365 days of me in the IT Department by Maurizio Zanetti | CC BY 2.0
Not so long ago, the IT Department was consumed with handling all of the back-end projects within their organization. This included everything from servers and storage infrastructure to managing data and interface designs.
However, a recent article by CA Technologies uncovered the latest responsibility of IT across every industry: Responding to “Consumer Experience.” In the article, author Paul Pronsati explains that the IT department must task themselves with creating the most efficient consumer-grade experience possible in order to stay relevant in the evolving digital age.
Transforming the Customer Experience
Technology has empowered both the internal and external customers of every company. Rapid advancements have raised expectations about what the customer experience should be, which is why IT must step up its game when it comes to delivery.
Pronsati explains that the first step in delivering a gratifying customer experience starts with understanding the customers. He defines them as such:
- Internal Customers: Business-unit managers and end users who utilize the IT department for computing power, storage, applications, cybersecurity, etc.
- Current External Customers: The organizations and individuals that already own the company’s products and buy its services.
- Prospective External Customers: Those that do not yet possess a company’s products or services, but may in the future.
Understanding the Customer Experience
Now that we’ve defined the various types of customers, it’s important to acknowledge that each segment must be approached uniquely.
Internal Customers
Thanks to a better overall understanding of technology, employees are now capable of directly accessing infrastructure services and applications from the cloud. This means that CIOs and their IT departments must act as service brokers. Rather than focusing heavily on running IT, their main task transitions to helping the business achieve its strategic goals.
Current External Customers
It is critical that IT pays close attention to the needs and desires of their current external customers in order to maintain and strengthen relationships. IT can build upon previous services by providing big data initiatives, as well as intuitive user interface and self-service features.
Prospective External Customers
Companies are highly encouraged to utilize the Web, social media and mobile devices to attract new customers. These vehicles are best for reducing the cost of selling, as well as speeding up the client onboarding process. IT can play a key part in helping both marketing and sales take advantage of these vehicles.
IT of the Future
While Pronsati’s insights are certainly helpful, they are far from surprising. IT has always been looked at as a relatively static role in an organization. Its responsibilities are growing and evolving just as much as the sales and marketing team’s. Acknowledging the customer’s needs is just one example of how IT will emerge from the shadows of a desktop.
How has your IT department integrated its services throughout other business functions?
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