Large or small, the smartest companies use information technology strategically. Because information is everywhere and easily accessible these days, it's easy to take it for granted (or to think that IT is simple because the user interface is simple).
Every company today relies on information and information technology to remain in business. Well managed and applied to the right business processes, IT will give you a competitive advantage over the competition.
Yet many business “leaders” take IT for granted or, worse, view it as a necessary evil and not a resource to be harnessed and channeled.
The Right Mindset Matters
We've all heard about the power of positive thinking. Or the virtues of visualization. And we've all known someone so optimistic that success usually follows them. When it comes to business success, how company leaders view technology is a predictor of successful business.
Symantec research (Global SMB IT Confidence Index 2013) highlights how this mentality leads to better business outcomes. Using IT strategically is viewed important to business success by 83% of top-tier companies. In bottom-tier companies, only 44% view IT as strategically important.
Top-tier companies also reported increased market share from viewing IT as a competitive advantage.
81 percent of the top-tier businesses reported that using computing to strategically drive the business forward was effective at increasing market share, which is a key business goal. By contrast, just 35 percent of bottom-tier companies felt this was an effective tactic.
What characteristics are common to this mindset of IT as opportunity. The Symantec research notes four common characters for top performing SMBs:
- Instead of only looking at initial expense, they looked at long-term value when purchasing IT products and services.
- IT investments are mapped to business goals. Those goals are identified BEFORE selection technology.
- They at least know about IT trends, such as cloud, mobility, and virtualization.
- They understand the need to protect their data and enact plans to do so.
Not Just the Fortune 2000
Today, information technology is for everyone. We carry in our pockets devices with more computing power than the computers that got us to the Moon. Information is everywhere – in our social media feeds, emails, business documents, on the Internet, in our personal and business cloud services, and on and on. Effecting harnessing and using that information to achieve business goals gives companies an edge over the competition.
Every business has certain documents in common – invoices and the rest of the accounts payable process, human resources documents, and the rest of office documents your rely on to run business (emails, meeting notes, presentations, RFPs, etc.).
DIY Versus Outsource
As a company that provides managed IT services, we believe that companies, especially SMBs, can profit from allowing experts to manage some or all of their IT infrastructure so that companies can focus on their business.
However, whether you do it yourself, partner with us, or even find someone else; it's important to view your IT as the critical success-enabling tool it as rather than as a humdrum cost of doing business.
So how do you view your IT initiatives? Do you have more in common with top-performing businesses?
If you're ready to think about IT in a new light, click on the image below to download and read our free eBook. Understand how managed IT services can improve your business's use of information and become a top-performing SMB.
For more information on everything to do with Managed IT Services, check out our resource page, here.
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