National IT Professionals Day is a day to celebrate software and technology experts who work night and day to ensure organizations' networks and systems are always working in top order. Dating back to 2015, IT Pro Day has only grown in significance as the COVID-19 pandemic shows how crucial IT pros have become as organizations transition to remote and hybrid work. Everything is connected through technology these days, and none of that would be possible without IT pros' tireless work and contributions.

In recognition of IT Pro Day, VMblog sat down with several experts in the tech industry to share their thoughts and appreciation for the often unsung heroes of business.

Neil Jones, cybersecurity evangelist, Egnyte

"Like all of us, IT professionals have had to adapt to major changes over the past 18 months. This year on IT Pro Day, we need to celebrate the creativity and flexibility they've shown to evolve their skills while also keeping their organizations running smoothly. And, that has been no easy feat! They've proven their value time and time again and deserve recognition from everyone in the industry for their work building technologies and tools that allow organizations to improve their daily operations. As data volume increases and business requirements become more complex, IT professionals will continue to be called upon to power their organizations through the myriad challenges that they face. IT Pros are the experts that organizational leadership calls upon when companies face complex threats such as ransomware attacks, insider threat activity and compromised credentials. All of the content and communication tools they manage are vulnerable without proper data governance, so IT Pros are leaders in protecting sensitive data. Companies that really want their IT Pros to be successful will provide them with career development opportunities and resources they need to be successful on an ongoing basis. Today we recognize them for the tireless work they do to make all of our jobs easier."

Nicola Kinsella, VP of Global Marketing, Fluent Commerce

"IT Professionals are the cornerstone of every company. And with the ecommerce industry expected to exceed $563 billion by 2025 in the United States alone, we need them more than ever. Without the cloud infrastructure team our platform couldn't run smoothly and scale dynamically. If it weren't for our product engineers we couldn't deliver the functionality retailers and brands need to meet the expectations of today's digitally savvy consumers. They are the tireless, often 'behind the scenes' backbone of our company. So today, and everyday, we say thank you to our IT Pros who do the hard work so that we can achieve the greatest results."

Terry Storrar, managing director, Leaseweb

"In today's digital age, the majority of organisations are undergoing almost constant change - whether it's managing a hybrid workforce or keeping up with the latest digital transformation trends. In this environment, it can be easy to become overwhelmed. The IT professionals who have taken these challenges in their stride - particularly throughout the chaos of the past two years - have demonstrated their crucial role in the business. IT pros across the globe consistently deliver newer, faster, and more efficient solutions and it's abundantly clear they are able to do this even under the most testing of circumstances. 

For Leaseweb, one of our core values is ‘never stop learning' and that has never been better exemplified than by our IT professionals in recent months. This IT Pro Day we want to take the time to thank them once again for their commitment to learning, adapting and evolving. With this, they have continued to add immeasurable value for both end-users and customers alike. As we move into a new and fundamentally different post-pandemic world, we should also remember to continue supporting the invaluable work that IT professionals bring to the table - providing diverse learning and development opportunities and investing in the next generation of hard working individuals." 

Craig Fulton, Chief Customer Officer, ConnectWise

"Over the last 18 months, IT professionals have been pivotal in enabling the shift to remote work environments and keeping business humming - all while juggling the introduction of new devices, the added security risks of working from home, and managing through staffing challenges (both internally and with their customers). Never before have organisations relied so heavily on technology to keep operations running. From network engineers to IT support technicians, every IT professional has had a key part to play in business continuity. 

The balance between keeping businesses secure and maintaining company productivity proves just how crucial IT professionals are. However, a recent survey from HP found that more than 80% of IT workers said, "trying to set and enforce corporate policies around cybersecurity is impossible now that the lines between personal and professional lives are so blurred", and the same number of respondents said security had become a "thankless task." On IT Pro Day, and every day, it's important to thank IT professionals for all they do and recognise their impact on the organisation. After all, not a day goes by that businesses and customers don't benefit from their hard work."

Sam Thorpe, Chief Product Officer, Nitro

We should thank IT professionals every day for the essential work they do, but especially for everything they have done to make the past 18 months of working remotely manageable . They transitioned their organizations to a fully remote setup essentially overnight and worked tirelessly to make sure the right IT processes, security and software were in place. 

With workforces dispersed and no access to office printers, many IT professionals turned to document productivity solutions to keep businesses operating efficiently. We saw a 108% increase in electronic signature requests and a 67% increase in digital collaboration when stay-at-home orders took effect. Digital workflows became essential, and IT professionals helped scale them across organizations. While a lot of what they do is behind the scenes, there's no way remote work would even be possible without them. 

Gene Torres, Technology Evangelist, Zerto, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company

"In this moment of rapidly expanding remote work, the role of IT professionals has become even more vital for evolving organizations. This makes IT Pro Day a good time to recognize their extraordinary contributions of the past year. The hybrid and work from anywhere options have created greater challenges in the digital realm and opened the door to a flood of advanced cybersecurity threats. Regardless of size, organizations are realizing the need to prioritize protection and availability. By and large, this burden sits on the shoulders of IT professionals, who are responsible for maintaining IT continuity in the wake of disruption.

The best way to ensure your IT pros are supported is to provide them with the tools they need to create a resilient and always-on environment. These tools should be simple, multi-purpose, and able to adapt across all types of infrastructure and the evolving needs of an organization. When IT pros aren't stressed about downtime, they're able to shift their focus to adding company value - ultimately making sure things are efficient rather than recovering from avoidable downtime."

Josh Odom, CTO of Pathwire

"IT professionals are essential to their organizations. That's obvious when it comes to big, transformational IT projects. But they don't get the credit they deserve for the seemingly simple, everyday things that are so often taken for granted.

For example, when you read a marketing or transactional email in your inbox, you can see the content and design. But the truth is, without IT professionals, these campaigns cannot happen. Once written and designed, IT professionals bring the whole thing together by writing code to send via API or maintaining reliable infrastructure. Data engineers and developers also play an important role. They identify and segment the data, optimize the email, incorporate CRM through the chosen email platform and validate data integrity. Without their efforts, collaboration and teamwork, email campaigns wouldn't even get off the ground. 

The same is true for organizations' many other daily processes. That's why it's important to celebrate and thank IT professionals for what they do. They are critical to the success, and ease of use of, the technology we come into contact with everyday."

Gerard Keating, CTO, Globalization Partners

"IT professionals are often the unsung heroes of companies. They work tirelessly to ensure that operations run smoothly and efficiently. Whether it's helping with global expansion or protecting critical infrastructure, they are always there to enable others to do their jobs effectively.

The shift to remote work has added an extra layer of complexity. IT professionals now must consider everything from the security of at-home Wi-Fi networks to managing an increasing caseload of IT service desks requests. Making what is typically an already overwhelmed department even more inundated.

It's important to take all of these things into consideration when dealing with your company's IT professionals. They have not been exempt from the recent and continuing changes in the workplace and have been working hard behind the scenes to keep people and infrastructure safe."

Diane Albano, CRO, Globalization Partners

"Now, with employees in every industry working remotely or in a hybrid setting, IT teams have had to work quickly and efficiently to ensure valuable company and customer data stays private and secured. Multiple new access points being utilized by remote and hybrid workers, including phone apps and at-home Wi-Fi networks have added to the challenge. 

Security or personal data breaches take a massive toll on a company both financially and reputationally. Any downtime that prevents employees or customers from accessing a company's services or database, even for a minimum amount of time, can have long-term financial repercussions. All successful companies have IT professionals working hard behind the scenes to keep everything up and running. IT Pro Day recognizes the challenges of the job, celebrates these professionals, and encourages everyone to say, "Thank you for your hard work!"

Tim Bandos, CISO, Digital Guardian

"IT Pro Day’s number one objective is to celebrate the colleagues who keep IT secure, prevent disasters and generally keep the IT lights on. It’s an increasingly challenging role, made all the more difficult by the huge number of employees who are now working remotely. IT organizations have had to scramble to connect teams while their security counterparts have had to scramble to ensure it’s being done while minimizing risk.

With the volume and variation of cyberattacks growing all the time, IT professionals are being relied upon to protect data more than ever. It’s critical for organizations to properly support and equip their IT pros or partner with a managed service provider (MSP) they can trust just as much as their internal teams. MSPs have a privileged view of an organization’s security posture that few others share. The more closely internal and external teams work together, the more efficient they become.

An MSP can add huge value, recommending extra layers of security, notifying the organization about vulnerabilities, and suggesting a fresh round of security training to help staff identify potential threats more easily. Internal team members should always take advantage of learning opportunities presented by their managed service counterparts.

Understanding the valuable input of your IT teams or MSP is something business leaders should tune into more. Whether in-house or external, they are your troops on the ground, who are supporting the entire organization’s IT systems and protecting its precious data. They know the business, and when it comes to implementing new processes or migration planning, they should be a part of the conversation."

##