Each year the President gives the State of the Union address, but how often do you assess the state of your information technology (IT)? You roar into January with year-end follow-up and new year optimism, but by February it’s the same old grind. Well, this is your quarter to stop and address strategy for your number four business expense:

1. Review your System Diagram with current status on the left and where you are going on the right. Don’t have every minute detail that is likely to change, but do have warranty expiration dates next to servers and critical applications hosted. Summarize problems on the left and benefits on the right.
2. Update your 5 year technology forecast. Servers are only warrantied for 3-4 years and software license agreements are generally 1-3 years. Add the cost of no more than 1 project per quarter for the current year and now you know well ahead of time how to budget and the impact of new systems.
3. Assess the half dozen categories where your support cases fall. This is a telling glance of whether your staff needs lunch and learns, a particular system needs attention, or the environment is squared away and just needs on-going maintenance.

If you’re not getting this information, then you’re flying blind. More importantly, you are forfeiting the opportunity to understand not only a major business cost, but impact how your organization grows and operates.

Published by Kevin Fream

Many people don't understand their current situation and become frustrated in business and life, so I created the Delta Method and wrote the #1 Best-Seller "Change Your Game" - as featured at Harvard and NASDAQ as well as national TV news. Streamline your technology for competitive advantage using vetted IT support and take a divergent approach to personal growth. View all posts by Kevin Fream