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What have I gotten myself into? Might soon be IT Mgr.

I

isasir

Diamond Member
I work for a smaller company in which there's basically 2 IT people. I primarily handle database duties, and the other guy does everything else. I have a decent enough knowledge though of servers, Exchange etc., but have never been in an IT Manager position. Well, he's leaving at the end of the month, and it looks like I'm going to be in charge here.

So, I know enough to handle most situations, (Took an Exchange class a few weeks ago, for example), but yet, I'm still dumb with other things (barely know RAID, for example, or much about innerworkings of servers).

Any suggestions on a book perhaps ("IT Managers for Dummies"....) or best way to detail innerworkings of a LAN room?

Google will be my best friend in the interim. 😀
 
Originally posted by: iamwiz82
You will learn as things break, nothing else can prepare you
Click to expand...

Yeah part of it is just nerves getting to me, since I've been a bit stagnant for past few years. I know a good amount, but this definitely will be a challenge. I do want to be prepared though, and part of my concern is that I don't even know what to be prepared for. 🙂
 
All I can suggest for a crash course is getting a few computers and building a network at home from scratch to at least have an idea how DNS and DHCP and TCP/IP work.
 
Originally posted by: scorpmatt
you will be like alot of IT managers out there, no freaking clue as to what you are doing
Click to expand...

exactly, most managers out there are actually not hired for their technical experience, but their experience to manage people, etc. you will be the exception to the rule, in that you will know some of the in's and out's of the systems that are being worked with. you will do fine I'm sure.
 
Originally posted by: scorpmatt
you will be like alot of IT managers out there, no freaking clue as to what you are doing
Click to expand...
Yep.

But that's not necessarily a bad thing. The best thing a manager can do is hire intelligent people.
 
Originally posted by: scorpmatt
you will be like alot of IT managers out there, no freaking clue as to what you are doing
Click to expand...

Yep. Just be one of the good ones and actually learn from mistakes 😛
 
If you're good, you'll learn to adapt. I never touched an Exchange box, worked with a server, configured a firewall, or touched a button on a point of sale system before joining my previous company, but I had to learn it or else get fired.

You tend to learn fast when your job is on the line. 😛

 
Things to prepare for:
How do you handle patch management? Using any tools to roll out security patches?
Is your company sarbanes oxley compliant?
Do you have documentation and ready for disaster recovery?
Lock down of stupid users on the file and print server?
If your in a Active Directory environment, maybe you should look at GOP to secure workstations.
Any budgeting involve as a IT manager?
Do you have a systematic way to handle help desk issues?
Hardware inventory list for asset management.
Documenation on the network infrastructure?
Hardware service warranty contract?

Just few things you should think about as a IT manager....
 
Originally posted by: MadPeriot
Things to prepare for:
How do you handle patch management? Using any tools to roll out security patches?
Is your company sarbanes oxley compliant?
Do you have documentation and ready for disaster recovery?
Lock down of stupid users on the file and print server?
If your in a Active Directory environment, maybe you should look at GOP to secure workstations.
Any budgeting involve as a IT manager?
Do you have a systematic way to handle help desk issues?
Hardware inventory list for asset management.
Documenation on the network infrastructure?
Hardware service warranty contract?

Just few things you should think about as a IT manager....
Click to expand...


Good stuff. The current guy is here til the end of the month, so some of those issues I can get resolved by him before he leaves. I do want to start using Group Policy more, as it's not used at all now. No plan for patch management, but that's something I look forward to figuring out.

We are a small company (about 30 people on-site, 15 off-site), so certain things have been done the slower way to date. (ie: going to each computer to run Windows update) I definitely want to automate a lot of things. I'll have to see if there's any documentation around...
 
Shouldn't the person leaving at least show you how to keep the ship afloat? Even as an intern, if I left in the middle of a project I'd have to knowledge transfer to whomever was going to continue working on it
 
Originally posted by: isasir
Originally posted by: MadPeriot
Things to prepare for:
How do you handle patch management? Using any tools to roll out security patches?
Is your company sarbanes oxley compliant?
Do you have documentation and ready for disaster recovery?
Lock down of stupid users on the file and print server?
If your in a Active Directory environment, maybe you should look at GOP to secure workstations.
Any budgeting involve as a IT manager?
Do you have a systematic way to handle help desk issues?
Hardware inventory list for asset management.
Documenation on the network infrastructure?
Hardware service warranty contract?

Just few things you should think about as a IT manager....
Click to expand...


Good stuff. The current guy is here til the end of the month, so some of those issues I can get resolved by him before he leaves. I do want to start using Group Policy more, as it's not used at all now. No plan for patch management, but that's something I look forward to figuring out.

We are a small company (about 30 people on-site, 15 off-site), so certain things have been done the slower way to date. (ie: going to each computer to run Windows update) I definitely want to automate a lot of things. I'll have to see if there's any documentation around...
Click to expand...

Check out WSUS for rolling out patches and such. It's free...just needs to be setup.
 
Originally posted by: isasir
Originally posted by: MadPeriot
Things to prepare for:
How do you handle patch management? Using any tools to roll out security patches?
Is your company sarbanes oxley compliant?
Do you have documentation and ready for disaster recovery?
Lock down of stupid users on the file and print server?
If your in a Active Directory environment, maybe you should look at GOP to secure workstations.
Any budgeting involve as a IT manager?
Do you have a systematic way to handle help desk issues?
Hardware inventory list for asset management.
Documenation on the network infrastructure?
Hardware service warranty contract?

Just few things you should think about as a IT manager....
Click to expand...


Good stuff. The current guy is here til the end of the month, so some of those issues I can get resolved by him before he leaves. I do want to start using Group Policy more, as it's not used at all now. No plan for patch management, but that's something I look forward to figuring out.

We are a small company (about 30 people on-site, 15 off-site), so certain things have been done the slower way to date. (ie: going to each computer to run Windows update) I definitely want to automate a lot of things. I'll have to see if there's any documentation around...
Click to expand...


For patch mangement either use WSUS from Microsoft or Update Expert from St. Bernard. Schedule your patches monthly since Mircrosoft comes out with new fix first of Tuesday each month.

Automation is the key to your job success. Good luck!
 
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