True Business- real life for small businesses

I’ve wanted to write about buying technology for some time now. It’s a world that’s changing pretty fast – faster than most journalists like me can effectively communicate to the business community at large.

The problem is that, ten years ago, five even, the majority of the IT-driven work in a small business happened on the desktop. Sure, growing companies had servers, but they were pretty much restricted to basic data storage, and all the clever stuff happened on desktop PCs.

Today, all that has changed. PCs are becoming more lightweight; the heavy duty processing is happening on highly functional servers, and then there’s the power of cloud computing too; which has turned software into a commodity.

This is all good stuff (believe me, it’s slashing the cost of technology procurement for smaller businesses). But it means that the path to efficient IT has become more complicated. Growth is no longer as simple as “adding more PCs until everyone’s happy”.

All managers, especially owners of small companies who don’t have an in-house IT specialist, have to get a little bit of IT procurement know-how under their belts, to make sure they buy the right kit for the right result at the right price.

Here are some tips to get you started: 

• Buying IT is no longer a single decision. It’s progress along an evolutionary plan. The decisions you make on Day One will have far-reaching implications. Therefore, commit to technologies carefully, and then work with them whole-heartedly to extract maximum value. SharePoint, for example, which is one of Microsoft’s flagship business products, is usually used as a data repository and for knowledge management. But once it’s installed, there are rafts of extra functionality available; from management dashboards and staff performance measurement to intranets and even web site administration. My point is, you can get a lot done with one purchase; but you also have to live with that decision- so think it through from the start.
• All that commitment demands a strategy: you need to outline what you want your IT to do. You wouldn’t run your business without a business plan or a decent set of accounts; so put together an IT strategy, too. That way, there’s a much greater chance that you’ll buy stuff which actually does what your business needs it to achieve. Express these IT demands in terms of your business, not specific technology functions; as any IT provider or partner should be able to translate your business objectives into first-class IT.
• Technology is – or ought to be – an investment. (It will usually depreciate across 2-4 years). Every piece of IT you buy to plug a gap, solve a problem or bridge a crisis is a false economy; whereas every piece of IT you buy as part of a long-term strategic assessment of your business goals is a good investment, and will yield long-term value. One of the big mistakes small companies make is to see IT as a bottomless pit of spending. Get out of the habit of using your hard-earned money to plug holes, and (even if you have to spend a bit more upfront), get quality IT in from the start.

And if you’re not sure what software you want, get a free trial first. Microsoft offers various free trials of Office products and if you’re thinking about online services, you can also try a Microsoft Online Service free for 30 days.

Filed under: finance, technology, tips | Tagged: business, buying IT, dashboard, data repository, data storage, desktop, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, IT, IT sales, knowledge management, KPI, Microsoft, partner, PC, procurement, run a business, server, SharePoint, start a business, technology