Companies should never become complacent about their technology thinking it’s “done,” and no other updates are needed. Otherwise, they risk falling behind their competitors and potentially running outdated systems at a higher risk of a cyberattack.
Technology optimization is about taking a look at how your business uses technology and identifying gaps, issues, and opportunities. The goal is to have your IT infrastructure serve your growth and business needs, rather than your company having to change how it does things to accommodate your digital tools.
A technology optimization plan lays out a strategic path that allows your company to:
- Stay competitive
- Improve productivity
- Reduce waste
- Lower costs
- Enhance customer experience
- Improve your bottom line
Small businesses that focus on digital optimization experience an average revenue growth that’s 8x faster than companies that are indifferent to technology optimization.
Here are several reasons why you should start 2022 with a review of your technology use.
Technology Evolves Fast & You Don’t Want to Miss Out
The pace of transformation is fast when it comes to technology. It seems like we were just enabling better video conferencing yesterday and now Microsoft Teams and Meta both are planning to take online interactions into the 3D world.
Improvement and time-savings are often drivers of cloud tool evolution, so if you don’t optimize to keep up, your company can easily get left behind in capabilities. Additionally, consumers increasingly judge a company by its digital prowess, and if your company is using older technology, customers might see you as out of date.
New Cyber Threats Need to Be Addressed
Phishing attacks are now largely run by underground criminal organizations and state-sponsored hacking groups, which means they’re being optimized for profitability. This makes them more dangerous each year.
As new cyber threats evolve, you need to ensure you are adopting the latest layers of cybersecurity to ensure your business is protected from a devastating attack.
Technology Optimization Can Reduce Costs
The pandemic has caused problems with the global supply chain and as a result of scarcity, prices are going up. Many businesses have seen vendor price increases in the last several months and are now looking for ways to tighten their belts and reduce expenses.
If your technology isn’t optimized to serve your business well, then you may be spending time and money you don’t need to for your daily operations. For example, something like automating a process could free up hours of staff time per week, enabling them to focus on more growth activities.
Cloud Infrastructure Can Easily Get Out of Control
It’s estimated that 1/3 of all cloud spending is wasted. The need to transition to cloud systems has led to cloud waste in many cases with companies paying for redundant apps or over-provisioning services they don’t really need.
Reviewing your cloud infrastructure can help ensure that you’re not paying for two different SaaS tools that do the same thing. It can also look at things like unused accounts that haven’t been removed and whether a subscription plan you have is truly meeting your needs.
The cloud is one of the most important pieces of your IT infrastructure, making it all the more important that it runs efficiently.
To Automate & Eliminate Manual Processes
The cost of doing processes manually, such as rekeying data from one system into another, continues to eat away at company profits. According to a study by Ernst & Young, one manual HR process, like the entry of a data record, can cost a company $4.70. If you multiply that by just 25 manual entries a day, that’s a cost of $117.50 per day or $2,350 per month wasted because a process wasn’t automated.
One of the first places we look when doing an IT optimization plan for a company is where those unnecessary manual processes are happening. We then look for solutions that can connect all your business systems so when data comes in from the source, it can automatically be populated where it needs to go.
Automation also helps eliminate errors or dropped balls. For example, in sales platforms, automation can be put in place to trigger a reminder to a sales representative if too much time has gone by since the last client or lead contact.
Schedule a Consultation for a Free Technology Optimization Plan
Data First Solutions can help your Toronto area business reduce waste and improve your capabilities through a personalized technology optimization plan.
Contact us today to book a free assessment. Call 416-412-0576 or book your assessment online.
