With National IT Professionals Day being today, September 15, I wanted to share some perspectives on this day from a couple of IT professionals.
Jason Tierney, SVP of Managed Services at C3
For defense contractors and other regulated organizations, IT support has a bigger job than closing tickets. We can’t just go do something and move on. The team needs a consistent process, clear approvals, and an understanding of the user’s work to explain why the compliance controls are there.
Those tickets are far more important than many realize. Each ticket is an artifact. It shows what changed, who approved it, and whether it was handled the right way. That matters when an assessment team asks how a system is being managed. When those pieces are in place, IT doesn’t scramble to prove it’s compliant when an assessment arrives. IT enables an assessment-ready position at all times.
A lot of the assessment issues I’ve seen are not caused by an unusual technology problem, but by assumptions and poor communication. People and processes get out of sync. The internal IT team, the MSP, and the compliance team may all be doing their part, but they need to understand that their roles are collaborative. Task ownership becomes unclear, a small process change made at the MSP can go undocumented in the compliance documentation, or a new SaaS application can be deployed internally without being reported to the MSP or compliance team. I’ve seen all of these turn into problems during both preparation and assessment.
This is where partnering with a quality managed services provider matters. It is not just about answering the phone or keeping systems running. It is about understanding the customer’s needs and ensuring those needs are being met. For us at C3, our customers are with us to become and stay compliant. As a result, our processes are built around achieving and maintaining that goal.
Mark Christie, Field CTO, StorMagic
“IT professionals play a part in nearly every workday. They make it possible for employees to log on, access critical systems, collaborate with colleagues, and get their work done without having to think about the technology behind it. When something does go wrong, they are often the first people called to identify the problem, find a solution and get everyone moving again.
National IT Professionals Day is an opportunity to recognize how much we depend on IT professionals, but their role extends far beyond keeping things running. Good IT is about more than technical expertise. IT professionals also help determine which technologies are worth investing in, whether they will actually solve the problem at hand and how they will fit into the way people work every day. That combination of technical knowledge and practical judgment enables and empowers employees, giving employees the tools and support they need to focus on their jobs.”
Related
This entry was posted on September 15, 2026 at 9:04 am and is filed under Commentary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Today Is National IT Professionals Day
With National IT Professionals Day being today, September 15, I wanted to share some perspectives on this day from a couple of IT professionals.
Jason Tierney, SVP of Managed Services at C3
For defense contractors and other regulated organizations, IT support has a bigger job than closing tickets. We can’t just go do something and move on. The team needs a consistent process, clear approvals, and an understanding of the user’s work to explain why the compliance controls are there.
Those tickets are far more important than many realize. Each ticket is an artifact. It shows what changed, who approved it, and whether it was handled the right way. That matters when an assessment team asks how a system is being managed. When those pieces are in place, IT doesn’t scramble to prove it’s compliant when an assessment arrives. IT enables an assessment-ready position at all times.
A lot of the assessment issues I’ve seen are not caused by an unusual technology problem, but by assumptions and poor communication. People and processes get out of sync. The internal IT team, the MSP, and the compliance team may all be doing their part, but they need to understand that their roles are collaborative. Task ownership becomes unclear, a small process change made at the MSP can go undocumented in the compliance documentation, or a new SaaS application can be deployed internally without being reported to the MSP or compliance team. I’ve seen all of these turn into problems during both preparation and assessment.
This is where partnering with a quality managed services provider matters. It is not just about answering the phone or keeping systems running. It is about understanding the customer’s needs and ensuring those needs are being met. For us at C3, our customers are with us to become and stay compliant. As a result, our processes are built around achieving and maintaining that goal.
Mark Christie, Field CTO, StorMagic
“IT professionals play a part in nearly every workday. They make it possible for employees to log on, access critical systems, collaborate with colleagues, and get their work done without having to think about the technology behind it. When something does go wrong, they are often the first people called to identify the problem, find a solution and get everyone moving again.
National IT Professionals Day is an opportunity to recognize how much we depend on IT professionals, but their role extends far beyond keeping things running. Good IT is about more than technical expertise. IT professionals also help determine which technologies are worth investing in, whether they will actually solve the problem at hand and how they will fit into the way people work every day. That combination of technical knowledge and practical judgment enables and empowers employees, giving employees the tools and support they need to focus on their jobs.”
Share this:
Like this:
Related
This entry was posted on September 15, 2026 at 9:04 am and is filed under Commentary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.