When people are looking to initiate IT changes, they often only look for IT solutions that will fit their current business needs. This is understandable because most people are focused on solving problems at hand to ensure day-to-day operations remain unhampered by a myriad of acute problems; however, businesses that wish to be successful should implement IT solutions that will change and scale as their business model changes. When business leaders invest with this mindset, they will enjoy a number of significant benefits.
One of the many benefits of having IT solutions that can change with a business model is increased efficiency. This doesn’t just mean efficiency from a technology standpoint, but also efficiency from a business strategy perspective. For example, if a company has to hire and train new staff members every time their business model changes, it’s a drain on the company’s resources. The same can be said of a company that needs to purchase new equipment every time the business model changes. This is not an efficient use of the company’s time or money, and will only place everyone behind as they try to adapt to a new way of doing business. If a company can find an effective IT solution that can scale, grow and adapt as the business model changes, time can be saved and the company will not miss a beat as the business evolves.
In addition to saving time, not having to completely reconstruct IT solutions for every business model will save the company budget space in overhead costs. New hardware and software is expensive, and the ability to use the same technology to meet a variety of business models is valuable, particularly if the company is able to use it through its warranty or maintenance plan. IT solutions that are readily applicable across numerous business models will lead to lower costs and free up money that can be spent growing the business instead of purchasing new technologies.
One of the biggest challenges facing many businesses is getting disparate departments to talk with each other. By no fault of their own, a large number of organizations will end up investing in different IT solutions for different departments and business models. The problem with using different IT solutions is that these various systems may not communicate well. This makes it challenging for a business to ensure all employees utilizing a single source of data and remain on the same page. If the IT solutions can evolve and scale with the business, this makes it easier for everyone to collaborate and operate more efficiently. The improved communication will translate to increased productivity for the business.
As a business model changes and the company grows, the business will be faced with important decisions for its use of IT, decisions such as outsourced vs. in-house IT, when to perform scheduled maintenance, adding mobile capabilities and whether IT is or should be used as a competitive differentiator compared to industry peers. The answers to these questions will likely change with the business model and it’s important to have IT solutions that are able to adapt to meet various requirements. In addition, the requirements may be different for different departments. It’s important for businesses to understand these questions and have IT solutions that are able to meet a variety of situations. This will place the business in the best position to be successful in the future throughout multiple phases of growth.