What is an IT Strategy and How Can You Assemble The Best?

Many people make the mistake of thinking that IT strategy and IT support are the same thing.

What they don’t realise is it’s so much more than just technology maintenance.

An IT strategy helps you identify your business goals and how IT can be used to make them happen.

It also makes sure everything in your organisation, from operations to marketing strategies, is aligned with your business objectives.

This blog post will explore what an IT strategy really is, why you need one and how it can be beneficial for any size of organisation!

What is the purpose of an IT strategy?

An IT strategy is the document a business creates to make clear its ability to offer value through their technology.

For most companies IT is an integral part of their business, which is why having a well-designed IT strategy is so important.

This strategy should facilitate and support your business and systems, while laying the groundwork for future growth.

Why?

So you can align your IT with your business objectives and understand how you can better use technology to improve your organisation.

What does an IT strategy entail?

There are many components that make up a proper IT strategy.

It lays out the current infrastructure, processes, and strategies already in place as well as objectives, tactics, and ideas for the future.

Including these factors to build a good IT strategy will not only make it easier for you to align your business and technology now, but it ensures both are ready for future growth.

The first step in building one is understanding the current state of your infrastructure – including hardware, software, applications and other systems that help run your organisation.

What do you already have that will help reach your business goals?

What are the current obstacles preventing this from happening?

What is needed to overcome them?

What key performance indicators (KPIs) can show how IT contributes to success today and in the future?

Once you understand what needs changing, there are several ways to go about improving it.

The advantages of an IT strategy

As a business’ IT infrastructure grows, they typically upgrade their software and applications on an ad-hoc basis.

This can lead to an old, outdated infrastructure and inconsistent operating systems because different vendors don’t work together well.

Putting an IT strategy in place fixes these issues and increases business efficiency.

This is just one of the advantages of having an IT strategy in place, here are some of the other main benefits it provides:

• • Integration: It creates an integrated plan that ensures management of your IT doesn’t sit in isolation from the rest of your processes.
  • Scalable: With the help of an expert, you can construct a bespoke IT strategy that works best for you, providing scalable technology solutions that grows with your business.
  • Clear roadmap: An IT strategy that uses a proactive approach can provide a clear roadmap for your technology so you can plan and see how it will support your business as it grows.

How do you create a successful IT strategy?

First of all, you should always be on the lookout for new IT trends.

Technology is developing rapidly and it’s crucial to keep up with these changes so that your IT strategy can stay effective over time.

While making sure you have a good grasp on what’s going on under the hood at your company (i.e. processes, workflows, etc.), you should also make sure your IT is properly in place to support your business strategy.

For example, if you don’t have an IT department that has a good grasp on the company’s needs and goals, then it may be time to get one in place or bring someone else on board – like us!

If you’ve got these things taken care of then great, but there is much more to an IT strategy than that.

Which is why it can be extremely valuable to allow an expert like us to help you with it!

Why should you choose us for your IT strategy?

Our years of expertise and up-to-date knowledge make us one of the leading providers of IT services in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

We recognise how important it is to work with a company you can trust to understand your business and find the right solutions.

We know how frustrating it can be for you and your staff to use technology and systems that aren’t working for them.

By working closely with your business, we will design a long-term strategy that ensures you and your team have technology you can rely on, so your staff can get on with their jobs without worrying about IT.

As IT evolves in response to business needs, this can cause unforeseen issues.

That’s why we construct strategies that find the best way to update your systems and position them to scale up to support your business, whatever comes your way.

IT strategies are often intertwined with other business strategies and procedures, so we will work with you to ensure that it complements your current guidelines and policies.

If you’re interested in building a bespoke IT strategy with us, please give us a call on 0131 5100 100 or start a live chat with a member of our team today.

For more information on our IT strategy services, visit www.jerait.co.uk/services/it-strategy