Every business leader knows that the ability to measure is essential for growth. When you can measure productivity, improvement, or return on investment, you can evaluate how well current processes are working and how to improve them. Quantifying x, y, and z number of dollars and cents in revenue gained by any given salesperson, ad campaign, or product makes justifying spending that much simpler.
It’s often easy to put the success of departments and operations like sales and production into numbers, but how do you judge how well your internal IT department is performing? Assessing the impact of your internal IT department can be a bit more challenging.
How Much Does IT Affect Your Company?
One recent survey states that 84% of small enterprises are using at least one digital platform to share their products, and at least 79% are using digital tools to communicate with suppliers and customers.
Taken together, that means that approximately 80% of businesses rely on their IT departments for communications, operations, or both. That also means company performance is tied closely to the effectiveness of its IT department, team, and capabilities.
Assessing the Impact of Your Internal IT Department
How do you judge whether your IT department is performing to its fullest potential? Here are some key questions you should be asking:
Does it seem to cost more than it should?
IT spending will vary from company to company, depending on the number of users you have, your industry, specific software and hardware requirements, and much more. However, it is still possible to calculate the average cost of IT services based on industry standards.
Checking where your budget stands compared to industry averages is a good way to gauge whether your IT department is meeting expectations or is costing you more than it should without returning on the investment.
Do you have confidence in your internal team’s strategic ability?
Does your internal IT staff implement strategic IT plans structured to help the overall growth and productivity of your business, or does your current IT department only serve to fix computer problems when they pop up? Both of those functions are essential, but if your current department is only completing the latter, it’s time to consider how getting strategic IT consulting services can give your business a boost.
Do single points of failure exist?
Constant technology disruptions are a threat to your business productivity. Single points of failure can shut your systems down if just one thing goes wrong. If your system has these types of vulnerabilities that haven’t been addressed, their resolution should be a top priority.
Does your team have the ability to grow with the business effectively?
Your technology’s scalability is key to your business’s ability to grow. Do you have solutions in place that can easily scale, or are you locked into a system that will require revamping your entire infrastructure and adding hard costs?
Additionally, does your IT staff have the ability to grow as your business expands, or do you find yourself needing supplemental support or more specific expertise as time goes on? You need to tailor your IT strategy with growth in mind.
How is your internal IT team keeping up with advancements and automation?
The technology world moves at a breakneck pace. If your IT professionals don’t keep up to date with new improvements, you’ll soon fall behind to competitors that continually update to incorporate new automation technologies. Your team needs to stay current with the latest advancements in security and productivity.
Do you have a backup plan if your critical IT roles are not available?
What would happen if your CIO quit today? There may be times when you need support but your own staff is limited, and the individuals with the specific knowledge you need are unavailable. Does your team have the breadth of knowledge to handle incidents when key players are unavailable?
Is your technology and IT knowledge documented well?
The telltale mark of a true expert is not that they are irreplaceable, but that they can train someone well enough to replace themselves. It does you no good to have an IT strategy in place if that plan isn’t documented well so that it can be continually maintained, implemented, and improved.
Maximize Your IT Department’s Capabilities
If you have these questions about your IT department’s impact and capabilities, contact us for a free consultation. Using technology strategically is a key to growth, but your business may be under focused on utilizing tech for productivity if your IT team is too busy solving daily issues to focus on the big picture.
Tolar Systems serves Texas businesses with skilled IT consulting and managed services. We’re excited to show you how we can work together with your IT department to maximize your business’s capabilities!
