MSPNetworks Blog

Technology is an incredibly powerful factor when it comes to your business operations, so we wanted to share how a solid IT strategy can make a significant impact on your company. We’ll explore how poor IT implementation and strategy can affect performance, as well as what you need to do to prioritize your IT.

IT Systems are Complicated Beasts

First thing first: you can’t implement an IT strategy without preparing for how complex they are. Most businesses will rely on multiple types of different software solutions and applications, hardware systems, and data types, all of which need to be tied together and connected in a complicated web of integration. This can all be daunting and difficult to do, as the slightest hiccup could impact access or performance.

Allocate Your Resources Effectively

If you want to successfully implement any IT system, you’ll have to manage resources effectively. This includes both financial and labor resources, as you will have to budget and staff appropriately, and train new team members on how to use it. If your new systems are aligned with your overarching strategy, and your company’s upper administration are also on board, you should have no problem securing the resources you need to implement an IT solution.

Plan for Change

If your new IT strategy involves an organizational change, then you need to have a roadmap to approach that change. People don’t like to deal with change, and they might actively resist implementing anything that goes against the norms… technologies and workflows included. You’ll want to work toward establishing clear communication, training, and support for any employees who will utilize such systems. This way, your people will be more likely to not just use the new technology, but embrace it as the new norm.

Ensure Quality

If you want to ensure quality, safety, and security for your new IT strategy, you need to approach it as you would any other option: through rigorous testing to minimize the odds of data breaches or system failures. If you routinely test your new systems, applications, and processes, you’ll all but guarantee that they work as intended when you need them the most.

Manage Vendors and Third-Party Dependencies

IT strategies often rely on vendors and third-party services, often leading to complicated implementation and integration processes. You’ll have to work around contracts, schedules, and general coordination challenges to make sure that your own goals are reached as a result of the agreement.

Work Toward Compliance

Compliance is yet another important component of any IT strategy, and you will have your work cut out for you protecting sensitive customer data—especially considering this is a requirement for specific industries. Consider factors such as documentation, audits, and monitoring to ensure that your new IT strategies align with the requirements your applicable regulations demand.

MSPNetworks can help your business implement a bulletproof new IT strategy with ease. To learn more, call us today at (516) 403-9001.

It might be an understatement to suggest that things don’t always go smoothly in business. The truth is that when one problem is solved, another is often created. This is why we lean on our technology. These “solutions” are intended to fix many of the speedbumps, but that doesn’t mean that choosing, deploying, and supporting these systems don’t come with some problems as well. Today, we look at three reasons an IT project could fail. 

Failure to Align to Business Needs

Incorporating technology to make things more efficient is typically the goal, but in many instances, management and technology deployment aren’t working in concert. This can lead to IT projects that fail because of friction that is caused when there isn’t any unity in the direction things are going. In order for IT projects to work as designed, there needs to be some cohesion between planning and practice. 

A good strategy to avoid situations like this is to set ground rules about when a major IT project can start. Not only should any project have full clearance from decision-makers, but it should also include regular status updates to keep everyone abreast of any changes or delays that may happen. Typically, new IT deployment will result in some downtime, so having the blessing of everyone that could be affected is a good plan. 

Runaway Costs

Not every project is going to run smoothly. One could say that most projects deal with some inefficiencies and even redundancies that increase costs. Most major IT projects require substantial investment and if there is a lack of commitment it can cause projects to fall flat. Of course, many IT investments are earmarked when a budget is set and therefore can be subject to alteration due to other financial factors affecting the business. 

To avoid having the IT project tablecloth ripped out from under your china, you should be pragmatic about your IT investments. This means once you’ve decided to invest in something, complete it since most IT investments will end up providing quicker returns. Go full steam ahead or don’t go at all. 

Communication Issues

When we cite “communication problems,” we aren’t talking about problems with your data plans or email server, we are talking about keeping lines of communication open between all the people that have a stake in the project being a success. That means everyone: production workers, administrators, and everyone in between. Obviously, most projects are handled by the project manager and it is his/her responsibility to disseminate information as required. 

Today, there are some pretty impressive and easy-to-implement tools that will allow project managers the ability to quickly send correspondence to various people, create chats with teams of people involved in the project, quickly start video meetings, and more. The better equipped your project manager is to be an effective communicator, the more smooth a project will likely go.

Poor Project Management

That brings us to the last point, but it may be the most crucial. A solid project manager will do things that will make for successful IT projects. A good PM will manage the expectations of stakeholders, demands of the staff, and make it look easy. It’s not, but for some people being in the middle of a major project is exactly what they were built for. The good PM will not only understand the needs of the project team, the underlying problems that the project is trying to address, but also do it in a way where people who need information won’t have to go and search for it. A good project manager is a great delegator, a great prioritizer, and a great communicator. 

At MSPNetworks, we have plenty of experience running point on New York businesses’ IT projects and would love the opportunity to talk to you about your next IT project. For more information about anything IT support-related, give us a call today at (516) 403-9001.