IT Strategy Toolkit: 2026 Guide for IT and HR Leaders

2026 is the year IT operations become fully automated and strategically critical. AI-driven support, unified platforms, and global-first architecture are redefining how companies build and run IT.

How do you not just adapt, but lead?

With a strategic toolkit.

This IT Strategy Toolkit helps you build modern, scalable IT operations for distributed teams. It's a practical guide to evaluating your current setup, identifying automation opportunities, and creating a roadmap for 2026.

Use this toolkit to:

• Future-proof IT against rapid technology changes and distributed work demands
• Automate manual processes and reduce support ticket volume
• Build IT operations that scale globally from day one

What's inside the IT strategy toolkit

This guide explores current IT trends and how they impact operations for distributed teams. It also includes a structured roadmap you can apply to transform your IT operations:

1. Assess your current IT operations: Establish a baseline across device management, security posture, efficiency, employee experience, and visibility.
2. Define your IT goals: Set clear, measurable objectives tied to business growth, operational efficiency, and employee productivity.
3. Evaluate scalability and technology readiness: Review your setup across integrations, automation, data governance, and audit trails.
4. Design your ideal IT setup: Define the operating model, tool stack, support coverage, security architecture, and lifecycle management approach you need.
5. Identify gaps and prioritize improvements: Turn insights into a practical improvement plan based on impact versus effort.
6. Address barriers and allocate resources: Build internal alignment and a business case for the changes that matter most.
7. Implement, measure, and continuously improve: Track KPIs, maintain security and compliance, and optimize continuously.

Who this IT toolkit is for

This IT toolkit is built for IT managers, operations leaders, and People Ops professionals at SMBs and mid-market companies who want to run more efficient, secure, and scalable IT operations for distributed teams.

It's especially useful if you're focused on:

• Managing IT for global or distributed teams without local IT presence in every region
• Consolidating tools and reducing complexity to eliminate inefficiency and improve visibility
• Improving device onboarding and security to protect the business and support employees from day one
• Building IT operations from scratch or scaling existing processes to support growth
• Automating manual work to free your team for strategic initiatives
• Strengthening compliance and audit readiness across multiple jurisdictions

Whether you manage devices for 10 employees or 1,000, work with one vendor or several, or simply want a more strategic, streamlined way to operate, this toolkit gives you a framework you can apply right away.

Simplify IT operations with Deel

The IT Strategy Toolkit shows you how to build a modern IT strategy. Deel IT helps you execute it, locally or globally.

With Deel IT, you can:

• Unify device and app management across 130+ countries on one platform
• Automate the entire device lifecycle from procurement to certified data erasure
• Access 24/7 global support with SLA-backed response times and multilingual coverage
• Integrate with your HRIS and identity systems for automated provisioning and deprovisioning
• Stay audit-ready with secure records, compliance logging, and complete lifecycle documentation
• Deploy devices globally with 99.1% on-time delivery and 3-5 day average timelines
• Extend device life and reduce costs with 96% recovery rate and refurbishment capabilities

Learn more about Deel IT or book a free 30-minute platform walkthrough to see how Deel can support your IT operations.