The first quarter of the year is generally the time most small businesses have to balance two competing perspectives. First, an evaluation of the year that was. What went well? Where can improvements make the most impact? The second is, of course, a look forward. Where are we going? What are our goals for the coming year?
Inherent in both of these perspectives is an evaluation of your business's balance sheet. You may also measure expenses incurred and the return on those investments.
However, many times small business owners overlook an audit of their technology services as well as their assets.
Many time business owners simply look to their hardware, determine if they can squeeze another 12 months out of that old printer or server, evaluate the cost of new equipment and then decide “I'm sure it'll last one more year.”
There is a disconnect when you fail to consider the soft costs of inefficient our outdated hardware. This is the general problem of failing to do a proper technology audit.
Here is a better plan:
A business owner should audit their businesses technology needs on an annual basis.
If technology makes up more than 25 percent of your operation budget, you should be doing this even more often.
Before your begin
Your audit needs to take into account two critical questions:
• What kind of growth do you expect in the next 6-18 months? Can your current technology support that growth?
• What are the specific 'pain points' your employees or customers are complaining about most, and how can technology assist you in meeting those challenges?
A technology audit, just like a doctor's check-up, helps you know what is right and what is wrong with the technology in your business. There are many opinions of what should be included in such an audit.
What the experts say
The following list is a general consensus of IT consultants:
• Systems and device inventory (type and number), including software, hardware and patches.
• Return on investment on projects run by IT.
• Help-desk calls, duration and case closure rates.
• Automation levels for system maintenance (i.e., the operations that run the IT applications).
• In-house development and its total cost of ownership compared to projects of existing off-the-shelf prepackaged solutions.
• Productivity levels of consultants versus employees in the IT department.
• Budget of IT costs versus actual expenditures.
• Number of different platforms and databases, and if and how they are able to communicate with each other.
• Networked systems inventory and open ports.
• Data backup procedures and system logs.
Deciding what to upgrade or what to buy new can be a challenging decision.
When considering your choices, evaluate not only the direct-dollar investment, but also ensure that the solution (upgrade or new) provides an acceptable return on investment.
For example, you may have several slow computers and decide to pay $200 to upgrade the memory instead of spending $1,400 on new computers.
However, if there are other problems with the computers or the computers are unable to use new software you buy, upgrading the memory only could cost you much more than $700 in the long term.
You regularly service your car, attend to your own health and even update your home.
The technology used in your business also needs to be checked out and audited on a regular basis.
Conducting the audit
Now that you have made the important decision to conduct your technology audit, here are some basic guidelines steps to help ensure a smooth and successful audit.
1. Include all the appropriate people to ensure all the important information is gathered so a true and complete audit will be performed.
This should include a representative from the IT department, the ownerpresident and a representative from the workforce.
2. Publish the results of the audit internally to put all personnel on notice as to what is working and what is not working within each technology platform.
Publishing audit results ensures credit is given for what is working and notices those responsible.
It also supports changes in internal structure and personnel to correct what is not working.
Lastly, it puts personnel on notice of what future goals the organization holds and what the organization's expectations are for meeting those goals.
3.Act upon the audit's results by making the changes and/or additions to the current technology infrastructure to bring it in line with current and future goals.
Use audit results as a baseline for future audits.
Compare the results of the next audit with current results to ensure technology changes and additions are producing desired results.
Adjust inventory in terms of both systems and personnel as necessary in each category to keep the technology infrastructure on track with current and future goals.
Smith can be reached at [email protected] Aiello can be reached at [email protected]
Inherent in both of these perspectives is an evaluation of your business's balance sheet. You may also measure expenses incurred and the return on those investments.
However, many times small business owners overlook an audit of their technology services as well as their assets.
Many time business owners simply look to their hardware, determine if they can squeeze another 12 months out of that old printer or server, evaluate the cost of new equipment and then decide “I'm sure it'll last one more year.”
There is a disconnect when you fail to consider the soft costs of inefficient our outdated hardware. This is the general problem of failing to do a proper technology audit.
Here is a better plan:
A business owner should audit their businesses technology needs on an annual basis.
If technology makes up more than 25 percent of your operation budget, you should be doing this even more often.
Before your begin
Your audit needs to take into account two critical questions:
• What kind of growth do you expect in the next 6-18 months? Can your current technology support that growth?
• What are the specific 'pain points' your employees or customers are complaining about most, and how can technology assist you in meeting those challenges?
A technology audit, just like a doctor's check-up, helps you know what is right and what is wrong with the technology in your business. There are many opinions of what should be included in such an audit.
What the experts say
The following list is a general consensus of IT consultants:
• Systems and device inventory (type and number), including software, hardware and patches.
• Return on investment on projects run by IT.
• Help-desk calls, duration and case closure rates.
• Automation levels for system maintenance (i.e., the operations that run the IT applications).
• In-house development and its total cost of ownership compared to projects of existing off-the-shelf prepackaged solutions.
• Productivity levels of consultants versus employees in the IT department.
• Budget of IT costs versus actual expenditures.
• Number of different platforms and databases, and if and how they are able to communicate with each other.
• Networked systems inventory and open ports.
• Data backup procedures and system logs.
Deciding what to upgrade or what to buy new can be a challenging decision.
When considering your choices, evaluate not only the direct-dollar investment, but also ensure that the solution (upgrade or new) provides an acceptable return on investment.
For example, you may have several slow computers and decide to pay $200 to upgrade the memory instead of spending $1,400 on new computers.
However, if there are other problems with the computers or the computers are unable to use new software you buy, upgrading the memory only could cost you much more than $700 in the long term.
You regularly service your car, attend to your own health and even update your home.
The technology used in your business also needs to be checked out and audited on a regular basis.
Conducting the audit
Now that you have made the important decision to conduct your technology audit, here are some basic guidelines steps to help ensure a smooth and successful audit.
1. Include all the appropriate people to ensure all the important information is gathered so a true and complete audit will be performed.
This should include a representative from the IT department, the ownerpresident and a representative from the workforce.
2. Publish the results of the audit internally to put all personnel on notice as to what is working and what is not working within each technology platform.
Publishing audit results ensures credit is given for what is working and notices those responsible.
It also supports changes in internal structure and personnel to correct what is not working.
Lastly, it puts personnel on notice of what future goals the organization holds and what the organization's expectations are for meeting those goals.
3.Act upon the audit's results by making the changes and/or additions to the current technology infrastructure to bring it in line with current and future goals.
Use audit results as a baseline for future audits.
Compare the results of the next audit with current results to ensure technology changes and additions are producing desired results.
Adjust inventory in terms of both systems and personnel as necessary in each category to keep the technology infrastructure on track with current and future goals.
Smith can be reached at [email protected] Aiello can be reached at [email protected]