A little guidance with strategic IT advisory can make the difference between business aspirations and making your business goals a reality. You know where you want to take your business. You have goals for growth and plans to build your business to achieve those goals. But now you need your team to move on from what they have always known and done in the past.
Why is an IT Strategy Important at All?
There was a point in the not-so-distant past where a business could get by with the technology and computer they had, and they could make it work day to day without a clear vision for what they wanted from their tech stack.
Today, the world is getting smaller as technology grows more capable. Businesses and employees from all different industries from all over the world are finding it necessary to be very intentional with what business technologies they are using and how they are investing in new tools now to prepare their teams for the future of work. An IT strategy is just that, a plan to follow that puts your business in line with the best-class processes and practices that utilize the correct combination of advanced technology. Without having a plan to adhere to the risk of overspending, underutilizing, or being left out increases significantly.
How Your Business Technology Affects Your Customers
Let’s face it, as customers ourselves we know by this point what a great customer experience can look like. If a lack of technology or uncoordinated technology is present in your company, your customers will take notice. The best way to ensure that your business is being presented in the best possible light in all interactions is to have a robust IT strategy to include considerations for how to make the user experience of dealing with you as seamless and easy as possible: it matters.
In reality, if you don't have an IT strategy, you run the danger of not being able to give the business the quality of service necessary to achieve business goals. As a result, there is a disconnect between business needs and IT, which could eventually result in a hostile relationship between the two. Consider this: the majority of IT organizations in existence today are reactive. They address IT issues as they arise, including help desk calls, setting up new equipment, access problems, etc. There isn't much time left to look ahead because handling these everyday issues requires so many human and technology resources.
There are Three Key Benefits that Come from Following a Strategic IT Plan:
- Having an IT Strategy Ensures Your Tech is Fully Utilized
Few things are more frustrating for a business owner than to know that even after significant capital investments in your business technology it is not being used fully to get the greatest benefit. No one feels good about wasting money on things that are not being used.
The potential benefits of new or upcoming technology are extensive. Making IT proactive rather than reactive is the goal. With a solid IT strategy in place, IT stops reacting to the business plan and starts contributing to it.
This is not always an easy task. Because they are too busy or preoccupied with daily operations, IT organizations find it difficult to set aside the time required for technological research and innovation. You are so preoccupied with looking in that it is impossible to look out. When it comes to evaluating the overall picture—occurring what's both within and outside—external resources such as strategic IT advisory can be useful.
- Companies may benefit from a competitive advantage.
It is essential for an IT strategy to benefit both the core technology team and the business as a whole. The plan needs to be explicitly in line with how your business functions as well as how your users consume. Due to the fact that their technology is frequently more streamlined, nimble, and efficient, it gives organizations a competitive advantage to grow and be more profitable.
Consider how your own business or the businesses in your neighbourhood are affected by this. For instance, it's likely that you calculated your computing resource requirements and purchased them just three to five years ago. If you required more, even for a little period during a busy season, you had to purchase those as well. Nowadays, businesses can benefit from consumption-based capacity on demand. You only pay for what you actually use, so dial up or down depending on the demand. If done correctly, utilizing on-demand services like this can increase cost-effectiveness, reduce time to market, improve performance at peak periods, and give customers who use the on-demand services a better overall experience.
- Following an IT Strategy Delivers on Business Needs
Organizations will have a comprehensive grasp of the present status of IT from a financial management viewpoint after going through the process of defining an IT strategy. They'll be aware of their available technological capabilities. They will have a roadmap of possible future developments in that technology. This may raise awareness of potential gaps and places to think about.
Why is this crucial? Today, the majority of corporate leaders view IT as a capital investment. Budget figures are matched with those observable, tangible items: what is the turnaround time for IT? Do they fit the budget or not? This viewpoint can shift with an IT strategy.
You should alter the way you explain the plan to others in order to change this way of thinking. The greatest IT plans take a non-technical approach to IT in order to give insight into how well IT is serving the company. The business is more concerned that you are fulfilling demands and adding value than it is about speeds and feeds or if you are on the cloud.
Great, Now How Do We Start Planning Ahead with Our Business Technology?
Understanding your current situation and urgent needs is the first stage in the strategic planning process. How do your finances and service management strategy look? What technical requirements do you have right away? It's also a good idea to pay greater attention to your technological triggers, including both internal and external elements that have an impact on IT. Market fluctuations or changes in the industry are examples of external forces. Acquisitions, certain growth objectives, or other organized occurrences are examples of internal factors. So, are you ready to begin?
Contact us to learn more about implementing an IT strategy in your organization.
