by David Moorman, President

Technology should not be considered a cost center but, rather, should be viewed as a way to gain a competitive advantage in your marketplace. Day-to-day management of a company’s infrastructure should be just a small part of what IT staffers do.

An IT spending survey from Accenture reveals that most companies spend 70 cents of each IT dollar on continuing operations and maintenance, but the ideal ratio is 55 cents for maintenance and 45 cents of each dollar on value-added IT services that can bring a competitive advantage.

If you’re not already, here are a few projects you should be working on:

1. Conducting data mining of your customers or your market. Data mining is the process of finding patterns in your data that can help identify your target demographic, Web site traffic trends, and what types of products or services are most popular. That information can be used to tweak your offerings to hit the “sweet spot” of the market and identify likely new customers. This can be much more effective than renting a list for direct marketing or e-mail marketing.

2. Planning for a disaster scenario. Data varies by year (and the prevalence of terrorist attacks or major natural disasters), but few companies have comprehensive business continuity plans in place. While a major incident is unlikely to occur, the simple loss of communications or data could put your company out of business if you’re not adequately prepared.

3. Exploring a CRM solution. Customer relationship management solutions have been making inroads into the small- and medium-sized business market. Deploying an effective CRM product can result in more sales and happier customers. Isn’t that what every business wants?

Deploying technology for technology’s sake will not gain you the competitive advantage that you want. Before investing in any product or service, you should determine your ROI, a fancy acronym that simply means, “Will I get my money’s worth by making this purchase?”

That should be the job of your IT staff, to make those determinations so you can make wise business decisions. In today’s lean and fierce marketplace, the success or failure of your business could ride on the outcome.

by David Moorman, President

Many businesses think that business continuity and disaster recovery means protecting your technology and having a plan in place for data recovery. And while it is that, business continuity includes much more in order to keep your business functional during a disaster.

Business continuity has several other components you need to think about in case your business is ever the victim of a natural disaster or emergency:

Communication: What happens if you cannot use your current infrastructure or facility to communicate with clients or employees. You need an emergency contact plan in place to re-group employees, connect with vendors, and reassure customers you are in control.

Logistics Operations: A plan is required to continue to carry out deliveries and orders in the event your facility is not operational for more than one day. A list of emergency service providers should be kept up to date in case the unthinkable happens, as well as a backup plan in case key employees cannot perform critical duties.

Proactive Testing: Performing a visual facility review once per year to correct deficiencies can help you prepare and be ready in case you get stuck between a rock and a hard place. Taking inventory of critical resources including data and equipment and making sure those assets can withstand the storm can help you get back on your feet following the aftermath.

While it sounds like a lot of work (and it is!), the immediate and long-term benefits far outweigh the cost of losing your business. Implementing a business continuity plan offers competitive advantage, peace of mind, technology efficiencies, client confidence, and even savings!