Proactive IT: How Forward-Looking IT-Strategies Are Transforming the Digital Employee Experience
Those who only react in IT will be overrun in the long run. But there is an alternative to reactivity: proactive IT. It represents a paradigm shift – away from fixing issues and towards actively shaping processes. This is particularly crucial in the context of the digital employee experience (DEX), as employees today expect their digital tools to simply work – not just after the third IT ticket. The shift towards a proactive IT strategy is not merely a technical task, but a strategic lever for productivity, employee retention, and business success.
Short & sweet
- Reactive IT is inefficient – and harms the employee experience in the long term.
- Proactive IT services rely on data, prevention, and automation.
- DEX is an interdisciplinary topic: IT and HR must work together.
- Practical tips: How to get started with successful proactive IT management.
Digital Friction kills Productivity - why companies need to focus on Proactive IT & DEX now
Imagine this: a colleague loses five minutes every day because his laptop takes too long to boot up. And he isn’t the only one in the company. Sounds trivial? Multiply that
by a mid-sized organization, and you have a staggering loss in productivity. For example, in a company with 300 employees, five minutes per person per day adds up to 1,500 minutes – or 25
work hours – lost every single day!
What seems insignificant for one person becomes a substantial drain on productivity when it accumulates. And this is just one instance of many digital friction
points – costing time, energy, and ultimately, money.
Yet, in many companies the status quo remains unchanged. IT is busy reacting – responding to tickets, error reports, and complaints. But the modern work environment has
evolved. Employees expect their tools to work seamlessly. We must ask: is a reactive approach enough when digital workplaces have become key to motivation,
efficiency, and employee retention?
From Repair Mode to Shaping the Future
For a long time, IT departments were only noticed when something went wrong. Today, however, employees expect technology to run smoothly—even before problems occur. This is
where Proactive IT comes in, fundamentally transforming not only processes but also the role of IT.
Proactive IT means:
- Identifying potential disruptions early on,
- Taking preventive action, and
- Creating a stable digital work environment.
It’s not just about having modern tools—it’s about a new mindset. Rather than constantly putting out fires, IT must become a strategic enabler for the entire
organization.
As a result, IT priorities are shifting. Instead of focusing solely on uptime metrics, the spotlight is now on user experiences and business-critical KPIs.
Digital satisfaction is no longer just a “nice-to-have”. It directly impacts how effectively employees work and whether they stay with the organization.
Small IT problems, big impact: How you can create an optimal user experience for end users
Learn how to protect your end users from annoying IT problems, unstable network connections and incompatibility issues between different software versions. Our Digital Employee
Experience (DEX) Whitepaper gives you an in-depth insight into the topic.
Download now for free!
Digital Employee Experience: More Than Just an IT Issue
The quality of digital work experiences has become a crucial factor in attracting and retaining talent. Despite this, the responsibility for Digital Employee Experience (DEX) is often seen as solely belonging to IT – when in reality, it spans much further.
- IT builds the technological foundation,
- HR understands people’s needs.
It is only when these perspectives come together that a comprehensive view of the digital employee experience emerges—one that encompasses both technical performance and subjective
experience.
A proactive IT approach can bridge that gap. By identifying and resolving technical issues early, the perceived quality of the work experience improves.
And that is the essence of an effective DEX strategy and proactive IT management.
Data Makes the Difference – When Used Right
Transparency is the first step toward improvement. That’s why we rely on a robust data foundation. Only by understanding where and why digital
friction occurs can companies systematically and sustainably overcome it.
Endpoint data in particular reveals what is really happening every day:
- How quickly do devices boot up?
- Where do connections drop?
- Which applications frequently cause disruptions?
When combined with subjective user feedback, this data creates a clearer picture and offers a solid basis for decision-making. Many of our clients are already leveraging these insights to implement targeted automations and proactive incident management—even before a support ticket is ever raised.
The Road to Proactive IT: A Step-by-Step Process
The path to proactive IT doesn't have to start with a big bang. Even small changes can have a big impact:
Data: Start with continuous, automated collection of device performance and usage data. Be sure to use a DEX management tool that collects both technical and subjective user data. This will help you identify where digital friction is disrupting user workflows.
Quick wins: Analyze frequent support requests and automate solutions. This is a good initial use case for proactive incident management.
Make DEX visible: Use tools to make IT staff and users aware of fixes and improvements.
Involve stakeholders: Talk to HR, facility management and employees. Their perspectives help identify opportunities for additional improvements.
Conclusion: Proactive IT is More Than Just Technology – It Transforms Work Culture
The shift from reactive to proactive is not merely a technical upgrade—it’s a strategic and cultural evolution. If companies want to streamline digital processes,
keep employees engaged over the long term, and drive innovation, they need IT that thinks ahead and takes preventive action.
We believe that organizations investing in Proactive IT and DEX today are laying the groundwork for the workplace of the future—a workplace that is people-centric,
data-driven, stable, and sustainable.
