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Let us help you. We’ve done this a few times before, and we know how projects come together.
When planning for the future, it’s best not to rush headlong into things. A seamless transition to a next-generation network, a new system of tools using the latest technology, or migrating servers into a virtual infrastructure is key to the continued success and growth of your business — without hiccups, half measures, or other holdups. We know what options are out there for your business, and we do the research to see how the choices you make will fit together. We’ll show you what we find to help you make an informed decision.
If you’re thinking about a new network and want help planning for the kind of growth you expect, we can help you plan your entire IT strategy. We’ll help you visualize the entire network and server architecture and implement the plan — as simple or complex a job as you like, whether everyone needs a new workstation or the whole team needs a new network to connect them all together.
We can also help you think about other changes your business may need to make. Axis can evaluate the products and services you’ll need, and take the mystery out of why option X is less expensive than option Y in the short term, but neither is as good as Z at any price — and we’ll tell you why.
Developments in technology have come faster than ever, and the widespread adoption of these changes has accelerated too. While available technologies often improve processes and efficiency, they can force the pace on small to mid-size businesses that may not want to incorporate every shift as it happens — particularly when the IT budget wasn’t planned for abrupt updates, and even forward-thinking managers get caught unawares.
The key to an effective IT strategy is to pair it closely with the overall strategic plan for the business. If these two plans stick together, there’s a reduced need for sharp changes in direction down the road. If the business strategy undergoes a review in Q3 to adjust projections, the IT strategy should get a close look too — not just a line item on a budget spreadsheet getting cut or increased along with every other cost center, and definitely not left out of those moves entirely.
If a company has an IT strategic plan — especially a small to mid-size company — they’re already ahead of the curve. Now comes the hard part: the plan should live on your desktop, open more than it’s closed, since plans are executed by people, and people remember what they want to remember. Here’s how to build a plan that actually works as a roadmap to success.
Don't just look at a wish list of technologies and base plans on how much money is allocated. Treat the IT plan as an integral part of the business roadmap for the coming year, two years, five years. When the business plan is reviewed in light of market changes, review the IT strategy too — preferably with the same people involved, so the team gets full buy-in with all the nuance considered.
If a business has an existing IT plan, keep it close at hand when developing the next version. Even if a predecessor wrote it, it has value as a comparison of what was planned versus what was implemented — the benefit of hindsight. Consider the "whys" of what was included, whether or not the original thinking still holds today.
A strategy needs the details that make it work, so it should be comprehensive — existing and prospective partnerships, personnel, organizational details, requirements, and a timeframe to move forward. If there are gaps, fill them in as well as possible, but don't dwell on them until the rest of the plan goes stale. Come back to them later.
Approach the plan for what it is — a strategy for how technology can help the business achieve its goals — and it should come together quickly. The more time a team invests in developing a plan, the less willing it becomes to deviate from it. Write the plan quickly based on facts and good assumptions, then revisit it soon to adjust, always in conjunction with the plan for the business.
Smart managers choose their indicators and track them. When they adjust their plans, they have numbers to review, and can understand why targets were hit or missed. The adjustments should help hit those goals, or allow different indicators to be measured as the mission changes.
Every company that uses anything from a computer network to individual workstations can benefit from analyzing the costs associated with the systems in place — and the network can hold up a mirror to the health of the entire business.
Any management team that plans strategy for one department without considering the whole business is looking for trouble. One client of ours became very aware of this when they reviewed their business and understood real costs as opposed to perceived expenditure.
Managers don’t like to spend money unnecessarily, which is why budgets exist. But what’s harder to see, because businesses don’t go looking for it, is the exorbitant cost of not spending IT money — the hidden inefficiencies that get accepted for so long they just become “the cost of doing business.”
Hardware expenditure is usually the sticking point, since it’s a large upfront cost guaranteed to become obsolete over time. Managers who avoid the expense on those grounds invariably fail to look at the flipside: the equipment their team uses every day has already become obsolete. The same goes for a network server — the hardware may last a long time, but has it matched the company’s growth? A sales team that’s doubled from ten to twenty users in four years, now running a CRM everyone touches daily, puts very different demands on that same server.
Everything is still technically working, so why tinker with it? Part of the answer is anxiety — clients who’ve had bad experiences with a previous IT provider know upgrades can become a major headache, with downtime to plan around and contingency plans for problems that weren’t foreseen.
If a company’s managers look at IT strategically, they can consider the realistic lifespan of their equipment and upgrade regularly, avoiding the threat of obsolescence — and the resulting staff efficiency can mean not needing to hire new personnel, since the existing team works more effectively and burns out less often waiting on slow systems.
Perhaps most importantly, the initial spend often results in savings. If a slow machine costs each employee ten extra minutes of start-up time a day compared to five minutes or less on a new one, multiply that gap by the number of employees and the roughly 261 working days in a year — and that savings is realized before the workday even begins. It’s a simplification, but many hardworking people have simply become accustomed to delays and workarounds just to keep up.
At Axis Computer Networks, we take a consultative approach to every client — there’s no one-size-fits-all solution:
Efficiency shows up on spreadsheets, provided those running the business are willing to take a hard look at what’s really happening. With a strategic IT plan in place, a company can look at its technology as an investment rather than an expense — and use it to pull its own weight, supporting the other investments: people, products, and service.
No obligation — just an honest look at what would actually move your business forward.
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