Start With a Realistic Assessment
You can’t manage what you don’t understand. Work with other business units to gain a clear view of what’s required to support needs across the organization. What parts of your infrastructure and systems are working well? Could any be better? Can you better support or automate key business processes? What initiatives are needed for your business to compete in the ever-changing digital environment?
Once you’ve got the lay of the land, identify implementation goals. Be realistic about the demands and costs of ongoing maintenance According to Deloitte, IT departments typically invest more than half (56 percent) of their budget on maintaining business operations.
Eliminate Waste
The cloudy macroeconomic outlook will likely require you to make cuts—but where?
Forrester recommends focusing on the following areas:
- Ungoverned cloud resources and Software as a Service (SaaS) applications— Cloud sprawl leads to unexpected costs, complexity and security and compliance issues. Instead, implement cloud cost management to gain visibility into cloud spend, identify waste, and make data-driven decisions to optimize costs.
- Automate manual IT operations— Automate tasks like system updates, data entry and report generation to free up staff and improve time to insights (TTI). Consider incorporating AI in areas like predictive analytics where it has proven effective.
- Replace custom-made or isolated tech stacks— Most likely you have home-grown or legacy applications or infrastructure that are a drain on your team and budget. It’s time to get rid of this “technical debt”—though it may eat into your budget short-term—to achieve greater agility and cost-efficiency in the long run.
Enlist a Partner
IT leaders are investing a significant portion (26.7 percent) of their budgets on expertise from outsourced IT services providers to bring scarce capabilities and competencies, says Forrester.
Here's why: Technology partners can be helpful with budgeting, solutions planning, and outsourcing everything from infrastructure management to office applications. IT services providers can help you:
- Leverage new solutions or licensing strategies to create “upgrade room” in budgets.
- Outsource and optimize solutions to reduce in-house labor and costs.
- Efficiently optimize processes based on real-world experience
Your plans ultimately require C-suite support to minimize budget cuts or expand your near-term budget to achieve a key business objective. In these instances, a reputable IT services partner can help you identify technology adoption opportunities that help you leverage CapEx-to-OpEx conversion advantages.
Map IT Investments to KPIs
Speaking of C-suite buy-in, drawing the line between spend and outcomes is paramount to getting the support you need. According to Deloitte, 72 percent of CIOs say that the IT projects that appeal to leadership most are the ones that generate revenue or focus on innovation and emerging technology. Consider how your IT spending impacts company, location and department KPIs tied to ROI or other business objectives.
Cox Business Can Help
Cox Business can help you clarify strategic goals and identify solutions to help you meet them. We’re here to help you meet your needs today and flex to scale as you grow.
