Is every shop out there understaffed?

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So I've passed the six month mark at my current place of work and I realise just how understaffed my team is. Three techs, two seniors covering five different companies in a mixed environment (Windows/Linux/Mac). When I started it was last spring when there was a lull in production (I work for a media company) so not many users around. In the past few months things have picked up and I've seen my boss have a few panic attacks while at work as there are so many fires for him to put out (he says I'm NOT one of them!). The company used to have half a dozen techs in the department.

Are all IT departments spread as thin? I was the sole tech for 300 people in over 10 offices at my last place...

 

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I know where I work the IT dept is thinly spread. When I was in charge of my last role, I was looking after 350 pcs and all the rest of the stuff that went with that, in the role before that we did everything, mainly IT work but we would also set up for events, do the AV side, sort out assemblies etc. I think people in IT are generally not valued unless there is a problem, then the user suddenly becomes your best mate.

ZX

 

The worst part of this is when the bosses decide to outsource a lot of the IT dept, namely the servicedesk and/or desktop support. Every time I've seen that happen, the off-shored folk barely have any IT knowledge and simply pass 1st line & 2nd line issues to the 3rd line folks, who are actually the most expensive point of contact. So no money is saved at all, but it makes the accountants happy.

IT certainly ain't what it used to be.

 

I suppose it depends on how you justify your IT support.
If it’s internal, then it’s usually a cost and difficult to quantify.
We provide IT support to customers which is chargeable for an annual support fee, in which case it provides a useful income stream when project work is light.
Again, it’s difficult as you’ll always get customers who insist on a premium support package and hardly ever use it, and others who want to pay the minimum and bleed you dry on trivia.