Putting out fires is a term often used in the field of IT to describe the scramble to fix something that is wrong. IT people are first responders to many issues but are sometimes overlooked when it comes to reviewing organizational victories.
Like first responders, we need to ensure that our IT groups are empowered to be successful. There are a few questions you can ask yourself to level set a discussion on this subject.
- Is your IT team staffed to the level that is needed?
- Is your IT team trained to the level that is needed?
- Is your IT team empowered with tools to the level that is needed?
- Is your IT team given the latitude to affect organizational change to the level that is needed?
If you can look at each of these questions and answer in the affirmative to all, that is both commendable and unusual. Each negative that you answer here increases the likelihood that the systems under the control of IT will become a cause for an outage or security event. It is so easy to accept the way that we have been running things. But as we close out 2021, as an IT professional, think about what you can do to contribute positively to one or more of the above. Are there tools that will help? Is there training that will help? Do you have the right staff, especially with respect to security? Do you have top-level buy-in and are they aware of the risks that you see?
You may need to become an advocate for change. If it is in your organization’s best interest, that advocacy might make a meaningful difference.