What is the Problem with a Lone Information Systems Department? Explanation of the Increasing Background and Solutions

The Information Systems Department, commonly known as “InfoSys,” is an indispensable department for companies that are becoming increasingly IT-driven. However, in some cases, it does not receive sufficient resources because its direct contribution to sales is small.

For this reason, companies may have the problem of a “lone InfoSys” state, where sufficient personnel are not assigned, which causes many risks.

This article explains what the problem is with a lone InfoSys, why it occurs, and possible solutions.

Table of Contents

1. Role of InfoSys
2. What is a Lone InfoSys?
3. Problems with a Lone InfoSys
1. Large workload
2. Inadequate security measures
3. Work tends to be dependent on individuals
4. Cannot be handed over
4. Background to the Occurrence of Lone InfoSys
1. Difficulty in securing IT personnel
2. Outflow of existing personnel
3. Lack of IT literacy among managers
5. Solutions for Lone InfoSys
1. Review of budget and personnel
2. Implementation of IT training and education
3. Introduction of new tools
4. Outsourcing of operations
6. Summary

1. Role of InfoSys

InfoSys is the department that takes on the management of a company’s IT infrastructure and the support of IT operations within the company. They play an active role in maintaining stable system operation through maintenance and management, and in troubleshooting for employees and departments that have operational problems.

Recently, with the increasing demand for digital transformation (DX), the needs of the InfoSys department have also increased. However, the number of people has remained the same in many companies.

2. What is a Lone InfoSys?

The term “lone InfoSys” refers to a situation where the InfoSys department is operated by a single person. Normally, like other departments, the InfoSys department should have sufficient personnel assigned according to the scale of the organization.

However, compared to sales activities, its relevance to corporate earnings is low, so it may be allocated fewer resources than other departments. In some companies, there may be only one person in charge of InfoSys, and the term “lone InfoSys” has come to be used to ridicule this situation.

3. Problems with a Lone InfoSys

The term “lone InfoSys” is regarded as a problem because it is thought to bring about various risks.

3-1. Large workload

Even though the InfoSys department does not directly contribute to the company’s revenue, it is responsible for all of the organization’s IT, so the burden is by no means small. In recent years, the use of IT tools has become even stronger, increasing the number of opportunities to engage in help desk activities.

They must not only maintain and manage the company’s infrastructure but also respond to employee troubleshooting, which can lead to cases where overtime work becomes the norm.

3-2. Inadequate security measures

If there is only one person in charge of InfoSys, they will be busy with daily tasks and will not have time to expand the IT system in the long term. In particular, security measures are said to be an urgent issue, but it is very difficult to implement sufficient measures under these circumstances.

Delays in security measures can cause fatal damage to a company, and the risk is increasing day by day. To avoid risk, we must start by improving the InfoSys department.

3-3. Work tends to be dependent on individuals

A one-person InfoSys department means that all of the company’s IT work is left to one person. If there is only one person in charge, and that person leaves the company, the company will have zero IT staff, making it suddenly difficult to perform operations.

As a risk hedge to avoid such situations, it is important to secure multiple InfoSys staff members.

3-4. Cannot be handed over

Even if the InfoSys staff member leaves the company, if there is only one person in charge, the handover work cannot be performed, and the work will be stalled.

In order to maintain stable corporate growth and a low-risk environment, the lone InfoSys situation must be resolved as soon as possible.

4. Background to the Occurrence of Lone InfoSys

Even if it is known that a lone InfoSys is not good, some companies inevitably fall into this situation. The following reasons can be given as factors that cause a lone InfoSys.

4-1. Difficulty in securing IT personnel

With DX starting in each company, the demand for IT personnel in the market is soaring, and it is becoming difficult to secure them. Unless you offer better treatment than before, personnel will easily flow to other companies, and you will not be able to secure excellent people with the conventional treatment.

The number of IT personnel is not sufficient for the demand, and the number of cases in which they are employed by overseas companies is increasing, so it is expected that it will continue to be difficult to secure personnel in the future.

4-2. Outflow of existing personnel

Due to such market changes, the outflow of IT personnel already working for the company is also increasing. In particular, in recent years, the liquidity of personnel has increased due to the improvement of personnel services, making it easier to change jobs in search of satisfactory conditions.

If you cannot provide better treatment than now, the InfoSys staff will gradually leave the company.

4-3. Lack of IT literacy among managers

One of the factors that makes the lone InfoSys a permanent situation is that managers do not have sufficient IT literacy.

The importance and burden of the InfoSys department are not well understood, and it is thought that there is no problem even if the budget and personnel are cut, and the situation in which the minimum necessary environment is not provided leads to an increase in the burden on the field.

Because the presence of IT is greater than ever before, it is necessary to understand that sufficient budget and personnel must be secured.

5. Solutions for Lone InfoSys

Companies are promoting various initiatives as a way to solve the problem of lone InfoSys.

5-1. Review of budget and personnel

The most important thing to eliminate the lone InfoSys is to secure sufficient personnel. Review the importance of the InfoSys department, share the need to allocate resources throughout the company, including management, and allocate personnel.

5-2. Implementation of IT training and education

The lone InfoSys situation deprives staff members of the opportunity to improve their skills and causes problems in which they cannot catch up with the latest environment.

Provide staff members with opportunities to receive IT training and the latest education within working hours, and encourage them to think about how to improve efficiency and what kind of system is needed.

5-3. Introduction of new tools

For those who are short of staff, it may be necessary to improve operational efficiency by introducing tools. In particular, cloud services have become more substantial in recent years, and it is possible to perform the same or more operations than before with lower costs and less time.

Deepen your understanding of the latest tools and promote the introduction of appropriate systems.

5-4. Outsourcing of operations

If the InfoSys department is not a core business for the company, it is an option to outsource the operations themselves. Outsourcing operations is a quick way to resolve the lone InfoSys situation because you can leave the work to external professional companies.

Because the company cannot accumulate InfoSys know-how internally, it will depend on external companies, but it will quickly secure personnel and technical capabilities, which is a welcome service if there is no room to allocate resources to InfoSys.

Summary

This article explained the risks of lone InfoSys and the background to falling into lone InfoSys. As labor shortages become apparent in each company, the shortage of InfoSys staff is becoming more serious, and as a result, security risks are increasing.

Let’s realize satisfactory InfoSys department operations through the introduction of the latest tools, review of personnel allocation, and use of outsourcing.

Please contact globalsupport@jiran.com for further assistance.