Ten New Year's Resolutions for IT Pros

By Dennis McCafferty | Posted 2014-01-14

Tired of the same old New Year's resolutions? Then consider the following suggestions designed for IT professionals who want to go beyond the standard "lose weight, exercise more" promises they've made every year. Unlike some traditional resolutions, these can realistically be achieved, even though they are challenging. And it would significantly boost your career prospects to take on at least a couple of these resolutions. Why? Because they're all backed up by original research produced by some of the most respected companies and tech organizations in the world. The resolutions cover the range of IT performance, enterprise integration, mobile solutions, business alignment, analytics and customer engagement tools. The resolutions also focus on you, as it's important to take stock of individual vocational values, as well as your leverage as a successful IT pro, to ensure that you enjoy a rewarding and well-compensated career. The following resolutions were compiled from the hundreds of slideshow features Baseline has published during the past year.

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Resolution: Build Systems Awareness

Motivation: 68% of IT operations employees say it's "unlikely" they'd be able to quickly identify the root cause of a breach, systems malfunction or network shutdown. (Source: Evolven)
Resolution: Get in Sync

Motivation: Only 16% of companies say they have full levels of integration among business systems. (Source: Scribe Software)
Resolution: Boost Your Mobile Cred

Motivation: IT pros with mobile skills will be in demand, as smartphone/tablet sales have grown sixfold since 2007. Mobility accounts for 30% of Web browsing in the U.S. (Source: McKinsey & Co.)
Resolution: Align With Business

Motivation: Three out of four IT pros say business apps are rolled out without IT's knowledge, and 38% are brought into the planning process the day before—or during—the rollout. (Source: Cisco)
Resolution: Implement Social Media Tracking

Motivation: While 35% of companies surveyed say they get positive ROI on social media initiatives, nearly one-half admit that they don't measure this. (Source: Tata Consultancy Services)
Resolution: Dig Deep Into the Numbers

Motivation: 96% of senior execs say analytics will become more important to their organizations within three years, and 84% say analytics improves competitive positioning. (Source: Deloitte)
Resolution: Elevate Consumer Engagement

Motivation: Better IT tools are needed to connect, as 60% of "outperforming" organizations collaborate with customers, compared with only 39% of underperformers. (Source: IBM)
Resolution: Improve Negotiating Skills

Motivation: Nearly half of workers lose potential salary income because they accept the first compensation offer, even though 45% of employers are willing to negotiate. (Source: CareerBuilder)
Resolution: Leverage Your Assets

Motivation: 84% of IT and engineering professionals spent three months or less finding their current job, and 32% landed one in two weeks or less. (Source: TechServe Alliance)
Resolution: Savor the Day

Motivation: IT jobs can be stressful, but 81% of tech workers surveyed said they'd still choose IT as a career if they could do it all again. (Source: TEKsystems)
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