Our love for IT goes well beyond the technology.
We love the professionals behind the technology. The professionals who design. Who invent. Who innovate.
We love the people that utilize that technology. For their job. For entertainment. For the betterment of others.
We love the little things about IT—the way it impacts our lives without us even realizing. And we love the big splashes too—the advancements that are impossible to ignore.
We want to show IT some love this Valentine’s Day. Here are the 14 reasons why we love IT.
1. We love how you give up evenings and weekends for us
It takes a lot to meet our unreasonable requests 24/7. We want immediate access to our entire digital life—our images, videos, files and social media. We want to stream movies, television shows and an entire musical universe … NOW. And you make it all happen. Thank you developers of Netflix, Flickr, Spotify, Snapchat and every other app we didn’t know we needed in our lives until we actually downloaded them.
2. We love working remotely
Virtual private networks (VPN) allow us to access our work systems and email while out of the office. The ease of working remotely helps organizations maintain productivity on days when the office would typically close due to bad weather. Stay off the roads in a snowstorm and save vacation days for real vacations. In a larger sense, businesses that embrace remote work have access to a wide-reaching talent pool since proximity to the office isn’t an issue. It’s also believed that telecommuting can increase productivity. Removing a commute, no matter how long, can have positive mental effects on employees and help them make better use of their time. We can all get on board with that!
3. We love the help desk—they’re saints.
Let’s not sugarcoat it—we need a lot of help. Help desk professionals have every right to be rude to us. We continually bury them under an avalanche of tickets while not having a true grasp of all the steps and “gotchas” they have to consider while troubleshooting our problems. They probably want to scream at us: “Fix it yourself!” Yet, they handle every tech problem we have professionally and with a smile. Thanks for pretending not to hate us. And thanks for the help resetting our passwords. We swear we didn’t purposefully ignore 14 days of messages saying it was going to expire.
4. We love grocery pick-up
Occasionally you have time to meander the aisles of the grocery store and meticulously map out your meals for the week. Other times, grocery shopping is a mad dash to get in and get out as quickly as you can. For those hurried visits to the store, grocery pick-up services can feel like a life-saver. Order exactly what you need online in seconds and pick it up at the store. It’s a great way to avoid the crowds and avoid getting bumped by shopping carts. It’s also a great option for anyone who has experience grocery shopping with kids. We’re just sayin’.
5. We love how easy it is to stay in touch with our loved ones
It’s so simple to stay connected with our long-distance friends and family members. You don’t have to wait for holiday cards to see pictures of your nieces and nephews as they grow up. You can FaceTime or Skype them whenever you want! And who knows how many high school or college friends you’d still be in contact with if it wasn’t for social media. Yes, sometimes you have to wade through too many Instagram posts of your one friend who constantly dresses their pets in seasonal attire. (We get it, it’s Thanksgiving and your dog is dressed like a turkey. It’s not that funny.) But hey, it’s the price we have to pay to stay better connected with the people we care about.
6. We love direct deposit
Remember when you actually had to go to the bank? It was slightly annoying … except for the free lollipops. And the pneumatic tubes. (Remember those?!) Today, everything can be handled digitally. There’s nothing quite like opening your mobile banking app and seeing your checking account grow without having done anything. There’s a business advantage too—direct deposit reduces paper costs and saves time for human resources and payroll. And if you’re like us and have grandparents that still mail you a check every birthday, you can even take a picture of it and have it deposited in your account instantly. No more bank trips necessary. Now if only we could digitize the DMV too, then we’d have it made.
7. We love when sports and technology intersect
Remember watching football on TV before the first-down line? Or baseball without the strike zone? Or any sport without the score bug? These IT creations are relatively new and have totally changed the way we consumer sports. In fact, this past year the NFL started using AWS’s machine learning and data analytics to enhance broadcasts. If you watched any games this season you definitely heard about the NFL’s Next Gen Stats, which capture real-time location data, speed and acceleration for every player. With that said, there have been some whiffs. Remember Fox’s glowing hockey puck? Yeah, no reason to bring that back.
8. We love cybersecurity teams
They’re fighting an uphill battle. Cyberattacks are inevitable. The question isn’t if your company will be targeted. It’s when. We try to do our part to help—non-IT professionals can pitch in to make a more secure workplace too—but we know the constant pressure security teams face. Not surprisingly, they always deliver. Cybersecurity teams provide us secure access to the systems, reports and documents we need to do our jobs. That focus on authentication and access control is the foundation of a secure network and it does not go unnoticed.
9. We love how automation frees up IT pros to work on more meaningful things
Billing, scheduling and reporting are necessary tasks. But they take up SO much time. We love artificial intelligence that automates these time-consuming duties. It free us up to focus on more meaningful responsibilities that require a personal touch. We want project managers concentrating on supporting their team and team members focused on work that drives business forward. In the insurance industry, AI has improved the claims process. This automation, which requires no human involvement, “uses artificial intelligence and other technology to report the claim, capture damage, audit the system, and communicate with the customer.” The result has been faster processing times and less red tape for customers. Hey, we’re totally on board with anything that can make the insurance process simpler.
10. We love the Domino’s Pizza Tracker
IT has found ways to even enhance the pizza ordering experience. We didn’t know we needed Domino’s Tracker® until we experienced it. Domino’s has built a connected experience and taken it to an all new level. Through the IFTTT platform you can connect other IoT devices to the pizza tracker and have them react to the different ordering stages (e.g, change the color of your Hue lights when the pizza is ready; automatically turn on outside lights when the pizza is en route).
11. We love the Internet of Things
Sure, we love talking with Alexa (though, we’d prefer talking with Cardi B or Anthony Hopkins). But many connected devices serve a greater purpose than pure entertainment. Our smart thermostats can help us save on energy bills. Our smart security cameras help keep our families safe. And our smart slow cookers let us “cook” dinner while we’re at the office. (This Is Us will not deter us—we love our crock pots!) And in terms of healthcare, real-time data can be provided to your doctor with the help of home health monitoring devices. On the enterprise front, companies are going all in. Ericsson Maritime ICT is using sensors on “its ships to monitor vessel location, speed and the temperature for heat sensitive cargo, all in real-time. The data can then be shared with companies that are shipping goods, from production and warehouse distribution to final delivery.”
12. We love spam filters
Whether you wake up each morning to a sprinkling of new messages or a jam-packed inbox, you probably take email for granted. Just imagine where we’d be without spam filters. Now, you only have to see the messages you want to see and not all the other junk mail. Spam filters also limit the phishing emails that actually make it through to your inbox. They don’t catch everything, but they help keep your computer and your data more secure.
13. We love making money
IT salaries are nearly double the average compensation in the United States. According to the 2017 Global Knowledge IT Skills and Salary Report, IT salaries in the U.S. and Canada are up 5.7% from 2016. Overall, the average IT salary is $88,640 and can top out well over $100,000 for cloud computing and cybersecurity professionals. Over two-thirds of IT professionals also received a raise in the past year. It’s certainly a thriving industry.
14. We love that there’s always something new to learn
Changing technologies keep things fresh. Think about it, nobody had even heard of the cloud a decade ago. Now, it’s the top tech interest area for global IT professionals. Things change fast in tech. While it can be difficult at times to keep up, the constant evolution keeps it interesting. IT professionals can also change fields without changing industries. Global Knowledge offers a wealth of formal training courses and informal training resources to keep up with changing technologies or totally change your focus. You won’t get stuck reliving the same day over and over if continual learning is a part of your job path.
Why do you love IT? Let us know in the comment section.
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Zane Schweer and Sarah Williams contributed to this post.