Wires crossed: a day in the life of an IT infrastructure manager

Some days, everything aligns perfectly — systems operate seamlessly, projects progress as planned, and you even find time to explore new technologies. But most of the time, you feel like you’re merely treading water — addressing unexpected outages while managing urgent support requests and juggling competing priorities.

But no matter what, it’s about ensuring that every team member from the front office to remote workers has the tools and support they need. It’s about creating an environment where technology enhances productivity rather than hinders it. This is the world of IT infrastructure management — a realm where challenges abound, but so do opportunities to make a tangible impact.

Welcome to an illustration of an IT manager’s responsibilities. Let’s navigate through a typical workday, where the only constant is change.

A day in the life of an IT infrastructure manager

9:00 a.m. Address overnight alerts and check mounting IT tickets

The day begins by reviewing system alerts and upgrades that need attention. While most are routine and handled by automated processes, a few require manual intervention, like deploying a Microsoft 365 update so everyone’s computers are running the latest software.

Unsurprisingly, after-hours IT tickets had come in — a request for software access, someone trying to log in to a system we no longer use, and another person wanting to know if their nearly new MacBook can be replaced with a “cooler looking” black one.

10:00 a.m. Attend infrastructure strategy meeting

Time for the weekly infrastructure strategy meeting — a sacred ritual where IT gathers to discuss the future of our tech stack, pretend we have enough budget, and once again question our life choices.

On today’s agenda:

• Evaluating current systems: Also known as acknowledging that some of our platforms were probably built around the same time as dial-up internet.
• Planning for future upgrades: In theory, this means proactive improvements. In reality, it means debating whether we can squeeze one more year out of a server that sounds like a jet engine at takeoff.
• Aligning initiatives with business goals: In other words, figuring out how to support an ambitious digital transformation strategy with a do-more-with-less budget.

We also dedicate a solid 15 minutes to discussing the software graveyard — all the tools various teams have purchased, forgotten about, and now refuse to give up because “this is how we’ve always done it.”

After a seemingly endless discussion, we agree on a plan that is strategic, forward-thinking, and completely dependent on approvals we may or may not get. Typical.

11:00 a.m. Oversee network security audit

Conducting quarterly network security audits is essential to protect organizational data and comply with regulations. This involves reviewing firewall configurations, assessing vulnerability scans, and ensuring that security protocols are up to date.​ Boring? A little. Necessary? Absolutely. Without a strong and secure network, we can’t build and refine the IT infrastructure we need to maximize productivity and business success. 

12:00 p.m. Back to the IT ticket abyss 

Your calendar is optimistically blocked for lunch. Reality looks like sifting through the mountain of IT tickets that has only grown since 8:00 a.m.

You take a deep breath and dive in:

• Ghost tickets: Submitted weeks ago, followed by radio silence, despite follow-ups. Are they still experiencing the issue? Did they solve it themselves? Have they left the company entirely? The world may never know.
• Fresh tickets: Just submitted minutes ago, yet already marked URGENT. No details provided. Just “Help, it’s broken!” (What’s broken? Be more specific.)
• Eternal tickets: The ones that may never be resolved. Some require input from multiple teams, some depend on vendors, and some have been sitting in limbo so long that you’re considering nominating them for historical preservation.
• “Should this even be an IT ticket?” tickets: Requests that belong literally anywhere else. (“Can you resend my W-2?” No, I cannot.)

You glance at your lunch. It’s cold now. You eat it anyway.

1:00 p.m. Manage user access requests

Another user-access request hits your inbox via a Microsoft Form you set up to streamline things, even though it feels like only a small bandage on a bigger problem. User-access requests come in regularly — new hires needing system access, role changes requiring permission adjustments, and departures necessitating deactivations. Managing these efficiently is vital for both security and productivity, but it can be a headache for IT to deal with on a system-by-system basis.

2:00 p.m. Password reset (again)

Some days, IT is about solving complex security vulnerabilities. Other days, it’s about remotely rescuing a colleague who’s locked out of the system — again.

Today’s crisis is a locked account that requires a 30-minute remote session to resolve. You walk through the usual troubleshooting steps — verifying the correct email address, checking if caps lock is on, confirming they’re using the right browser. Finally, access is restored.

You take the opportunity to gently suggest (for the third time this quarter) that a password manager might save everyone some time and frustration. The response: “Yeah, I really should set that up.” You add it to the list of things that will probably never happen.

2:30 p.m. AI policy strategy meeting

With AI rapidly evolving, ensuring a clear, companywide AI policy is essential. This meeting brings together Legal, IT, and Internal Communication to discuss governance, ethical considerations, compliance, and employee guidelines around AI usage. 

Everyone has different priorities and wants to approach it in a different way. Your introverted side wants to turn your camera off, but you stay the course because you know this is big for the company. You elbow your way begrudgingly into the conversation to keep things on track.

Key topics on the agenda:

• IT: How do we safeguard company data when using AI tools (before someone accidentally leaks proprietary info into ChatGPT)?
• Legal: What guidelines should be in place to prevent misinformation, bias, and liability issues?
• Communications: How can we make sure employees know about this new policy?

You end the meeting unsure of who owns what part of the process. You put together some brief talking points because words are so not your thing, and you ship it to your communications partner to “make it sound better.”

4:00 p.m. The great IT ticket roundup

Time to circle back to IT tickets — or at least, the ones that actually made it into the system. Because let’s be real, half of the requests never officially exist. Some employees can’t remember where to submit a ticket, so instead, they opt for the classic “quick Teams message” or an out-of-nowhere email with zero context.

Thankfully, IT has a copy-paste response locked and loaded: “Hey [employee’s name], happy to help! Can you submit a ticket [insert link] so we can track this properly? Thanks!”

You manage to get a few quick wins, and save the rest for a new day, knowing you’ll have a few more piled up by morning.

5:00 p.m. Wrapping up (for now)

Time to check in with the team. How’s everyone holding up? Any catastrophic tech failures? Any rogue software installs that need investigating? Once the quick debrief is done, it’s onto tomorrow’s to-do list (because IT issues don’t magically solve themselves overnight).

Finally, you log off, feeling momentarily accomplished until the inevitable after-hours Teams message comes in:

“Hey, sorry to bother you, but my home WiFi isn’t working — any idea how to fix it?”

*Insert face palm emoji*

8:00 p.m. Sync with IT partner in India

The day isn’t over yet. It’s time to check in with your IT partner in India. Thanks to time zones, their day is just getting started while yours is winding down.

You hop on a quick call to hand off a few tickets, align on overnight tasks, and answer lingering questions from earlier in the day. You cover user provisioning, an integration bug that refuses to die, and a shared sigh about that one employee who somehow manages to lock themselves out of everything. Daily.

Simpplr simplifies IT

If there’s one thing that’s certain in IT, it’s that there is no “slow” day. Whether it’s fending off security risks, tackling help requests, or serving critical cross-functional roles, IT teams are the backbone of any organization.

Some days, it feels like an endless cycle of troubleshooting and firefighting, with just enough time in between to plan for the next big initiative that will (hopefully) make things more efficient. But despite the ticket backlog, the late-night pings, and the never-ending software graveyard, IT teams keep the company running.

Here’s the good news: It doesn’t have to be this hard.

With Simpplr, IT finally has a platform that helps reduce the noise, centralize resources, and cut down on redundant requests. A place where employees can find answers themselves before opening a ticket. Where security policies don’t just disappear into the void of unread emails. Where IT doesn’t have to be the company’s personal search engine.

Because IT should be about innovation, not just survival. And with the right tools, you might just get through one full workday without someone asking, “Hey, do you know why my printer isn’t working?”

Simpplr helps IT teams launch AI-ready employee experiences with built-in governance, enterprise search, and automated workflows. See it in action. Request a demo today.