So, What's Your Plan?

Which plan is that? The one for how all your IT applications work together to help your business succeed. The plan that goes right along with your business plan as one of the important living documents that you read and update every year. The one that details what your business needs to accomplish your mission, whether it's building hotels or building brands through innovative marketing programs. That plan that identifies what IT resources you have, what they do, and how you know they are effective, current, and secure.

If you're mumbling something like, "I know, I'm going to do that one of these days, but I've been busy, and you know how it is." Yes, we do know. After the first rush of getting a business launched, you focus on making it grow. As you need new IT solutions, you buy the software that seems best for the particular task. Only later do you find out that there is no way to export data from one system to another. You upgrade the operating system and then learn that some of your important applications won't run anymore. It happens all the time, and small businesses pay the price in slowed growth and unnecessary cost.

Last week we talked about how small businesses can learn from how large corporations handle their systems. You don't have to have millions of clients and billions of dollars to get the best combination of IT resources; all you need is some solid planning before you start spending. That's what large organizations do; they invest in planning before they spend the first dollar.

A solid IT plan starts with defining all your needs and then identifying the best solutions to meet them. It includes planning for hardware, operating system, and software version upgrades including system security. An important part of planning that is sometimes overlooked is setting the policies that define how the system will be used, and when components will or will not be replaced.

Take for example if you have 10 staff and 5 PCs. Your plan should include a statement regarding how the internet will be controlled, and a policy preventing employees from downloading too much of the wrong thing. Not only could you have a security risk with all those downloads, but you might be blowing your budget on broadband costs, running up $1,000's of unnecessary cost. One method is to remove control of firewall software from the end user and buy a robust router. This centralises control and lets you manage the network. Or consider this: The average total cost of ownership for a PC out of warranty and more than 3 years old is around $600 per year, and even more with lesser known brands. But a new PC with a 3-year warranty is around $1,100. Do the math and you'll find a saving of more than 33% over a 3-year period. It pays to turnover your network hardware when the warranties run out.

Your plan documents all of this so you have a blueprint for growth, doesn't it?. Yes, you can probably do this yourself - if you have the expertise to compare the technical options and understand the complexities of putting together software from different vendors to create the unique package that will serve you best. Or, you can do what larger companies have learned is the easier and more cost-effective way; choose an experienced professional IT implementer to guide you through the maze of possibilities.

So, what's your plan?

At Chill we take the heat out of IT. No matter what pressure you are under, we will always keep our heads and make sure you get back up and running as soon as possible. So don't sweat - Chill IT. Click here for more information on our consulting services.