First impressions matter. The first day of a new job can be daunting, especially in a post-2020 world. Back in 2019, you might have asked yourself questions like: is this office going to be open-concept or a bunch of cubicles? Will I get to sit near a window with some natural light or are they going to stick me next to the bathroom? Now new hires ponder questions like: what will my digital work environment look like? Will IT send me a new laptop, camera, and speakers?

Have you ever seen one of those old war movies where some grizzled veteran is whispered to have the fabled ‘1,000-yard stare’? Well, you need to keep an eye for it among IT teams too. IT Support Fatigue was already a very real problem before the pandemic, and has only become more severe in the months since. It’s an issue we explored in the Nexthink Pulse Report.

Fair warning, I tried to avoid using the obligatory good news, bad news opener for this article, but I couldn’t help myself. It’s just that we sort of are living in the age of good news, bad news. Especially when it comes to IT support and remote work. So here it goes. First, the good news: If you work in IT support, your colleagues need your expertise now more than ever before.

Let’s face it: when it comes to managing a work-from-home setup, IT has a lot of problems they don’t know how to solve. It’s not for lack of effort – there just don’t seem to be many practical solutions out there that can alleviate their new remote work-induced headaches. It was tough enough getting everyone up and running in home offices. Now, IT is all but drowning in tickets (a majority of tech leaders have reported ticketing increases up to 50%).

Over the past year, the pandemic has created a number of new IT challenges, spurred on by the sudden shift to remote work. On the bright side: in the wake of these developments, companies across the globe have taken huge leaps in terms of their IT strategies. One such company is Paddy Power Betfair. When the Irish betting company Paddy Power merged with Betfair in 2016, they created one of the most powerful and unique brands in the world of online gambling.

Early this month, Microsoft will host the second part of its Ignite conference aimed at IT professionals and developers. The livestreamed event, which begins on March 2, will feature a number of exciting trends in technology innovation, but the industry has its sights on one element in particular: a presentation on mixed reality.