As technology continues to improve, it
is becoming more and more important for companies to make sure
they have the right IT strategy. If the strategy is not a good fit from the start, the
negative effects will snowball, and it can
cost even more money down the road to
fix the problem.
A good way to help make sure you have
the right IT strategy is to do your due diligence when choosing the right partner to
help you create your plan into the future.
“In my opinion, the wrong strategy
is the lack of strategy,” says Eric Stoll,
director of technology for Arke Systems
in Atlanta. “For example, you might be
able to capture market share by selling
your product online.”
Smart Business asked Stoll about the
importance of choosing the right partner
to ensure a good IT strategy.
How might the wrong IT strategy block a
company from having success?
The current national and global economy has grabbed the attention of business
leaders in every market. Business leaders
are concerned that the economic slowdown and credit crunch could cut companies’ revenues. It is important in this time,
as in any, to make sure that your company
is employing the right strategies, and has a
plan for changing market conditions.
An important part of any strategy is IT.
Unfortunately, a common reaction to an
economic downturn is to cut costs by cutting IT projects. However, cutting IT costs
in the short term could harm your company in the long term. Leaders need to identify which IT projects can help their company come out of the current economy in
a better, more viable position and rework
their IT strategy so that it has long-term
benefits. Perhaps a company could gain
market share by having an Internet store-front. If executed correctly, online sales
can yield a high gross profit margin and
would be worth the investment. Or, companies may want to increase internal efficiency by employing Web applications that
help employees work more productively.
There are countless IT strategies that
could empower a company. Business leaders need to identify what IT strategies are
right for their company not only now, but
also in other economic conditions.
What can companies do to make sure their IT
strategy is right for them?
IT strategy should stem from the overall
business goals. Look three, five and 10
years into the future — what do you want
the company look like? Don’t look at what
the company looks like based on today;
picture what you want it to look like and
what you want it to be. Take a visionary
approach to planning for the future.
Remember, IT can block the company if
you don’t recognize opportunity, but if you
have a vision, IT can help steer the direction of the company. If you aren’t IT savvy,
talk to people in your business community
to help you find a good consultant. You
want to work with someone who knows
how IT has shaped business in the past
and present and how it is trending in the
future. To lay out the strategy, you need a
visionary who will work with you at an
executive level, and then you need good
technologists who can execute the strategy. Oftentimes, these are separate people,
but a good IT firm will staff both roles.
How has the constantly evolving technology
of today’s business affected how businesses
build their IT strategy?
The short answer is that businesses
have to plan for change. Executing the
strategy begins with looking at how evolving technology affects the business. If
your team isn’t talking about potential
obsolescence from the beginning of every
project, you are starting with a flawed
plan. Too often, we find clients who are
feeling extraordinary amounts of pain
because technology is holding them back.
They invested in a technology that could
not evolve and grow with them and the
rest of the world, and then updating their
technology becomes very painful and
costly because they’re behind the curve.
Either technology can drive the company
or the company can drive technology. The
world is better when technology stays
ahead, which touches on last month’s article about alignment.
What should a business look for when in the
market for a partner to design its IT strategy?
You need to work with a firm that understands your business, has a vision for your
company, understands how IT affects
your industry, has a proven record of success, can communicate clearly and can
execute the strategy. It is most important
that your partner takes the time to understand your business and your direction.
You might have a couple ideas for IT and
you might have a good idea of the next
couple steps, but your IT partner should
be coming to the table with the next couple years of ideas laid out beyond that.
Finding a partner that can do the current
project might get you through that project, but a great partner will see much further down the road. Not only will this
mean a long-term mutually beneficial
partnership, but also that you have the
right attention on the project at hand.
When you interview potential IT partners,
make sure that you ask them what your
business will look like in 10 years.
ERIC STOLL is director of technology for Arke Systems in Atlanta. Reach him at (404) 812-3123 x130 or [email protected].
