It may be time for your company to create a strategic IT plan
It is understandable why many companies have taken an ad hoc approach to technology. A usual scenario is that as business needs developed and technology provided the best solutions, automation was implemented without creating an overall, company-wide plan.
As a result, many companies find all their different hardware and software may not communicate together. What’s worse, lack of integration can leave you more vulnerable to security risks. For these reasons, some businesses reach a point where they decide to implement a strategic IT plan.
Setting objectives
The objective of a strategic IT plan is to — over a stated period — roll out consistent, integrated, and secure hardware and software. In doing so, you’ll likely eliminate many of the security dangers wrought by lack of integration, while streamlining data-processing efficiency.
To get started, define your IT objectives. Identify not only the weaknesses of your current infrastructure, but also opportunities to improve it. Employee feedback is key: Find out who’s using what and why it works for them. Also, figure out what isn’t working and why it isn’t working.
From a financial perspective, estimate a reasonable return on investment that includes a payback timetable for technology expenditures. Be sure your projections factor in both:
- Hard savings, such as eliminating redundant software or outdated processes, and
- Soft benefits, such as being able to more quickly and accurately share data within the office as well as externally (for example, from sales calls).
Also calculate the price of doing nothing. Describe the risks and potential costs of falling behind or failing to get ahead of competitors technologically.
Working in phases
When you’re ready to implement your strategic IT plan, devise a reasonable and patient time line. Ideally, there should be no need to rush. You can take a phased approach, perhaps laying the foundation with a new server and then installing consistent, integrated applications on top of it.
A phased implementation can also help you stay within budget. You’ll need to have a good idea of how much the total project will cost. But you can still allow flexibility for making measured progress without putting your cash flow at risk.
Bringing it all together
There’s nothing wrong or unusual about wandering the vast landscape of today’s business technology. But, at some point, every company should at least consider bringing all their bits and bytes under one roof.
Need help. Please contact Reggie Novak, CPA, CFE, Ciuni & Panichi, Inc. senior manager, at rnovak@cp-advisors.com or 216-831-7171 for help managing your IT spending in a measured, strategic way.
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