Tell me if this has ever happened to you: you invest in a high-priced technology solution, only to find that the solution isn’t what your business needs. The technology is effectively a “lemon,” where it costs your business a lot of money without any real return on the investment. This sometimes happens when you use technology to fix a short-term problem without a clear long-term strategy; you lose money and productivity due to incompatibility issues, and without a strategic roadmap to move forward, you’re left wondering where you’ve gone wrong.
It doesn’t have to be this way. With the right approach, you can improve productivity and make sure future investments can take your business to the next level.
Why Reactive Purchasing Creates Major Problems
Reactive technology purchases impact operations in the following ways:
- Unexpected obsolescence – Last-minute purchases can lead to you accidentally purchasing technology approaching its end of life. You might just have to purchase replacements soon after, resulting in more unnecessary expenses.
- Compatibility conundrums – Similarly, you might purchase technology that is incompatible or awkward to implement with your current infrastructure. Established tools might not speak to the new solutions, which impact operations. This can be avoided by taking your time and doing your research ahead of any new purchase.
- Ballooning budgets – It’s hard to predict how much money a solution will cost, even when you’re being mindful of the future. When you rush to implement a new tool, you’re risking even more. Your budget doesn’t have the luxury of making these kinds of costly mistakes.
You can avoid these consequences by implementing and sticking to the right roadmap.
Building the Ideal IT Roadmap
To build your IT roadmap, follow three simple steps, as outlined below:
Assessment
Before you take any drastic action, you must know what you’re working with. Take a comprehensive look at what technology your business has, how well it performs, and how secure the systems are. Ideally, this gives you a starting point so you can make informed decisions, but more importantly, it gives you space to prioritize where you might not have had the information to do so before.
Alignment
Now that you have your projects, it’s time to determine how well these projects position you to accomplish your goals. For example, if you want your business equipped for remote and hybrid work, you’ll want to invest in cloud migration. If you’re trying to stabilize your IT costs, you might consider a subscription or service-based model. Ultimately, you want to make decisions based on sound reason and relevance to your business’ goals.
Allocation
It’s almost time to start your projects, but first, you need to build out a timeline that takes into account resource allocation. We’re talking about the costs associated with the implementation, the human resources needed to carry it out, and the hardware and software you’ll have to implement.
Ditch the Lemons and Make Lemonade with Your New MSP
A poor IT implementation can leave a sour taste in your mouth, but working with technicians who know what they’re doing is as sweet as can be. We at North Central Technologies can help your business more effectively carry out any IT project. Learn more by calling us today at 978-798-6805.
