IT management | IT strategy | IT governance | technology leadership | digital transformation | FinOps | AI governance
What You Will Learn:
- Build an IT strategy that follows business goals, assess your technology maturity and write a 3-5 year roadmap
- Run IT governance properly using ITIL, COBIT and ISO, and manage a project portfolio across agile, waterfall and hybrid
- Read a cloud bill, allocate costs by team and product, and cut spend through rightsizing, autoscaling and commitments
- Prioritise AI initiatives by impact, feasibility and risk, and decide build, buy or partner for each one
- Choose an architecture and technology stack, and explain the choice to people who do not write code
- Set operational metrics that get acted on: input, output and outcome indicators with actual owners
- Manage vendors, outsourcing and the DevOps, SecOps and ITSM structure underneath you
- Calculate the ROI of technology spend and present it to a CEO or a board without hiding behind jargon
- Learn alongside Mike’s 1.6 million students from 185 countries
- Get the author’s experience from Preply, Wargaming, iDeals and Alfa-Bank
Overview: The Bridge Between Code and the Boardroom
Let’s be real for a second: most “IT Management” training is about as exciting as watching paint dry on a server rack. You usually get a dry recitation of ITIL definitions or high-level fluff that doesn’t help when a CEO asks why the AWS bill doubled overnight. Mike’s course, IT Management: IT Strategy, Governance, FinOps and AI, is a massive departure from that norm. Having spent years in the trenches of digital transformation, I can tell you that the transition from a “tech guy” to a “tech leader” is where most careers plateau. This course is essentially a survival manual for that exact transition.
What struck me most was the lack of academic pretension. Mike draws on his real-world projects at places like Wargaming and Preply to explain not just how to build a roadmap, but how to defend it when the budget gets slashed. It’s a beginner to advanced journey that treats IT as a value driver, not just a cost center. We’ve all seen “AI” slapped onto course titles lately as clickbait, but the AI governance section here is actually pragmatic—it’s about risk and feasibility, not hype. It’s about learning to say “no” to a shiny AI tool if it doesn’t move the needle on business goals.
Prerequisites: Who Should Actually Sign Up?
You don’t need to be a Senior Architect to get value here, but you shouldn’t be a total greenhorn either. The course is perfect for mid-level professionals looking for career growth.
- Foundational Tech Knowledge: You should know what a cloud environment is and the basic lifecycle of software development.
- Business Curiosity: If you hate the idea of looking at a spreadsheet or a cloud bill, this might be a wake-up call, because that’s the job.
- Aspirations for Leadership: Ideal for Senior Devs, Sysadmins, or Project Managers aiming for technology leadership roles like CTO or Head of IT.
Skills & Tools: The Modern Leader’s Utility Belt
This isn’t just a lecture series; it’s a toolkit of industry-standard tools and frameworks. You aren’t just learning theory; you’re getting job-ready skills that apply to Monday morning meetings.
- Strategic Frameworks: Mastering COBIT, ISO, and ITIL without the typical boredom, focusing on how they actually provide guardrails for a scaling company.
- FinOps & Cloud Economics: Learning how to perform rightsizing and autoscaling to keep CFOs happy—this is a high-demand skill in 2024.
- Portfolio Management: Balancing agile delivery with waterfall requirements in a hybrid environment.
- Performance Metrics: Moving beyond “uptime” to actual outcome indicators that the C-suite cares about.
- Communication: The “soft” skill of explaining a complex technology stack to non-technical stakeholders without using a single line of jargon.
Career Benefits & Job Roles: Leveling Up
Completing this course doesn’t just add a line to your LinkedIn; it changes how you interview. When you can talk about the ROI of technology spend and vendor management, you stop being seen as a “resource” and start being seen as a “partner.” This is excellent certification prep for those looking to move into:
- CTO / VP of Engineering: For those needing to align tech with 3-5 year business roadmaps.
- IT Director / Manager: For managing the DevOps and SecOps structures effectively.
- FinOps Practitioner: A booming niche for those who want to specialize in cloud cost optimization.
- Digital Transformation Lead: Guiding legacy companies into the modern era using AI initiatives and hybrid cloud strategies.
Pros: Why It Stands Out
- The ROI Focus: Most tech courses ignore the money. Mike teaches you how to calculate ROI and present it to a board. That skill alone is worth the price of admission.
- FinOps Integration: In an era of runaway cloud costs, the hands-on labs style of dissecting a cloud bill and allocating costs by product is incredibly timely.
- No Jargon Policy: Mike emphasizes “speaking human.” He shows you how to choose an architecture and explain it to people who don’t write code, which is the “secret sauce” of successful tech executives.
- Global Perspective: Learning from an instructor with 1.6 million students across 185 countries means the examples provided are globally relevant, covering different scales and market types.
Cons: The Honest Take
If there’s one downside, it’s the sheer breadth of the content. Because it covers everything from ITIL to AI governance to FinOps, it can feel a bit like a firehose of information. If you are looking for a 20-hour deep dive exclusively into the technical minutiae of AWS billing, you might find the FinOps section too concise. It’s a management course first, meaning it prioritizes “how to lead it” over “how to click the buttons.”