Are you looking to integrate technology to boost your business growth? Do manual processes slow down your staff? Do you need deeper customer insights to aid in strategic planning? Are you still using outdated legacy applications?
Your IT landscape needs to be able to keep up with both your current and future business needs. Many organisations face this challenge when trying to align their IT strategy with their business strategy. While some believe that installing a new system (ERP, CRM, etc.) will solve all their problems, a more comprehensive approach is necessary to achieve optimal results. Here are some recommendations to consider before making the leap:
1. Build a sustainable IT infrastructure.
- Assess your current systems and determine if they are sustainable.
- Ensure that they can communicate with each other.
- Map out the functions of each system and decide if you want to stay on-premises, move to the cloud, or utilise apps.
- Evaluate your compute resource utilisation, storage and networking needs, as well as your carbon and energy footprint.
- Partnering with an experienced provider to gather relevant information and make recommendations can save you time and money.
2. Secure buy-in from stakeholders to build a strong case.
- Involve them in the process to gain valuable insights into the issues and manual processes they use to overcome systems limitations. They can also help you stay organised and keep up with the competition.
- Conduct workshops to gather their ideas and use them to select a suitable partner.
- Avoid the common pitfall of choosing tools without considering their long-term benefits or ROI.
- An independent review can prevent frustration and disappointment.
3. Consider the future impact of growth.
- If staff spend a lot of time on repetitive tasks, imagine how this will change if you expand your operation or customer base. Align your IT strategy with your business strategy to ensure scalability.
- Identify the features and processes that your applications need and select technology that supports them.
- Promote adoption and efficiency by involving end-users in customising solutions to fit their internal processes.
4. Ensure integration capabilities between information systems.
- Avoid siloed applications by ensuring that systems can easily share information.
- Seek out systems that can integrate seamlessly within the same family or ecosystem, reducing development costs.
5. Prioritise cyber security.
- Cyber-attacks are a serious threat to sensitive data, and proper cyber hygiene goes beyond just training employees. Consider regular penetration testing and the security practices of your technology vendors.
6. Choose the right IT service provider.
- Create a report outlining your company's requirements and look for a provider with the appropriate skills and capabilities.
- Consider their length of time in business, location of resources, and availability of local support.
- Ask for references, recent projects, and the value of their projects.
- Evaluate their response time and accuracy of communication.
- The closer you and your provider are aligned, the more successful your partnership will be.
Professional Advantage (PA) can partner with your business to help you achieve more with technology. Whether you are moving to the cloud, supporting your infrastructure, or conducting workshops to gain insights, PA is a Microsoft trusted partner with a three-decade-long history of success and offices around the world. Contact us for more information.
