A CIO and the IT team can extend the reach of a lean staff and build trust with user departments by cultivating “super users” and “para-IT” support people in user departments. Why do this, and what’s the best way for CIOs to go about it?
At first glance, it seems that IT budgets are really growing! Gartner reports that budgets for IT in 2025 will increase a whopping 9.8% over what they were in 2024, which seems substantial. But, what’s behind this growth? “A significant portion will merely offset price increases within their recurrent spending,” said Gartner Distinguished VP Analyst, John David Lovelock. “This means that, in 2025, nominal spending versus real IT spending will be skewed, with price hikes absorbing some or all of budget growth. All major categories are reflecting higher-than-expected prices, prompting CIOs to defer and scale back their true budget expectations.” That means IT staffs will remain lean.
Gartner also projects that spending will top $644 billion in 2025 for generative AI alone.
The robotics market is projected to grow by 9.49% year over year through 2029. Also, edge computing is estimated to grow by 15.6% through 2030, according to Mordor Intelligence. And, estimates are that there will be four citizen developers for every IT developer in organizations, says Kissflow in citing Gartner data.
Additionally, there is an expanding need for business knowledge in IT, which is being asked to transition to a more service-oriented culture.
In sum, more is expected of IT; IT staffs aren’t growing while user department tech deployments and requests for help are.
In this environment, it makes sense for IT to cultivate super user and para-IT help.
Exploring the User Tech Work Force
Super users and para-IT users are the two types of users that IT works with, but they differ in the technology skills that they provide. Here is the rundown:
Super users. Super users are individuals who have a detailed knowledge of the various systems that their departments run. If a typical user in a department gets confused or encounters a problem with a system, they call over the department super user to help them. This super user is likely to be upskilled in writing macros for spreadsheets and developing low code programs for reports and simple applications. He or she is also likely to be the main user contact for IT.
Para-IT users. Unlike super users, who tend to naturally like and gravitate toward IT work, para-IT users are often reluctant IT recruits. A majority are asked to maintain remote networks and IT equipment in edge locations where immediate IT support isn’t available. Para-IT users perform tasks like monitoring networks for uptime, responding to elementary troubleshooting needs, securing equipment, maintaining router health, and doing backups. They also serve as a “front line” of IT network support. When an issue becomes too challenging or technical, para-IT’ers hand the issue over to IT so IT professionals can take over.
It should be noted that like super users, para-IT personnel are not full-time IT employees. They continue to do their respective jobs in their user departments, with the understanding that they also have several IT duties as “side tasks.”
Blending User-IT Support Teams
What’s the best way to build a hybrid IT support team that includes both IT and end users? Here are five key steps.
1. Survey the user opportunities. Before pursuing an IT-user support collaboration, IT leadership should assess the IT skills that exist in user departments. A small company might not have the bandwidth or the end user desire or skills to team with IT. In other cases, there is some IT savvy in user departments, and it is likely that IT already knows who the talented users are.
If IT leadership determines that there are technology-savvy individuals in user departments, it could make sense to consider building a hybrid IT support team.
2. Obtain management buy-in.
Often, the most tech-savvy users in departments are also these departments’ most valued employees. In my own experience, I’ve encountered user area managers who really didn’t want to commit any of their employees’ time to IT “side” work. In other cases, managers were enthusiastic.
User-IT hybrid support teams should only be pursued if the managers of user departments that would participate are enthusiastic about the idea.
3. Clearly define and demarcate duties. At what point does a super user in a user department turn an issue over to IT? And, if an employee is trained for para-IT duties in a remote manufacturing plant, what are the daily tech duties this employee is expected to perform, and when does IT take over?
Clear responsibilities and lines of demarcation between duties should be enumerated and agreed to by IT and the end users and managers before any hybrid IT support team is started.
4. Train and support. Even department IT super users will need training in topics such as security guidelines and application workflows when they work with IT. Para-IT’ers might need even more, because many may have only limited knowledge of IT networks, apps and accountabilities that they will be expected to assume daily responsibilities for, such as rebooting routers, seeing that equipment like robots are secured in cages at ends of shifts.
It’s IT’s responsibility to train these personnel, and to maintain open communication lines so users can get IT coaching and help when they need it.
5. Regularly visit with department heads. How is the user-IT support team working out? Is it helping overall productivity in the end user area or facility?
CIOs should factor in some “management –by-walking-around” to the various managers of user departments engaged in hybrid IT support with IT.
The goal of all these efforts is ensuring that this strategy is working for everyone.