Jon Barber: CEO, Dynaworx
Navigating the waters of information technology upgrades can be a precarious endeavour. For optimal navigation, business owners will need to have a solid grasp of their business goals, and the timeline required to implement any necessary changes to their topology.
Having an IT consultant or department that’s in tune with these business goals is a major component of any IT strategy.
The business management will have to rely on their company’s IT consultant or department to accurately forecast any future needs or goals for the organization.
In order to determine the upgrades to the IT environment, some key questions must be asked:
1. What is the current productivity status, based on the current IT infrastructure?
2. Will there be any sizable growth in the next two to five years?
3. What is the current IT budget, and will it continue to be sufficient?
4. Can the business rely on the current infrastructure for the next two to five years, keeping in mind growth and changing technology?
5. What are the current IT “pains” being experienced by the users or the business?
Once all these questions are answered, a strategy can be drafted to determine the best technologies available and which path should be taken to achieve the goals of the organization. Items such as security updates are always important and must be maintained.
However, major infrastructure changes may not be necessary if the current topology is considered to be adequate and scalable to sustain the growth for the next two to five years. •
