regular people can understand. Unfortunately, it sometimes comes across as if he is talking to a child, which seems insulting, but he is trying his best to explain things in laymen's terms.
He has an extensive knowledge of computers, and it is rare for him to find a person he can talk to about this. The other students in his class are about the only ones that he can talk shop with, because everyone else only has a basic understanding of their machine.
Your IT manager might actually have an ego problem, but give him the benefit of the doubt. He lives in a world that doesn't understand him, and he reacts accordingly.
The newspaper that I work for hired an outside IT manager to come in at least once a week and check on all the computer systems. He is considered an independent contractor, rather than a full-time employee.
He is very knowledgeable and able to resolve any issue that we have. However, he is also cocky. The fact that he knows more about our systems than even the bosses do has gone to his head, and when he speaks to us, he often sounds condescending.
No one likes being made to feel stupid, so we only ask him questions when we have no other option. If we are having a small problem that doesn't affect anything very much, we will not even bring it up, because this would result in a lecture from him.
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