Developing Your Business s Technology Strategy

Transcription

1 Developing Your Business s Technology Strategy Learn how you can build and implement an effective IT strategy to aid in your business s growth in the coming year and beyond.

2 Table of Contents Introduction / 3 Developing Your Technology Strategy / 4 Begin with the End in Mind / 4 Align Technology and Business Objectives / 4 Budget for Support and Maintenance / 5 Encompass a Holistic Approach / 5 Capital Expenditures versus Operating Expenditures / 6 Simple is Better / 6 Resources / 7 DEVELOPING YOUR BUSINESS S TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY 2

3 Introduction It s almost that time again the beginning of a new year which means you are most likely in the throes of executing on your business plans built last year. Undoubtedly, one of the integral pieces of your plan is your company s technology strategy. You do have one, don t you? As you may know, this strategy should go beyond simply including technology in your budget and should be well thought out in order to meet your company s current and future needs. It s imperative that your business technology plan is created and compared against your organization s overall strategic and tactical goals, and revised accordingly. Technology has become a vital component of growth-oriented companies and aligning technology with business objectives is crucial to future business health. As you re developing your company s technology strategy, there are a few things you should keep in mind in order to ensure its effectiveness to help your company s growth next year and beyond. DEVELOPING YOUR BUSINESS S TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY 3

4 Developing Your Technology Strategy 1 Begin with the End in Mind. When developing your business s technology strategy, it s important to think about the big picture and determine what it is you re hoping to achieve from your technology investments. If you don t have a clear understanding of where you see your business operation in the next three years, chances are the money invested in your business s technology won t be nearly as effective as it could be if your technology plan closely aligns with your business plan. 2 Align Technology with Business Objectives. There are revenue driving and revenue supporting initiatives in every business. Ask yourself a few simple questions to determine if your technology plan aligns with your business plan: Does my business technology help make my revenue generation efforts more impactful by empowering my teams to drive revenue without hassle? Do my employees deal with IT support issues often and become frustrated by the lack of functionality, or are they operating my business technology at peak performance and being as productive as possible? Do I know how many employees I will have in the next three years and do I understand what my associated IT costs are per employee per year? If you do not have basic answers to these simple questions, most likely there are risk and productivity issues associated with your business technology. Productive, high-performing employees want modern technology, basic application functionality, and the ability to work on any device at any location at any time. By leveraging technology to empower your people, your business will benefit tremendously from keeping your technology healthy and aligned with business plans. DEVELOPING YOUR BUSINESS S TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY 4

5 3 Budget for Support and Maintenance. One big mistake many companies make is that while they may include new equipment in their capital budget, they fail to budget for the real costs of support and maintenance of their technology. It s vital to plan for the real cost of technology support, which includes the management of your business s applications, infrastructure, and people. When best practices for extending the life of technology are not properly defined, implemented, and managed, the cost to support them increases dramatically, employee productivity decreases, and overall capital expenses increase over time. Here are a few important considerations to keep in mind when developing your strategy: Support for your employees in the day-to-day to keep your (usually) most important asset productive. Hands-on and automated preventative maintenance to extend the useful life of your equipment. Building and managing IT processes to keep your systems in alignment with standards. IT evolution and enhancements to improve your technology and asset lifecycle planning to replace equipment on an as needed basis. 4 Encompass a Holistic Approach. Your technology strategy should include an overall plan, a budget, and a detailed timeline. Many businesses make the mistake of planning three years in advance, which proves to be detrimental to the overall efficiency and productivity of the business due to outdated equipment and software. Technology typically evolves every 18 months so it s imperative your organization stays ahead of the curve. A one-year technology plan provides enough structure to know where you will be going in the coming year, but also allows you to plan for necessary changes as technology changes. Elements of your plan should include both functional and operational elements: Cyber security policy and related technologies Backup disaster recovery technologies and associated test plans DEVELOPING YOUR BUSINESS S TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY 5

6 Business intelligence and tools, which can produce business information on demand Cloud computing solutions, where appropriate (private or public cloud) Marketing automation and customer relationship management (CRM) software to help drive and support your revenues. Your technology strategy should also include a plan to monitor and track leading and lagging indicators including profit and loss, sales and marketing metrics, and overall effectiveness and efficiency rates in your business operation. 5 Capital Expenditures versus Operating Expenditures Know What to Expect from Your Investment in Technology. A key piece to keep in mind when building your technology strategy and budget is to think about capital expenditures versus operating expenditures. Businesses tend to struggle to accurately account for technology expenses, so it s important to include someone in the conversation who is experienced with not just budgeting, but budgeting for technology expenses. This person may be part of your financial team or may be a professional who can offer sound advice to ensure your technology strategy aligns with your business s overall goals and budget. 6 Simple is Better. Your technology strategy should be thorough, but it s extremely important to make sure it s not overly complex. It s easy for businesses to try to include so much information in their plan that it becomes complicated, making it difficult to communicate the strategy with stakeholders and employees. If you can t explain your plan to the key players in your company, it will be nearly impossible to get them fully on board with your technology plans for the coming year. By keeping things simple, you can ensure everyone not only understands, but also supports the vision for your business s technology. DEVELOPING YOUR BUSINESS S TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY 6

7 Resources Still have questions about developing your business s technology strategy? Contact us today to schedule a complimentary consultation and learn how we can help build and implement a successful strategy to aid in your company s growth next year and beyond Browning Road, Suite 118 Pennsauken, NJ DEVELOPING YOUR BUSINESS S TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY 7