Rethink your IT strategy to break through boundaries of the traditional corporate workplace…

Use your mobile device to provide spontaneous support or remotely access an unattended computer with TeamViewer’s Remote Control apps. Get it here on your mobile device!

As the handymen and women of the business world, IT professionals are often treated as lowly Internet trouble-shooters, or the Mr. and Ms Fixits who ensure computers run smoothly with a WiFi connection that’s nothing short of seamless.

But the IT function isn’t just about connecting cables and installing software, and companies that prioritize these tasks above all else are failing to unleash the full potential of the role.

As technology develops, evolves and adapts at its current rate, IT and more specifically, the Internet, must be recognized as the bedrock of stability and success in a competitive corporate world. As noted in the book The International Business Environment: Challenges and Changes by Brooks, Weatherston and Wilkinson, the use, or lack thereof, of technology in a globally-connected world directly influences the competitiveness of firms, sectors and also global regions.

If you’re keen to maximize your power as an experienced IT Manager, here are 5 ways you can become an innovative IT Manager who thrives in the digital age…

1. Champion remote working options

The key to unleashing your full capabilities lies in the widespread utilization of new and existing smart technologies. Using remote access and communication tools, like those offered by TeamViewer, for example, the savvy IT manager can revolutionize a business by granting access to such game-changing tools, quickly becoming a corporation’s most valued asset.

But why remote access? According to a recent TeamViewer survey, 91 percent of employees are happier with effective remote working options than with the more traditional office-based role, while a further 87 percent feel more engaged once these facilities are installed.

2. Think like an ‘intrapreneur’

An ‘intrapreneur’ – similar to the concept of ‘entrepreneur’ only working from within a large corporate firm – is characterized by the ability to effectively deploy entrepreneurial expertise while avoiding various risks associated with these skills. Above all else, an intrapreneurial approach is one that puts the IT Department front and center, consistently striving to innovate and drive tangible business growth.
Remote access paired with a distinct intrapreneurial perspective allows you to look at the whole strategic issue, thus urging you to tackle an entire business problem as opposed to merely tackling its symptoms. This refreshingly positive outlook regarding daily IT problems will give you a much greater chance of being able to pre-empt future issues, letting you become increasingly adept with overarching business needs.

3. Promote cross-departmental collaboration

It’s no secret that the key to successful business practice lies in the art of effective communication. What remote access ultimately means is teamwork, partnership and collaboration, empowering you and your colleagues to work in any place and time, and via any device. It’s so much more than being able to talk to a particular contact, also enabling you to use their applications, access their data, and edit documents co-operatively – all while using one easy-to-navigate, integrated platform.

4. Make yourself a visible talent

But in order to successfully collaborate, you need to make sure the IT Department is known both to your clientele as well as to your colleagues. Contemporary business is all about breaking through tradition, enriching the workplace and boosting productivity as you begin to question restricting business conventions. This means taking the IT desk away from the dingy back office and out onto the floor, allowing your co-workers to excel by introducing tools that optimize their abilities while granting them the power to connect with people on the other side of the world as if they were sitting in the very same room.

5. Shake up the conventional workplace structure

Take a snapshot of today’s cutting-edge, technology-rich IT scene and compare it with that of 10 years ago. Things have changed significantly, right? Why then, are we still conforming to the corporate infrastructures that consistently inhibit our potential? Fact is, the world is becoming interconnected as well as increasingly mobile, making it wholly necessary for the workplace to evolve or commit to a state of constant mediocracy. If you want the best for your business, it’s time to think outside the box and smash through those binding office walls, adapting your needs to suit 21st-century demand as you become an innovative IT Manager who thrives in the digital age.

One way in which the conventional paradigms of the workplace structure are being broken down is in the rise of remote working and home-working. With the rise in environmental concerns (plus the exorbitant cost of office space), many organizations are encouraging their staff to spend at least a portion of the working week away from the office. While the phrase to describe traveling business-types as “road warriors” may raise a wry smile, the fact remains that workers need to seamlessly integrate a remote working schedule into their lives to some extent. Tech, of course, needs to work in the workplace and on the road.

TeamViewer is a company that enables remote control, access, support and collaboration on the road. Their remote control apps allow you to use your mobile device to provide spontaneous support or remotely access an unattended computer. The software is available free for personal use and requires a license for business use.

Get it here on your mobile device!