It’s almost second nature to think of IT as something that helps businesses achieve value. However, your IT department should be able to explain exactly what they are doing to add value to your business. Of course, if they can’t explain it they might be hurting your company. It doesn’t matter if your IT is handled on-site or is outsourced, you can do the following to determine IT’s value and then increase it.
Don’t accept metrics
IT people love using metrics to show how they are contributing to your business. The problem is most of these metrics don’t show you anything. Sure, high uptimes sound great and low mean-time resolutions are probably a good thing, but how do these impact your business? Don’t arbitrarily accept these as signs IT is contributing to the value of your bottom line. Dig deeper and get an explanation as to why these metrics matter. There is a reason your IT department wants you to see these metrics, but it is important to have them explain it.
Ban “tech speak”
There was a time in the world when it was impossible to avoid “tech speak”, but that era has passed. Your modern-day IT person should be able to explain just about everything to you in plain English. Realistically, if they are doing a good job, they should want to share that information with you in a way you will understand easily. If you find your IT department relying heavily on “tech speak”, chances are there is something they don’t want you to know about.
Make sure your IT provider understands business goals
If you want your IT working for you and adding value to your company, then those responsible for it have to know what your goals are. It is then, and only then, that they will be able to manage your technology with these goals in mind. Too often companies assume their IT provider knows what their priorities should be, founded on company principles, but the reality is that the contractor will operate on the basis of what it thinks is best. These two entities pulling in separate directions can hurt your business in many ways. By making sure your IT department – again, whether in-house or outsourced – is pulling in the same direction as everyone else, technology can add a whole lot of value to your company.
Meet with your IT provider often
It doesn’t matter if you have in-house IT or use a Managed Services Provider, you should be meeting with them on a regular basis to understand what they are doing. There is no need to banish them to some dark corner of the building, or only summon them when something breaks. By incorporating them into the operations process and maintaining open lines of communication, you are likely to see things in your office run a whole lot more smoothly. Not only will you get a better understanding of how IT is providing value to your business, they will gain a deeper appreciation of how your company operates. This will help both sides understand how the other operates, and enable you to find new ways to help each other.
Listen to IT recommendations
Chances are that whoever is handling your IT has numerous different ideas on how your company can use technology to decrease costs, increase productivity, and become more profitable. You would be foolish to not at least consider what they have to say. One of your company’s most valuable assets is technology,and your IT department should be up-to-date on what improvements can be made. There could be nothing more valuable to your company than an IT department proactively finding ways for you to get ahead of the competition using technology.
Is IT hurting your business value? Want to instead use it to drive increased bottom-line profits for your company? Contact our technology experts and find out how we can help.
Businesses that are winning in today’s marketplace are the ones that make technology work for them, not the other way round. When used correctly, technology can make every task much faster to execute, from communicating with customers to sending messages, gathering information, and more. So if you’re looking to increase staff efficiency, consider the following methods to implement technology into your day-to-day business operations.
When it comes to increasing your employees’ efficiency and productivity, technology can provide countless opportunities to streamline workflows, eliminate redundant processes and reduce costs within your organization. If you’re looking to stay ahead of the competition, you need to ditch the traditional ways of working and implement technology to your practices to encourage more employee productivity – here’s how.
Technology has allowed businesses to get more work done with less time and expense. When properly implemented, it serves as a great tool that allows your employees to work remotely, collaborate more efficiently, and manage their time more effectively. If you want to thrive in today’s competitive marketplace, you need to make technology work for you. Here are some things you can do to make your employees more productive.
As a small or medium-sized business owner, breaking into the market and trying to encourage people to buy your products or services can be a daunting task, because you’ll have to compete with all the big names out there. That’s where online marketing comes in. If implemented properly, you will be able to cost-effectively attract new customers. But if you jump in without a plan, you may end up losing more money than you bargained for. Here are some effective marketing tips to ensure your advertising campaigns are a total success.
No matter how wonderful your company’s product or service, if you don’t advertise then no one will know about it. The goal of any advertising campaign should be to reach the largest audience for the lowest cost possible. If executed properly, advertising will serve as a powerful tool to boost your business’s profits sky high. But if you get it wrong, advertising can become a huge money sink. With that said, we have compiled some marketing tips to ensure that your online advertising campaigns deliver results.
Companies need to effectively advertise their products and services if they are to stay competitive in today’s market. But choosing the right marketing approach for your business is not easy, and you could end up spending more money on advertising that you actually make from it. This is where a well thought-out marketing strategy can help. Let’s take a look at some online marketing tips to help you plan, execute, and monitor your advertising campaigns.
Over the past few years, technology has taken the business world by storm. With so many people using search engines to find answers, products, and local service providers, you really are missing out if you’ve failed to establish a business website. As more and more business owners jump into the website game, the scramble for the search engines’ prime spots becomes more fiercer than ever. But applying a well thought-out search engine optimization (SEO) strategy can take you straight up to the top. Here’s what you need to know to build an online presence.
The Internet has transformed the way businesses approach clients. More and more people are using the Internet to search for what they want, and if your company’s website is ranked high in popular search engines then you can easily attract more visitors – which means more potential clients. But the question is, how can you get to that top spot in the search engines when there are a large number of competitors out there? The answer is simple – by integrating search engine optimization (SEO) into your website. Want to learn how? Here’s an overview of SEO and how to boost your online presence.
Technology has completely changed the way we do business. Gone are the days when customers had to drop by your company to purchase your products and services. Now they can simply visit your website, see what you have to offer, and make an online payment – all in a matter of minutes. But if you want to expand your customer base, your website needs to rank high in search engines, so that it’s easy for potential customers to find you. That means implementing search engine optimization (SEO) strategies; here’s all you need to know about SEO to increase your online presence.
As a small business owner you’ve gone through the painstaking effort of making your products or services known to potential clients. Once you’ve managed to close the deal, the next step is to plan how to get repeat business from those clients. You can do just that by using email marketing to retain clients for longer, and build profits over an extended timeline. Here are some email marketing ideas to use on your list of subscribers.
Email marketing has been around for a long time, and it certainly works if you want to increase your business’s income. Your clients will most likely provide their email addresses when they purchase your products or services, and it is up to you to make the most out of this valuable piece of information. You can use email marketing to promote your brand, and generate sales or a warm business lead. Apply the following email marketing strategies to retain customers and boost your business revenue.
