Strategic IT Planning

Business professionals are always looking for the next best option coming down the pike, with everything from new computers and hardware to software solutions to solve the latest competitive challenge catching the eye of well-meaning business leaders.

This can lead to a significant amount of confusion over the course of the year, with IT teams pushing back against trying to juggle budgets and time constraints to meet the needs of an evolving business. Without adequate planning in place, it becomes overwhelmingly tricky to determine which priorities can be shifted to adjust for new solutions, upgrades, or even much-needed software patches to boost your security. Putting a comprehensive strategic plan in place for your technology spend and resources can help you justify current and future needs while maintaining consistent operations and a secure, reliable network for your business.

Benefits of Strategic IT Planning for Your Business

Maintaining alignment in the face of overwhelming change is a challenge for organizations of all sizes, but can be particularly tough for small to mid-size businesses. While human and monetary resources are often in short supply, it makes sense to place more effort into the planning stage of your IT strategy. Taking these additional steps allows you to maximize each resource to capture the most significant value for your organization. Without careful and strategic IT planning activities, it’s all too easy to find that you’re significantly over (or under!) spending on essential initiatives. The structure required to create a strategic technology roadmap requires teams to slow down for a brief period and weigh the options for your limited resources — helping leadership to thoughtfully make decisions for both the short- and long-term health of the organization.

Ongoing Review and Adjustment Reduces Ongoing Risk

Creating a plan and following it without adjustment is rarely in anyone’s best interest, simply because the technology landscape can alter dramatically over a short period. The Alvarez Technology Group team of specialists is dedicated to ensuring that you are making the right business decisions based on a full understanding of your objectives, the marketplace, and upcoming opportunities with new technology. We regularly schedule ongoing reviews to provide us all with the opportunity to reset expectations, review previous decisions, and make any adjustments that are needed to keep your company moving forward.

Managing Costs with Strategic IT Planning

Risks assessments are not a new concept for IT leadership, but integrating this review into a broader IT strategic plan may help encourage greater participation in the risk assessment process. Cybersecurity issues are growing in importance, and a failure to plan for these costs could result in your company having to slow down on critical initiatives to remediate problems that occurred after falling victim to ransomware or other malware attacks. When you take the time and effort to work with external partners to define a realistic plan for your technology resources, you’re more likely o identify additional issues for consideration that might have otherwise been hidden. This helps reduce the possibility of unexpected expenses derailing the best-laid plans of your teams.

The Alvarez Technology Group strives to be an active partner in your IT strategic planning, providing useful references and insight that will provide your organization with the foundation that you need to thrive. We appreciate the level of trust that our clients have in our recommendations, and are always looking for ways to help your business be successful. Contact the Alvarez Technology Group at (831) 753-7677 to schedule a complimentary initial consultation or learn more via email to info@alvareztg.com. With more than 20 years of experience supporting Salinas businesses, our dedicated and proactive experts will help you optimize your resources and create a sustainable future for your business.