As 2007 moves into our collective rear view mirror, businesses everywhere are putting the finishing touches on their planning and resolutions for 2008. Resolutions like picking up a set number of new accounts. Cutting costs. Boosting efficiency. The list goes on and on.
However, many companies may not fully examine how technology is necessary for achieving their business objectives. Leaving the technology side of the equation to chance can be a very frustrating and costly mistake. It can make it appear that technology is holding your company back from achieving objectives. Or, that technology seems to be working against you, not for you as it should.
At many companies, the technology staff or partners aren’t involved in the business planning. What happens next is predictable. Management approaches their IT staff towards the end of the planning process saying, “We need to make this happen.” IT’s response? “That’s easier said than done. We’ve got to do X, Y and Z. We might not be able to meet the time frame, and we’ll need to spend X amount of money to make that happen.”
Management’s frustration at that point is also predictable.
If IT is involved in the business planning, they can give you a heads up early on that, “We’re not in position to do that. If we want to support that business objective we’ll need to review our resources, equipment, software, providers, etc.”
Let’s take a closer look at the Top 5 New Years Technology Resolutions that companies of all sizes should be making for 2008.
1. Assess how well your technology supports your business objectives.
How well does your technology support your business objectives? You should be able to answer this question decisively off the top of your head. If not, you may be leaving this component of your success to happenstance and chances are good that your technology is under performing. It is important to approach the blending of your technology and business plans from both the business and the technology side of the equation. Educating your technology staff and/or partner about your business’s short and long-term objectives will enable you to position your technology to support your business plan.
This also facilitates discussions about the potential competitive advantages technology can provide your business. These discussions can lead to improved product or service offerings, increased customer satisfaction or improved productivity, just to name a few.
Knowing how technology supports business objectives will ensure your success and involving your technical staff/partners in business planning will pay big dividends.
2. Establish technology policies and procedures to support your business objectives.
Does your business have established technology policies and procedures? What is your company policy with respect to hardware and software lifecycle management? This can help from a budgetary standpoint but, more importantly, it enables your technical staff/partner to avoid obsolescence and increased support headaches. What is your employee computer use policy? Can users install software? Save personal files? What if personal use causes problems? What basic house cleaning or preventative maintenance tasks are users expected to perform?
Management should have documented system-wide technology policies and procedures. If not, you may be opening yourself up to inconsistent technology management that can adversely effect on how well your technology performs. Establishing technology policies and procedures lays the groundwork to ensure consistent business success.
3. Determine best practices to manage and safeguard your vital business data.
Does your business follow best IT practices when managing and safeguarding your vital business data? Do you know what best practices apply to your business? How is your data organized? Where is it stored? Who has access to what and how is access managed? How is your data backed up? Do you have a policy for archiving data? What data is critical? What data is expendable?
In many instances, a company’s storage becomes like your garage at home. If you put on a larger garage you inevitably accumulate more stuff. By managing your data, users become more efficient. In addition, duplication and excess are kept to a minimum, data backup becomes easier to administer and management can be assured that vital business data is secure. Incorporating best practices for data management go a long way to avoid unnecessary surprises.
4. Develop a disaster recovery plan tailored to your business.
Ask yourself: Does your business have a disaster recovery plan? What types of disaster do you need to safeguard your business against? Theft? Natural disaster? Accidental deletion? Viruses? Discussing the threats or liabilities to your business is the first step to developing a disaster recovery plan. The second step is for your technical staff/partner to identify what steps will be required to recover from each scenario. Will you need to purchase new equipment? Re-install the operating system and users? Restore data? Recent industry studies show that a large percentage of businesses don’t have adequate documented disaster recovery plans. Developing a disaster recovery plan for your business will help keep you productive in the event of a disaster.
5. Monitor your system to develop performance standards and safeguard against failure.
By monitoring items such as system availability, load, capacities and other vital statistics you can develop performance standards over a period of time. In addition to illustrating trends, system monitoring provides the ability to estimate future performance. This can be valuable information to support your future business objectives.
Monitoring can also warn against future failure. By setting warning thresholds on items such as system load, capacity or temperature, your technical staff/partner can be warned before a failure occurs. The information gathered from monitoring your system will ensure quality business decision-making as well as proactively reduce downtime.
The bottom line? Include your IT staff and/or technology partner as you develop your business plan for 2008. You’ll have the peace of mind in knowing that your technology will be sufficient to help you take your business where you want it to go.
