3 Questions that Will Help You Build a Better IT Strategy

Looking to gain more clients or improve staff retention? Make sure your IT strategy is well-planned and implemented properly, as it is one of the best ways to improve client acquisitions and reduce churn. The first step in improving your IT strategy is investing in the right IT partner, or managed service provider (MSP), to get your organization where it wants to be. 

Think of a solid IT strategy framework as the equivalent of using good navigation software on a trip. Good navigation software, like Google Maps or a GPS:

• Knows where you want to go.
• Understands what mode of transportation you are using (car, train, bike, etc.)
• Regularly monitors the environment for changes and challenges and adjusts accordingly.
• Updates your plan based on any changes you make.
• Tells you the benefits of any updates before you accept them. 

Your MSP should deliver IT strategy pretty much the same way a GPS system delivers directions. However, if you choose the wrong MSP, you may find yourself moving in the wrong direction, or not moving forward at all.

What is an IT Plan, and Why is it Essential for Businesses?

An IT strategy, or IT plan, is a holistic blueprint of how an organization’s IT department supports and helps it achieve its goals and objectives. This also includes the plan for how an IT department will operate on its own.

The essentiality of IT strategy planning for businesses becomes obvious when you think about the downsides of not having a plan in place to ensure the efficacy of your company’s IT department. The wrong MSP, or a poorly functioning MSP, can exhibit behaviors such as:

• Not valuing your relationship – The MSP views your partnership as an opportunity to sell you more stuff in their “stack” rather than enhance your business.
• Lacking interest in your business – The MSP does not take the time to understand your business, personnel, and other specific factors that must be considered in an IT plan. 
• Sticking to static or outdated plans – You get an initial “IT roadmap” when you first onboard with an MSP and that plan doesn’t get reassessed regularly. Instead, it just gets bloated with the “technology de jour” (e.g. the next generation of firewall).

These are a few of the reasons why you should take a good, hard look at your current MSP and figure out if they are the right fit for your business. And if you have to ask your MSP about improving IT strategy or making enhancements, it may mean that you’re in an unproductive partnership and need to start over.

However, if you have a proactive working relationship with your MSP, one in which they are frequently making updates and beneficial suggestions, here are three questions that, if posed to your MSP, will help better align your IT strategy. 

1. Where Are We Now?

This question is absolutely the foundation of any relevant IT strategy framework, as you can’t follow any kind of roadmap if you don’t know where your starting point is.

The unfortunate part is that most MSPs answer this in the context of your technology, systems, and security. Worse, they may answer it while referring to (and promoting) the IT products you’re currently not using, which means the MSP might just be pushing products and not taking your business’s best interests into consideration.

Your current technology setup does have some relevance in the discussion, but starting in a less technology-centric place usually leads to a better-aligned plan. Asking yourself the questions below can help you pinpoint where you are today apart from your specific tech stack: 

Business Questions

• What are the business goals for the next year? Next three years? 
• Who are our customers and are we serving them in the best way possible?
• What are the IT challenges we face? 

Staff Questions

• Are we hiring the right people?
• Does the team have what they need to support the customer or business goals we have?
• What functions do they perform?
• Are there IT challenges that need to be addressed?

Procedural Questions

• How do we hire and onboard? 
• Are these experiences helping or hindering our ability to reach business goals?
• How do we retain talent and clients? 
• How are we attracting new customers? 

By working through the above questions, you should start to get a sense of what IT challenges your business faces and what potential solutions could look like. Posing these questions to your MSP and working through answers with them will allow them to tailor their IT strategy planning to business needs that have been clearly defined. 

2. Where Are We Going and Why? 

Most MSPs are excellent at answering the, “Where do we need to be?” question. They have all kinds of technology in their repertoire they want to sell you and they’ll insist that this technology is where you need to be.

But are these MSPs good at giving you answers when you ask them, “Why are we using this?” Not so much. Mapping initiatives to an exact, predicted value is where the rubber hits the road. Many times the default justification is just “cost savings,” And while cost savings are nice, implementing cost-saving initiatives is a tactic mainly used for optimizing expenses. Challenging yourself to think of IT as an investment rather than an expense can help illuminate a better road forward. 

We know what you may be thinking. What? View IT as an investment?! There is a bit of a mindset change involved. Whenever you invest, you expect a return on that investment. In the case of an expense, there is no such expectation. With this in mind, then, where could you get the most return for your IT investment? 

Easy. It all boils down to people, clients, and processes. Armed with the information from the very first question, you should be able to work with your MSP to find the right initiatives that directly map to your business value.

Congratulations! You now have a plan that is value-based. Is it time to start grinding through it? Nope. You have one more important question to answer. 

3. Is this Still Relevant? 

Situations change. Your company’s needs shift. And sometimes the universe throws you a curveball.

Your newly laid-out plan might be great for right now, but it needs to be reviewed regularly to ensure that it will continue to be a great fit in the future. In our experience, a monthly check-in is a great way to make sure an IT strategy still aligns with your business goals. 

Remember in March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic shifted everyone to a remote work environment essentially overnight? This is a great example of why you need regular reassessments. Imagine a company with an initiative to enhance its security by implementing a next-generation firewall. Thanks to the pandemic, they would need to rethink this move. If no one is in the office anymore, securing it does less to accomplish their goal. Instead, they would need to pivot to a zero-trust, host-based agent so security follows each employee no matter where they are.

Another example would be a company experiencing major growth, or an acquisition. An initiative that was a lower priority before, like user onboarding or cloud-based file sharing, might all of a sudden be thrust to the top of their list.  

This is why a good monthly or quarterly meeting to discuss your IT strategy planning with your MSP should be a permanent part of your process. It’ll allow for modifications to your IT strategy so it remains on track with your business needs and goals. 

Ask These Questions ASAP to Ensure Your IT Strategy is on Track

Next time you discuss your company’s IT strategy with your MSP, bring these three questions to the table and watch how relevant and valuable your IT plan becomes moving forward. 

Have any lingering questions? In the market for a new MSP? Don’t hesitate to reach out to us here at Ripple. We’re happy to help.

FAQS

How often should an organization update its IT plan and strategy?

We recommend organizations on average perform some sort of audit or engage in a discussion about the efficacy of their IT plan at least once a month, although this will vary based on a company’s size and needs.

What cybersecurity measures are integrated into your IT strategy solutions?

At Ripple, we partner with Worksafe, which is a holistic cybersecurity solution covering email security, antivirus updates, critical backups, threat detection, and more. However, if Worksafe does not work for one of our clients, we are familiar with a range of other cybersecurity solutions that would work instead.

Is it necessary for businesses of all sizes to have an IT plan and strategy?

In our professional opinion, it is pretty necessary for businesses, regardless of size, to have some sort of IT strategy in place. With so much of our world relying on technology and software, businesses would only benefit from being tactical with how they run and utilize their IT.