How are IT departments affected by digitization?

If you work in an IT department you probably recognize the conversations about how the organization must digitize to keep up with the rapid technological development. Most probably the issue has also landed on your plate. In this article, we go through how IT departments are affected by digitization and what you can do to reduce the workload while getting the job done.

Digitization – what does it mean?

Digitization (like many other concepts in the IT industry) has different meanings for different people. For many, digitization signifies converting manual information into digital, but it can also have a greater meaning than that. Nowadays, digitization concerns overall operational changes that adapt the organization to a new and digital world.

Why digitization?

The reason why organizations decide to digitize is quite straightforward. It aims to better utilize resources and streamline operations while being one step ahead of competitors. Most organizations that want to secure their operations for the future have the topic on the agenda. A study from IDG shows that digitization has been given an even higher priority as a result of the corona pandemic. Digital information is easier to make available to teams working remotely which simplifies the workflow.

Why has digitization landed on the IT department’s plate?

Which department has expertise in information storage, information systems and other topics related to digital knowledge? The IT department, of course. Despite the fact that many IT departments have greater digital competence compared to other organizational functions, the fact remains that the subject is complex. This means that many IT departments do not possess the skills required for the digital change to be smooth. A survey study from CIO Sweden suggests that IT departments that manage their business’s digitization journey may need to develop new skills to lead the organization through the process.

When the IT department is given increased responsibility you may assume that ordinary tasks, such as IT operations and support, will have a reduced priority. This is usually not the case. A survey from CIO Sweden indicates that IT departments spend on average 33% of their work on development and innovation, while the remaining 67% is spent on operations and management. This suggests that most IT departments that manage digitization also need to work with their regular tasks in parallel. This leads to a high workload and stressed employees.

What can the IT department do about the increased workload?

When the number of tasks are piling up, you need to ensure that the working hours are sufficient. Usually it does not require you and your team to work more, but rather work smarter. An effective step is to automate tasks that take unnecessarily long to solve manually. This can be everything from retrieving data from various data sources, keeping track of license levels and assisting the finance department with invoice documentation.

All that (and a little more) you get with vScope. vScope is a tool for IT reporting that both inventories information and gathers it in one place but also allows you to create automatic reports, lists and tables directly in the tool.

With all the time saved on automating inventory and reporting of your IT, you can now invest in digitizing the organization and equipping it for the future.

Contact us if you want to know more about efficiency and automatic inventory of your data.