As you enter the New Year, chances are you have some new business initiatives on the table intended to drive your company forward. With this in mind, before a strategy can be put in place to obtain these new business goals, a thorough assessment of your existing IT network design and the hardware that make it up is necessary.
Your IT network design supports all of your hardware and software that your business runs on. The potential it has for expansion or adaptation controls your ability to make changes to improve business. Follow the next two steps to gauge what your IT network can handle and what adaptations need to be made to it before you initiate your new business plans.
- Review Hardware Functionality and Capacities
Your IT network is made up of a multitude of hardware, printers, faxes, laptops, servers and a slew of other machines used by your staff to run your business every day. They have lifecycles, volume capacities, and endure wear and tear from regular use.
These machines need to manage the development and creation of reports, data sheets, production statistics and accounting balances used in the day to day processes you teams have to grow your business. If your hardware is out of date, doesn’t work efficiently or breaks down often, your team is losing time in handling projects efficiently. This inefficiency costs your business time and money in the form of overhead costs that eat at profit margins.
Assessment of hardware will ensure that your new reports will be managed as well as possible.
- Assess Software Programs
Before changing business processes, review all potentially affected programs used throughout your company including accounting software or ERP software programs, or even your phone or VoIP system. These systems also have lifecycles and capacity limits that can affect your ability to institute new processes to achieve your business goals.
It consulting firms are poised to assess the entirety of your IT network design and advise on your hardware and software needs based on your existing and potential business goals. The adaptability of your IT network design will expand your company’s potential of growth in the future as your business goals require more integration customization to drive your business forward.
