Three Things You SHOULDN’T Do With Your IT Strategy In 2016

Every year, right about this time, we start getting “shoulded” to death – each January, we’re inundated with goals we should set, choices we should make and things we should be doing to be better, healthier people in the New Year. Instead, I’ve put together a list of things you SHOULDN’T be doing with your IT strategy in the coming year. It’s my hope that these “anti-goals” will serve to help you as you move forward with your business’s IT strategy – and help you and your team to be more productive and profitable in 2016! 1. Stop Trusting Your IT Team Your team is great – we don’t doubt that. But when have they been tested? When is the last time your systems and processes have really been put through their paces? Just like with any well-oiled machine, a regular diagnostic check is critical to ensure your IT engine keeps running smoothly. And with the ever-changing nature of technology, last year’s test may not be up to speed. Along with a well-designed enterprise architecture plan, we strongly recommend a regular assessment of your tools, systems, processes and your team’s capabilities. Perform actions like external intrusion tests and infrastructure audits to ensure that your systems are running as securely and smoothly as possible. Even if you’re happy with your current state of IT affairs, it’s essential that you get an independent second opinion from time to time. That system you implemented years ago may not be the best way for you to manage your information anymore and the solution you don’t know to ask for may be the one that saves you money and time in the long-term. With greater efficiency comes greater profitability, so let’s make sure you’re not missing out on strategies that can save you future pain and make your teams more productive than ever. 2. Don’t Get Mired In Inefficiencies Even something as simple as purchasing toner can be a headache for your team – it’s an ongoing expense and no one likes to change out the cartridge. Implementing paperless workflow processes and storing key documents online ensures that everyone can access important documents easily – and that no one ends up with ink on their hands. By the same token, this should be the year that you stop managing your company from an Excel document you keep on your desktop. Enterprise business systems are designed to keep your information available, make it manageable, streamline your practices and ensure that your employees are just as invested in your company processes as you are. There’s no reason for each department to have to research, purchase, and pay the bill for their own IT support tools when enterprise solutions are employed and managed properly. Perhaps more importantly, there’s no need to hire more employees to handle increased workload when the team you already have in place has the tools they need to work smarter and faster. 3. Quit Selling Yourself (And Your IT Strategy) Short We hear it time and time again – IT solutions are too expensive, so we’re just going to keep bootstrapping it until next month. Next quarter. Next year. But think of how much money you could save, simply by eliminating some of those costly annual support invoices, or how much time and effort could be redirected to more profitable endeavors if your teams were able to manage their projects in a dynamic, collaborative online space. Think of how easily you can strategize for the coming year with key metrics being tracked in a Key Performance Indicator Dashboard. To say nothing of the peace of mind you’ll have, knowing that your business data is safe and secure in the cloud, rather than housed onsite. In looking at the long-term benefits of an enterprise business solutions strategy, you have an opportunity to realize significant gains for you and your team. That’s something your organization deserves now – not months in the future. To learn more about how Tricension can help your organization, contact us today.