Owners and executives of small and medium size businesses want their business to grow and flourish. In today’s business environment, that means leveraging technology to improve productivity—and encourage growth. However, it’s not enough to load a few of the latest apps on your employees’ devices. To get the most from your technology investments, businesses of all sizes must create and utilize a thoughtful IT strategy.
For many organizations without experience in developing a strategy for leveraging technology to maximize business results, IT strategy consulting from an experienced provider like Tolar Systems is an important step toward ensuring that your technology delivers the results your business expects.
What is IT Strategy?
An IT strategy is a comprehensive plan that outlines how a business will use technology to meet its technology and business goals. An IT strategy is usually a written document that discusses the many facets that affect an organization’s technology investment and use. A complete IT strategy covers all facets of technology management, including:
- Costs
- Human capital
- Hardware
- Software
- Vendors
- Risk management
A complete IT strategy allows your business to plan for and adapt to changes in the business environment, such as:
- New organizational circumstances such as growth or change in ownership
- Market/industry conditions
- Business priorities/objectives
- Budgetary constraints
- Available skill sets and core competencies
- Technological advances
- User needs and customer demands
IT strategy consulting results in comprehensive documentation that should include the following key elements:
- A high-level overview of your company’s IT department, mission, core values, objectives and approaches to accomplishing its goals
- Current budgets and projected spending
- Outline of current and future IT projects
- Catalog of existing IT architecture
- Capabilities and capacities
- Future needs and requirements with details about staffing and other resources
- Analysis of technology strengths and weaknesses
- List of internal and external forces that impact your small business’ technology requirements
- Prediction of the potential opportunities and vulnerabilities that will necessitate technology responses to position your business for success
An IT strategy has become a critical element for organizational leadership in recent years. As technology becomes increasingly important in the business world, it’s becoming more valuable than ever to have an IT strategy to focus your organization on digital transformation and thriving in today’s digital era.
A Virtual CIO Can Be Effective
To create and execute an IT strategy, you might consider bringing in a VCIO, or a virtual chief information officer. A VCIO is an IT strategy consultant, such as a managed IT service provider, that serves as your company’s CIO, or chief technology expert.
In a large enterprise, a CIO is tasked with devising a strategy to deploy technology in pursuit of the organization’s business goals. For a small or medium sized business, a VCIO serves in a similar role, assisting with formulating and executing your business’ IT strategy, identifying strategic goals, and providing a vision of how to leverage IT over the next three to five years to maximize results most cost-effectively.
If you have Tolar Systems’ Complete Care, VCIO services are included.
IT Strategy and The Cloud
You might be wondering, “If all of our services are accessed through the cloud, why do I need an IT strategy for that?” The answer is that even with cloud-based IT services, an IT strategy is still crucial. It’s true that the cloud delivers enterprise level IT capabilities, but it’s still important to ensure that your business has a strategic plan to maximize those capabilities, drive innovation and spur growth.
In today’s business environment, IT strategy is an important part of your overall business strategy. A VCIO can help to ensure that your technology investments support your overall business objectives so that your business can flourish.
For more information on how to use IT strategy to help your small business grow, contact Tolar Systems today.
