We all understand the value placed on creating strategic plans for our businesses, but why don’t we take the same approach to our IT environment?

IT strategy and planning is one of the most critical yet difficult areas for businesses to get right. IT has moved from being a business enabler to becoming a business driver for success. IT has become such a strong influencer to how we operate in our day-to-day activities and in most cases has made our work and personal lives easier and more manageable. In that case, why don’t we give IT planning the same attention as we do for a traditional business plan?

A well thought-out and strategic IT plan can deliver fundamental competitive advantages in your market as well as provide greater efficiencies within your business. A good IT strategy can provide a balance between business requirements, technical capabilities and support for the financial constraints within IT. Whereas poor IT planning can result in business interruptions and inefficiencies that strangle business effectiveness and productivity.

Most common IT problems tend to arise when the expectations of the business are not met with regards to IT performance. IT issues and complaints for a lot of businesses are a common part of business life, but how your business reacts to these problems will vary significantly to your business development. Your business will normally respond in one of two ways:
1. You react to problems as they arise and pay-as-you-go.
2. You have a strategic plan for IT that aligns with your strategic business plan and have a budget that reflects your business requirements now and in the future.

If you fall into the second category you most likely lead your IT, you are not led by it. You conduct regular audits of your IT spending and conduct a needs analysis to ensure that your IT is in line with your business goals. Whereas if you fall into the first category, you like many other businesses in the SMB/SME community tend to be in a state of constant reaction and are tired of the instability of your IT environment and the way in which you manage it. You act in response to your IT failure rather than proactively maintaining your network or computer systems.

If the latter description matches your business, you are probably of the volition that planning and budgeting for IT is not the most pressing or exciting option to think about with regards to overall business activities. But, the best way to combat this strain and procrastination is to take the same approach to your IT planning as you do to your strategic business plans.

Once you take this approach, you will have an IT framework that does not require you to stop everything you and your staff are doing to fix an issue on the spot or purchase a new piece of hardware to make the problem go away, you will now be able to effectively allocate sufficient funds to new hardware, software and technical support. The small time taken to plan and budget will prove to be highly beneficial in terms of your business cost and time.

Make plans and set budgets today and you will have greater clarity of how your IT should be performing and what it should be costing you. This plan will allow you to prepare for the future and start working proactively to build an IT environment that aligns with your business goals and needs according to your overall strategic business plan.

If you require help with your strategic planning and budgeting for your IT, contact your Andor account manager today