"5 Key Strategies your IT company won't tell you"
When browsing the lineup for the recent National Bank Seminar Series at the Christchurch Bizzone Business Expo, I happened across one seminar that as a marketer for an IT company, I knew I quite simply had to attend!
The said Seminar was titled "5 key strategies your IT company won't tell you" - to be presented by Peter Thomas of offsite computer backup specialists, Nexus Data.
Sitting as innocently as possible in the crowd at said seminar, I realised pretty quickly that coming along was a good decision - everything Peter was saying made perfect sense (in my head and in terms of what Olympic is about). The underlying message was encouraging businesses to consider IT strategically - and to do so with the help of an IT Partner.
Strategy 1) Start with the plan - the technology will follow
What's your business' IT Strategy? If you're like the majority of NZ businesses, you won't have one. The thing is such strategy need not be complicated - something less than a page in length is optimal.
An example may be wanting to be completely transparent to your customers within 2 years - translating this to IT initiatives might mean making all your invoicing and payment electronic, or providing your clients with personalised portals for click-through access of work in progress information etc.
Another common example would be the desire to have an IT setup that allows your workforce the ability to work just as productively from home (or on the road), as they would from the office. Think mobile, remote access etc.
Once your plan is in place you have something to weigh every IT purchase decision against - if the purchase won't support the plan don't do it!
Strategy 2) Sack your IT company and find an IT partner
Assess what you need from technology in order to enhance your competitiveness (what do you need in order to implement the plan), and find a provider that can partner with you to support implementation of this vision.
Chances are, your current provider may be perfect - you just need to start thinking of them differently.
Have a strategy meeting with them at least once a year. Their approach to this may be a good sign as to their suitability as a partner. At Olympic for example, strategy meetings are a key component of our client care offering, and something that we vigorously encourage!
Peter also noted cloud computing, and the fact that as this technology becomes more and more common, IT consultants will provide less and less hardware and software (as this will all be provided through the cloud) and more and more services - training, consultative advice and support. Find a company that you think will not only survive, but prosper in the 'to-be' service-over-technology oriented IT Industry.
Strategy 3) Don't be a distressed buyer
All too often IT purchase decisions are made reactively rather than pro-actively. Something breaks and so must be fixed as quickly as possible...and if there's no IT Strategy in place... well you get the drift.
Don't rush into IT purchases simply out of necessity - be more organised than that! And if something is 'working' it doesn't mean it's optimal. What is optimal is a solution set that 'reduces costs, improves efficiency and helps make money'.
We IT companies are always preaching that our solutions can do these three things for you - not only because it sounds good, but because it's the truth. Partner with the right company, care enough about the strategy, and we'll show you how - promise.
Peter also notes that there's little value in shopping around - if you've got the right partner you shouldn't need to. And from your perspective, if you're shopping around with the intention of saving money, keep in mind that a collection of ad-hoc systems might cost you less up front - but systems that don't talk to each other will cost you money in wasted time every day.
Strategy 4) Learn from the Home
Twitter, Facebook, Skype - a very small selection of literally hundreds of communication tools your staff are more than likely using at home. Well, at least 1 in 12 of them is using Facebook anyway! And yet at work, more often than not the norm is still faxes, letters, the phone - why not move your business to today's world?
Yes, the social media world is a wee bit scary, but the business reality is that heaps of these tools are free and more engaging than traditional communication means - cheaper and more effective, surely worth exploring at least?
Strategy 5) Don't waste a perfectly good recession
In short..
- Your competitors (and suppliers) are struggling too - take advantage while you can!!!
- This will be over soon, get at the starting blocks and crouch...
- Now is a good time to take stock
- Work on what you can, with what budget you have
- Do something or get left behind!
Peter rounded off his talk with this analogy: it's very likely your business has been burnt by an IT purchase in the past, so you're cautious toward any possible further risk...understandable, but who's had more than one relationship - everyone right? Treat IT the same - get over it and move on; because unless you take the IT plunge, your business will be left behind.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Peter for imparting this common-sense approach to IT to the wider community, and for allowing me to publish his thoughts in this format. Please note that what I have included above is only the bones of his original presentation, and is by no means word-for-word correct.
And so to finish up, if you think it might be time you sat down and had a think about how IT will help your business moving forward, and you want a hand, don't be scared to contact us at Olympic, we'd be glad to hear from you!