What's your secret for staying current with IT trends and best practices for business alignment?

Staying current with IT trends and best practices for business alignment requires a multifaceted approach that combines continuous learning, networking, hands-on experience, strategic planning, and a keen focus on industry news. Technology is ever-evolving, and those who adapt and embrace change are more likely to succeed in aligning IT with business objectives. IT professionals and organizations can stay at the forefront of the IT landscape and drive meaningful value to their businesses.

All good suggestions, the ones from the article and the ones provided by the other contributors... and I would like to add another possible source. With all the new trends and innovation going on it is difficult to follow all articles - trainings - forums - developments - and so on, due to lack of time, resources, money... and it is also hard to understand the applicability of the solutions in the actual environment... therefore several times I am leveraging our Vendors expertise, in order to check what are the technologies already implemented and the level of potential adoption... if the Vendors have skills or projects to share, it means that it is something we can work on, otherwise probably better to wait or change Vendor...

In the fast-paced world of IT, knowledge dissemination is crucial. I make it a point to follow industry leaders and influencers actively. This entails subscribing to their blogs, podcasts, newsletters, and social media channels. By doing so, I gain access to valuable insights, opinions, and experiences from those at the forefront of the field. Engaging in online communities and forums also enables me to exchange ideas with fellow IT professionals. This interconnectedness keeps me attuned to the latest trends, innovations, and best practices in IT management and business alignment.

My suggestion is to keep in touch with the main speakers, large companies and be present at IT events that share specific topics that you want to learn and delve deeper into. Additionally, you can try out some demos, sandboxing, and testing to put them into practice.

Staying connected with industry experts and thought leaders is a valuable strategy for professional growth. Subscribing to their content and engaging in online communities provides a continuous source of insights, ideas, and a platform for knowledge exchange in the ever-evolving field of IT.

Sales calls, tech events, and professional organizations, oh my! Along with webinars and online courses, answer sales calls and agree to see product demos. Go to conferences, tech dinners, and the like. Talk to each of the vendors at the event. Belong to professional organizations and attend their monthly events. You will now have enough information to know where to dive deep when the time comes to solve a problem, recommend a product, or build a strategy.

Online courses play a crucial role in staying competitive and adaptable in today's fast-paced world. They offer convenience, flexibility, and access to a wide range of topics from anywhere with an internet connection. Whether it's mastering a new technology or acquiring business skills, online courses empower individuals to continually learn and evolve in their careers, ultimately driving personal and professional growth.

In my experience, dedicating time to webinars and online courses is invaluable. They provide structured learning paths on current technologies and best practices. Platforms like Coursera, Udemy, and industry-specific webinars offer a wealth of knowledge that’s continuously updated.

Além de tudo citado acima, também participar de fóruns e reuni?es com parceiros também pode ser um bom investimento para melhorar os conhecimentos. Há muitas tecnologias que você pode usar dentro do negócio com os seus parceiros atuais e novos.

Books and articles, especially related to certification preparation will focus your learning process. Eventhough you are not taking the certification, the preparation itself will gain you valuable knowledge and insight. Another way to speed up your learning is by enrolling to self-learning online courses in e-learning platforms.

I always emphasize the importance of constant reading. Books, especially those focusing on the intersection of IT and business strategy, along with articles from reputable sources, can deepen understanding and spark innovative ideas for aligning IT with business goals.

Experimentation is key to hands-on learning. Setting up personal projects or pilot programs within your organization to test out new tools and technologies can provide practical insights and help gauge their potential impact on business processes.

Seeking input about technology trends from trusted connections and mentors is one of my favorite approaches because it’s first provide you a direct input form experts and it’s also a fantastic way to learn from real-world experience.

Engaging with a mentor or peers for feedback can uncover blind spots and offer new perspectives. Mentorship and professional networks support growth by sharing experiences and best practices for aligning IT strategies with business objectives.

Setting clear, measurable goals for personal development and aligning IT with business needs is crucial. Regularly review these goals and your progress towards them. This approach ensures continuous learning and adaptation to the ever-evolving IT landscape.

Be close to the code and architecture. This is especially true for mid and sr levels in IT. One can never understand the true capability of emerging trends without understanding the underlying tech. Ex- you can’t understand what genai can or cannot do if you don’t understand data science, networks and LLM. Be networked - Be a part of developer communities and contribute, a lot of learning happens there. Follow industry voices, they often open your mind on how the rest of the world is adopting stuff. Open your mind to use tech creatively within your area of control, you may just end up creating a usecase that the rest will follow. be passionate about what you do, that will itself make you want to read and learn more

Staying current with IT trends and best practices should be part of a professional's networking strategy - making new connections and continuing conversations with existing connections, discussions around what is new and improved within IT becomes 'common ground' for both participants.

Linkedin sem dúvida é uma das ferramentas mais do completas para você entender como está o mercado e inclusive para se atualizar. Passo mais tempo aqui, estudando e criando conteúdo que em outras redes. Além disso, participar de conversas com grupos diversos para saber como é a vis?o de cada empresa.

As a service provider, the most effective way to staying updated on IT trends and best business practices is talking to IT and business leaders across multiple industries (finance, manufacturing, retail, etc.). Getting feedback from industry leaders, and sharing experiences on implementations that have been thoroughly tested and improved after repeated iterations is the single best way to keeping up with IT trends and best business practices. Multidisciplinary continuous learning goes a long way as well!

Organisation need to encourage and give space and dedicated time to improve the skillset . Often senior leader dies not not want to give junior associate's time for their own way of learning because they want mandane project work to be focused by the team in place of employee's otger area of learning. Leader need to understand if any of their team member improve their learning and knowledge towards that employees passion it will much more fruitful for the organisation and that employee .