In the fast-paced digital world, having both an IT strategist and an account manager is essential to keeping your business running smoothly. You may be wondering what the differences between these two roles are, and the answer is there are many.
An IT strategist aligns the business’s goals with their technical knowledge to achieve success. This usually involves making intricate technical decisions that impact the company’s overall productivity and growth. On the other hand, an account manager acts as part of the sales team, focusing on maintaining sales, fostering client relationships, and ensuring users are satisfied with the business.
Having both of these roles on your team will create a dynamic tech team that can handle both the technical side of the business and its customer-facing responsibilities. Continue reading to take a further look at each role individually and how they complement each other to reach business goals.
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What do IT strategy jobs entail?
Many IT strategy positions have a lengthy list of requirements or preferences regarding the skills needed to perform the job effectively. An IT strategist’s primary focus is developing an IT strategy that aligns technology processes with business objectives.
They must also ensure that the technology currently used by the business is optimized to avoid wasting resources. Additionally, they prepare the organization for potential challenges that may affect the infrastructure in the future.
Below are a few key responsibilities of an IT strategist:
- IT Budget Management: Developing, planning, and overseeing the IT budget is one of the key responsibilities of the IT strategist. They ensure that all IT resources are effectively allocated to achieve business goals.
- Effective Strategic Planning: As the title implies, the IT strategist must create a strategic IT plan that encompasses elements such as assessing current IT capabilities and identifying specific areas for enhancement.
- Evaluation of Technology: Researching and assessing all emerging technologies in the market to understand their potential impact on the organization, including hardware, software, and IT services.
- Teamwork and collaboration skills: The IT strategist should have a solid understanding of the IT needs of each individual department within the organization. By working closely with these teams to grasp their requirements, they will also be able to guide the departments on which technologies to adopt to achieve their objectives and complete their daily tasks.
- Risk assessment and risk management: proactively identifying potential technology-related risks and developing strategies to mitigate them, ensuring the organization’s safety.
What are the duties of an account manager?
Account managers strive to cultivate trusting, loyal relationships with their customers to enhance client retention. A successful account manager collaborates with clients to guarantee all their questions are answered and that they remain consistently satisfied with the products and services.
Account managers are essential for business success. The cost of finding new clients can be five to ten times higher than it costs to continue working with returning clients, who, on average, spend 67% more than new clients. By fostering loyalty, account managers can save the business money and generate more revenue.
The duties of an account manager primarily focus on:
- Building relationships with clients, ensuring their satisfaction, and encouraging contract renewals to maintain the business relationship.
- Adopting a solution-oriented approach to provide clients with tailored solutions for their challenges and to foster growth through cross-selling efforts.
- I will serve as a liaison between the client and the technical teams, managing all communication between both parties and collaborating on planning.
- Attend and participate in meetings with current and potential clients equipped with pitches and bids to secure new business or renew contracts.
Your company will want to have a talented account manager on hand to sustain long-term client relationships and drive business growth. With exceptional service, proactive solutions, and communication, they will improve client satisfaction while contributing to the company’s success. Their ability to create trust will strengthen the organization’s competitive advantage.
Should your company fill both account management roles and IT strategist positions?
It is essential to fill both account management roles and IT strategist positions to create a well-rounded team capable of managing your IT infrastructure’s technical challenges and the business’s client-facing aspects. IT strategists contribute their technical expertise to the team, executing complex IT strategies and initiatives while ensuring that all IT resources operate properly to prevent downtime and mitigate risks to the business.
With the addition of an account manager, clients will have a clear point of contact who collaborates with them to increase sales and ensure client satisfaction. Together, this dynamic team can keep the business operating smoothly, improve productivity, and sustain customer satisfaction.
Why outsourcing IT strategy responsibilities will benefit your business
Outsourcing your IT strategy needs can dramatically enhance your business’ growth and revenue. Leveraging the expertise of an experienced team it IT strategists will ensure that your technology infrastructure will align with your business goals, leading to increased productivity and opportunity for innovation.
This approach will allow your internal team to focus on their tasks and get the best use out of their resources. Additionally, outsourcing can convert fixed IT costs to variable ones, optimizing resource allocation and reducing overhead. Partnering with Applied Tech will provide access to the latest technological advancements and offer strategic insights tailored to your unique business goals, positioning your company for sustained growth and success. Contact us today to learn how we can help create a comprehensive IT strategy to propel your business to success.

About Applied Tech
Applied Tech is a leading IT and cybersecurity services provider dedicated to helping businesses protect their digital assets. Our proactive and strategic services include cloud management, security, productivity, and IT growth strategy. With a team of experienced professionals, we provide unique solutions tailored to your IT needs.
Protect your business with Applied Tech’s fully managed IT services, co-managed support, and security assistance. With IT services focused on your business goals, keep your team productive and your data secure.