Technology plays a vital role in determining how successful organisations are in meeting their goals. Together, the right technology and IT strategy enables a firm to practice agility through adapting its business models to changing needs of the firm, as well as enhancing existing services and products to meet the ever-evolving needs of the market. Having the right security practices in place is also fundamental to ensuring a firm’s reputation remains intact no matter how aggressive the cyber threat landscape may become. This blog article will share steps to building the best technology platform to deliver your organisational goals in today’s digital age.
Step #1: Take Technology Talks to the Boardroom
Talks around technology should not be limited to the IT department anymore. Today’s firms must take these discussions into the boardroom as we continue to see more and more business decisions being influenced by advancements in IT. It’s C-suite level executives who often bridge the gap between the two, in efforts to align IT strategy to wider business strategy. This approach enables firms to expand their agility and start responding to change with decisions that are measured and informed.
Getting stakeholder buy-in and investment to facilitate the alignment of IT to the overall strategic direction of the organisation can unlock many benefits for businesses. These include, but are not limited to the following:
Step #2: Choose an Infrastructure Model to Suit Your Business
Whilst you may have decided to start out with an on-premise infrastructure, it is certainly worth considering migration to the cloud, to take your business to new heights in 2019. Take a look at the table below for a comparison of the two models and determine which is most suited to reach your goals in a timely and effective manner.
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Step #3: Implementation of Ongoing Risk Assessment
With buy-in from the powers that be, whether that’s internal stakeholders or investors, it is important to invest in nurturing internal skill-set, or, to partner with a third-party provider to effectively assess your firm’s security practices. Ongoing security best security practices include:
A data breach or a malicious cyber-attack can hinder you from reaching your organisational goals and result in damages that are not easy to repair. In 2018, we saw many reputable brands such as Facebook and British Airways under scrutiny for falling victim to data breaches. Such attacks cam tarnish reputation and affect profits and revenue.
Step #4: Decide How to Build and Maintain Your Technology Platform
Deciding on whether you’d like to retain an inhouse IT team or outsource your technology operations to a third-party provider comes with many considerations. It’s important to weigh these out to determine which approach is best suited to achieving your organisational goals now and in the future. Take a look at the table below for a cross comparison of the two, and apply it to your firm to help make an informed decision.
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We hope you found this article informative. Please contact Eze Castle Integration if you would like more information on aligning your IT to the strategic direction of your business.