Strategic IT Planning for the New Year

With 2025 fast approaching, many of our executive clientele are reflecting on past decisions and planning for the future.

At Blue Tree Technology Group, we take strategic planning more seriously than simply adopting new tools and trends. We find efficient and innovative ways to align technology with business goals.

In this article, I share some tried and tested tips for strategic IT planning, including gap analysis, budget review, contingency planning, and integrating new technology systems. This article is intended to be a light read, but will cover several aspects you might want to consider to begin working towards developing a strategic IT roadmap for 2025.

1. Review Current State

Before you make plans for the new year, look back on the previous year, reviewing the current state of IT systems, infrastructure, and objectives. Recognize the goals made and what was actually accomplished so you can make necessary amendments going forward. Don’t forget to celebrate even the small successes and milestones, as those moments often get lost in the bigger picture, and identify losses and failures transparently.

Below are areas to consider when planning for the new year:

  • User Experience: Are your employees and customers benefiting from your tech innovation and accessibility?
  • Cybersecurity Measures: Are you and your clients protected against potential threats?
  • Software and Hardware: Are your existing systems up-to-date?
  • Performance Indicators: Are your processes ensuring reliability, speed, and capacity required to support your business objectives?

When you understand what works for you in the present, you can easily identify gaps, mitigate redundancies, and pinpoint areas for improvement and investment in the future.

2. Aligning Technology with Business Goals

Technology is not an underdog; it should be the a leading player in your business strategy. Start by meeting key stakeholders and the leadership of your organization to discuss business priorities for the next year. These might consist of entering new markets, acquiring new entities, developing new products, improving customer experience, and/or introducing new systems and processes.

Answers to the following questions will help bridge the gap between your business goals and IT planning.

  • What objectives do you plan on achieving in the next 12 months?
  • What obstacles are proving challenging to your company?
  • How can IT planning help achieve those goals?

For example, if operational efficiency is at the top of your list, invest in cloud computing solutions or automation tools to increase productivity and eliminate manual tasks.

3. Introducing New Technology Trends

The rise of technological innovation continues to surprise us, and the only way to survive this acceleration is to keep up with the latest trends. I’m not saying you have to run after every keyword, but you should be open to welcoming new technologies that complement your business goals.

Here are some upcoming trends to look out for:

  • Data Analytics: When used effectively, data can be proved a valuable resource by providing insight into efficiency and growth.
  • Cloud Computing: All businesses, irrespective of their size, are now able to acquire resources such as storage, software, and servers through a cloud computing service.
  • Evolution in Cybersecurity: In 2025, threat detection, zero trust architecture, and endpoint detection will help businesses combat cyber threats.
  • Artificial Intelligence: Most organizations are in the very beginning stages of trying to understand how to leverage AI to optimize their business. Those who are not finding small and big ways to put it into practice in 2025 will be outperformed by their competition in the years to follow.

4. Annual Risk Assessment

Did you encounter a data breach you weren’t technologically prepared for? Don’t let that happen in 2025! Treat cybersecurity as a priority; not an option.

You should be prepared to tackle cyber threats by installing protective systems to maintain customer privacy, safeguard vulnerable information, and avoid costly disruptions.

Your IT roadmap for 2025 should consider the following:

  • Human error poses a major risk to your business. Ensure your employees are familiar with the best cybersecurity practices and can easily identify phishing attempts and external fraudulent activities.
  • Identify loopholes in your existing systems and processes.
  • Communicate actionable steps within your team in case of potential breaches.
  • Systems like firewalls, multi-factor authentication, patch management, and end-to-end encryption help organizations secure their database.

The 2024 IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report revealed a 10% increase in breach costs from the previous year, resulting in the largest annual rise since the pandemic. This data indicates a potential increase in 2025 as well, and only businesses with strong defenses will be able to protect themselves.

5. Contingency Planning

Success and failure are unpredictable in the business landscape. However, your IT planning for the new year should cover areas for change, growth, and any mishaps.

Plan on scaling your operations next year? Embracing new technologies or navigating external challenges? A flexible IT plan will help you prepare for unpredictability.

  • Automate Workloads: When you automate manual workloads, you save time and eliminate chances of error, enabling your team to focus on making high-value decisions.
  • Advanced Solutions: Scalable solutions like modular software, cloud infrastructure, and subscription-based tools can boost productivity without major disruptions.
  • Hybrid and Remote Models: Don’t let geographical barriers hinder your success. In 2025, hire the best talent from across the globe, but ensure your IT systems can maintain secure and seamless connections with remote employees.

6. Budget to Support Your IT Investments

Think beyond the next year. Perhaps draft a 3-year budget that supports your strategic planning. Start by identifying your top priorities. New IT infrastructure, vendor proposals, compensating your IT team, new projects, or investment in modern technologies can help you plan ahead of time and set an estimate of what you’re likely to spend in the future.  

Involve your team to review your annual IT strategy and make budget recommendations on how IT can secure and sustain your future goals.  

For an effective IT budget: 

  • Prioritize Investments that deliver maximum ROI 
  • Include all costs related to IT solutions, maintenance, implementation, and training. 

7. Track Growth and Drive Results

A successful IT plan is not stagnant. Today’s business challenges and technology are changing every second, which means your strategy needs to be adjusted to new factors of success, as well. Make it tangible and delineate key performance indicators (KPIs) which will help in measuring the success of your annual IT strategy.

Consider the below KPIs:

  • Are your existing IT investments delivering the expected ROI?
  • Has user experience improved since the new installations?
  • Are IT systems running smoothly with minimum disruption?

Frequently visit your IT roadmap to track progress and adjust strategies to make sure they align with future business goals.

Wrapping Up Your Annual IT Planning Effort!

Strategic IT roadmap planning and development is not a one-time practice; it must be continuous and long-lasting. At Blue Tree Technology Group, we follow this through routine meetings, budget analysis, IT audits, and endorsing new technology plans.

Additionally, we partner with clients by regularly looking for ways to assist them in improving productivity, enhancing security, and building a trusted business community to increase their leverage.

Whether leveraging our team, another trusted advisor, or managing strategic planning inhouse, by following these steps in 2025 and making them a crucial part of your strategic IT planning efforts, you can avoid future headaches that may arise from a lack of preparation. If you invest wisely and stay adaptable throughout the year, you’ll notice the impact your planning made – not just on IT but your entire organization!

Stay Competitive with Effective Technology Procurement Practices

At Blue Tree, procurement isn’t just something we do—it’s where we began. Our journey started almost a decade ago with a singular focus on procurement, mastering the art of supporting our clients by acquiring the best-fit technology solutions for their specific needs. This foundational expertise in procurement is what makes us so exceptional at it today. Over time, we’ve grown and expanded our services, but our roots in facilitating best-practice procurement processes have always been at the core of our success, guiding multiple aspects of our company’s evolution.

The Power of Choice: Our 3 Delivery Models

Fast forward to today, and Blue Tree’s procurement services have evolved into a dynamic offering with three distinct delivery models:

1. Consultative Engagement:

We bring our industry expertise and deep understanding of the vendor landscape to the table. Our mission? To advise clients on improving processes, assisting them through the procurement process for new products or services, and ensuring successful implementation and integration.

2. Staff Augmentation:

Need extra hands on deck? This model involves our team members working directly with clients, either on an hourly basis or through set blocks of hours, effectively acting as extensions of the clients’ teams while following their processes and using their tools.

3. Outsourced Fulfillment:

For clients who are short on time, resources, or expertise, we step in to take full control of procurement strategy and tasks. Using our home-grown best practice blueprint, we facilitate requirements gathering, due diligence, market evaluation, decision-making, negotiations, and implementation activities on behalf of our clients, ensuring ease and efficiency throughout the process.

Understanding Procurement

Every organization requires technology services, products, and personnel to function efficiently. At its core, procurement is about acquiring these resources to enable employees to perform their roles effectively. Our goal is to help clients make informed decisions at the best price, negotiate favorable terms, and plan for successful implementations.

The Importance of IT Procurement

IT procurement is not just about purchasing technology; it’s a critical process that aligns IT investments with an organization’s overall business strategy. Every organization that relies on IT needs a structured approach to acquiring the technology products and services essential for its operations. IT procurement can range from ad-hoc purchases to highly detailed and strategic planning. It involves a series of processes that start with identifying the business and strategic needs for IT, selecting the right solutions, and then executing the purchase. Typically, there are distinct processes for new IT initiatives compared to updating existing systems.

The Growing Need for Expert Procurement

But why is expert IT procurement so essential? The answer lies in the sheer volume of new applications and technologies emerging every day. We’re talking about hundreds of new software apps, cloud-based solutions, and SaaS products being introduced at a breakneck pace. On top of that, rapidly evolving technologies like AI and Machine Learning are continually reshaping the marketplace with new products and services.

It’s nearly impossible for any organization to stay up-to-date with who the market leaders are in delivering specific types of products or services. The need for expertise in procurement is growing as a result. Most organizations, particularly those that aren't massive enterprises, don’t have the demand to hire a full-time employee solely to manage procurement. Their need to purchase new technology isn’t constant; it varies, and because of this, more and more companies are turning to trusted advisors outside their organization to help.

When it comes to highly specialized or industry-specific products and service adoption or migration, we have the processes in place for success. For these types of situations, we frequently lean heavily on subject matter experts to ensure everything is handled with the utmost precision. This approach ensures that organizations, regardless of size, can navigate the complex and ever-changing tech landscape with confidence.

Why Focus on IT Procurement?

Procuring IT is more than just a transactional activity—it’s a crucial part of achieving strategic and operational objectives. Given the fundamental role IT plays in business success and transformation, IT procurement should involve key stakeholders from across the organization, including leadership from all business units at times. The process must ensure that IT investments are carefully aligned with the business’s needs, leading to informed and impactful decisions that drive the organization forward.

The Complexity of Procurement

Procurement isn’t always a straightforward task. It can range from the simple, like buying new laptops for your team, to the complex, like overhauling an entire legacy technology system. The latter often requires significant changes—both technological and organizational. With new applications and technologies emerging daily, staying current with market leaders is a challenge. For many organizations, especially those not at the enterprise level, having a full-time procurement specialist just isn’t feasible. That’s where Blue Tree steps in, providing the expertise you need, when you need it.

The Blue Tree Advantage

What do our clients gain from partnering with us? Confidence. Confidence in their decision-making process, confidence in the speed and efficiency of their procurement, and confidence in the value they’re getting. Often, IT departments or business leaders—who may not be seasoned in procurement—find themselves tasked with making crucial purchasing decisions. Our services ensure they have access to the right expertise and data, leading to quicker evaluations, faster negotiations, and ultimately, significant savings and a higher return on each investment.

Specialized Procurement Expertise When You Need It Most

Even if your organization manages most vendor relationships in-house, there are times when you might need specialized expertise for a major purchase—like a data center or a CRM system. That’s where our procurement services come in. We provide the confidence and know-how you need to make those big decisions with ease.

Curious about partnering with Blue Tree Technology Group? Schedule a 15-minute Intro Meeting with me to explore how we can support your business goals. I look forward to connecting!

10 Signs You May Want To Hire A Technology Consulting Firm To Help Your Business

Have you ever wondered when the right time is to bring in a technology consulting firm to help your organization? 

One of the lessons many business leaders inevitably learn is that consultants are a very important part of growing a business. In fact, most established businesses get to a point where they recognize they could benefit from outside help.

Technology consulting services can positively impact efficiency, return on investment (ROI), productivity, and competitiveness for all sizes of businesses. They enable organizations to focus on their core business functions while leveraging the benefits of consulting.

How do you know when you need a technology consultant, and what do you look for to know how to choose the right one for your business? Here’s how.

What is a Technology Consultant (and What Do They Do?)

Technology consultants help companies address business needs and identify and solve problems by leveraging technology. They work with organizations to maximize their existing technology or how to invest in new technologies to support business goals.

Technology consultants play an integral role advising leaders on how technology can drive organizational success. They often work with internal IT staff on a wide range of activities, including:

  • Analyzing current IT processes and systems to identify issues and resolutions.
  • Establishing a technology budget.
  • Determining cybersecurity threats and implementing solutions to address them.
  • Assessing existing infrastructure and addressing maintenance needs and enhancements.
  • Designing and implementing new systems and processes.
  • Supplementing staff needs in key areas with the required expertise.

Technology consultants may manage short-term, long-term, and complex multi-phased projects. They keep a pulse on technology advances and make recommendations based on their clients’ needs.

10 Signs to Bring in a Technology Consultant

Now that you know what a technology consultant is, you may ask yourself how to know when to consider hiring one. Here are some of the ways to know a technology consultant may benefit your organization.

1. You need help keeping up with emerging technology—Technology is rapidly evolving, and running your business, serving your customers, and keeping tabs on technology trends can be challenging.

2. You’re struggling to meet (or set!) goals—Are you setting one-, three-, and five-year plans, and are you meeting your goals? A consultant can help you establish a roadmap to set goals with strategies to achieve them.

3. You want a spark of inspiration—Running a business can cause tunnel vision. Reaching out for a fresh perspective backed by data and experience provides exposure to new ideas you may not get within your organization.

4. You lack specialized skills—If you don’t have a specialized skill set that you’ll need for a particular project, it’s a good idea to look to bring in a consultant. Supplement your need for the time you require without bringing on permanent staff.

5. You need to supplement staff—Sometimes, you can’t wait to hire the right person for the job, or you can’t find someone with the right experience. Bring in an technology consultant who can fill those critical gaps.

6. You are seeking objectivity—A technology consultant can serve as a catalyst for change by providing much-needed objectivity. Change can be difficult, and an external resource who cares about your organization with the advantage of distance can provide fresh insight.

7. You need help growing your business—If your business financials don’t reflect your goal achievement, you may want assistance solving the gap.

8. You want to grow your employees—Technology consultants leverage their skills and experience to train and mentor staff to improve performance.

9. You’ve stalled out—Sometimes, businesses have a solid roadmap for the future but just don’t know how to implement it. Bringing in a consultant can provide the time, expertise, and resources to get you started.

10. You need a quick fix—Not all businesses have adequate resources to manage time-sensitive projects like regulatory compliance or the ability to exploit an opportunity. Bringing in an experienced technology consultant can help you ramp up quickly so you don’t miss out.

What Qualifies As a Good Consulting Practice

It should go without saying that any good consulting practice you consider has technological proficiency in the area(s) you need. Some specialize in particular areas like cybersecurity or infrastructure, while others offer more generalist services.

A generalist may be beneficial if you don’t know exactly what you need or have needs in multiple areas. Either way, they need qualifications and experience to support you.

Good consulting practices have technical chops, and their consultants have solid interpersonal and communication skills, attention to detail, and critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Some may have degrees and certifications, including Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Certified Information Security Manager (CISM), and Project Management Professional (PMP).

One of the most important and intangible qualifications of a good technology consultant is that they care. A good consultant not only wants to provide solutions to address business needs and problems, but they genuinely care about the outcome. If a consultant takes a long-term view of your relationship, it’s a good bet they understand the importance of this!

How to Choose the Right Tech Consultant

Knowing you could benefit from technology consulting is a great first step. Once you decide to hire a consultant, here are some recommendations for choosing the right one.

1. Ask a lot of questions. Don’t be shy, as you’ll potentially work with them. Ask detailed questions about their approach, experience, and client relationships.

2. Check their reviews, references, and track record. Do your homework and check their online presence and with your network. With apps like LinkedIn, chances are you know someone who may know them.

3. Consider their view. When you talk with the consultant, do they share details and take a long-term view? Do they focus on relationships or exclusively on results? Have they worked on multiple projects with companies, or do they tend to make one-time commitments? These can provide insight into what you might expect from working with them.

4. Do they have the expertise you need? Do you need a consultant for one project, or do you need multiple people with very specialized knowledge? This understanding can help you decide on current and potential future needs.

5. Review their website and marketing materials. Are they professional and clearly details their skills, expertise, and experience? Do they show well-documented case studies? Do their values align with yours? Pay attention to how they present themselves.

After you do your homework, sit with your decision a bit. Consider your research, what you heard, and what your network said. Ask yourself: is this an organization I can learn from, grow with, and get the support needed to build my business? You have found a partner if you can answer yes to all of these questions.

Selecting the right technology consulting firm can be overwhelming, but we believe we could be the perfect match for your company. With our extensive experience across diverse industries, we’re confident in our ability to support your unique needs.

Let’s explore how we can work together. Schedule a complimentary 15-minute strategy call.

Vendor Management: What It Is and How It Will Save Your Business Money

Vendor Management: What It Is and How It Will Save Your Business Money

As your business relies more and more on external vendors for your technological needs, you must find new, efficient ways to manage risk, reduce expenses, and improve vendor performance.

The question of whether to manage these needs in-house or to outsource them depends upon your company’s size, number of vendors, and future goals. Outsourcing the management of your technology vendors could be the decision that saves your company’s budget and security.

In this post, we will explore what vendor management is and how outsourcing it can help gain control of spending and online security.

What is Vendor Management?

Vendor management is the process of overseeing and controlling relationships and interactions with third-party suppliers or vendors that provide goods, services, or resources to an organization.

It involves activities such as selecting appropriate vendors, negotiating contracts, monitoring performance, resolving disputes, and ensuring that vendors meet their contractual obligations.

The goal is to optimize the value of vendor relationships, minimize risks, and ensure that the organization receives high-quality goods and services at competitive prices.

Here at Blue Tree, when we speak about Vendor Management, we are referring specifically to technology vendors. This includes managing relationships with suppliers of hardware, software, security & compliance, professional services, and telecom, to ensure they meet performance standards, compliance requirements, and strategic goals.

Technology vendors may include the following (and more):

Hardware 

  • Servers
  • Personal computers
  • Storage equipment
  • Networking equipment
  • Computer peripherals – monitors, keyboards, mice, printers, scanners

Software

  • Operating systems
  • Productivity suites
  • Creative tools
  • PM System
  • HR System
  • Payroll System
  • Sales CRM

Security & Compliance 

  • Cybersecurity
  • Data protection and encryption
  • Identity and access management
  • Compliance and governance
  • Cloud security

Professional Services

  • Cloud computing
  • Data analytics
  • IT outsourcing
  • Staff augmentation
  • Consulting
  • Managed services

Telecommunications 

  • Landline phones
  • Mobile phones
  • Phone service providers
  • Telecom infrastructure providers
  • Internet service providers

Why Vendor Management is Important

Your business is becoming increasingly dependent on specialized technological services and therefore, on external vendors. The level of risk in the marketplace increases as vendor services increase.

It is critical, now more than ever, to be able to rely on your product and service providers, and to focus efforts on where you can get the largest return for your investment in third-party products and services.

Successful vendor management teams regularly assess vendor contracts, hold vendors accountable over time, and maintain relationships with their vendors.

Vendor management is the answer to understanding who your vendors are, mastering your vendor contracts, and controlling your technology spending. 

How Outsourcing Vendor Management Saves You Money

With each inefficient process, unreliable vendor, or uninformed department, your company is losing money. 

Making sure you have the right vendor for the job and that your relationship with each vendor is maintained requires you to have the right team in place. 

In many situations, this means outsourcing your vendor management needs, which will ultimately save you money.

Here are just a few of the money-saving benefits you will gain by outsourcing your vendor management needs:

  • More cost-effective than hiring a full-time employee for the task
  • Cost control through negotiations with vendors
  • Support and cost-saving strategy suggestions for your finance officer
  • Avoid duplicate technologies among vendors
  • Clear tracking of subscriptions, auto renewals, and free trials
  • Streamlined processes that reduce waste
  • Access to specialized tools and technologies for monitoring, tracking, and analyzing
  • More time to focus on core business activities
  • Avoid costly disruptions caused by contract and compliance issues

Your business will save money and resources by outsourcing this function to a team that does this every day, thereby avoiding the costs related to hiring and maintaining an employee for this responsibility.

With an effective vendor management team, you have a network of dependable people whose job it is to know who the top vendors in the marketplace are at all times and how to leverage those vendors for maximum ROI. Vendor management services give you the information and data you need to make organizational and financial decisions.

How to Know if You Need Help with Vendor Management

The chances are that at a minimum, you could use some help with improving your vendor management system, but you don’t have the data or the team you need to get started. At a maximum, you are sinking with the weight of unmitigated risk. Either way, outsourcing vendor management can help!

Are you facing any of the following challenges?

  • Trouble managing current vendors
  • Lack of in-house vendor management expertise
  • Scaling company, resulting in expanding tech needs
  • Concern about risk management
  • Struggling to keep up with technological advancements

Now let’s dig deeper! Can you answer these questions about your vendors and contracts?

  • Do we know what we are getting from our vendors and is it worth it?
  • How do we quantify data regarding our vendors and their performance?
  • Are there better alternate options to our existing technologies and vendors?
  • Do we know that we are not duplicating spending?
  • Are all of our vendor contracts documented, organized, and searchable?
  • Are all critical vendor contract data known, documented, and tracked?
  • Expiration dates?
  • Early termination penalties?
  • Out clauses?
  • Are vendor terms & conditions based on best practices?
  • When there’s an issue, do we know who to contact…and are escalation paths known, documented, and accessible?
  • Do our vendor partnerships support our strategic business direction?

Vendor Management Case Study

Blue Tree was recently able to help a San Francisco Bay Area-based organization specializing in a range of social services. 

Our client’s small team of IT engineers struggled to manage a complex network connecting over 40 remote sites with limited resources, limited time, and no formal processes.  The demanding requirements from various counties in California necessitated frequent and rapid site additions. Lack of resources and formal processes caused application performance issues, system downtime, delays in site migrations, and high operational and vendor service fees.

Blue Tree’s Vendor Management practice provided expertise to support the executive team, corporate IT team, and various business units with vendor and site operational management. We documented technology vendor relationships and services, organized and assessed service contracts, and created formal processes for managing existing vendors and procuring new services. We moved our customer from an underperforming data center provider to a high-performing provider. Additionally, we established procedures for site moves, adds, and changes, negotiated new and existing contracts to meet best practice standards, and provided continuous oversight of technology vendors and services. 

This comprehensive management not only addressed their immediate challenges but also laid the foundation for streamlined operations, cost savings, and enhanced vendor relationships. Read more here.

Next Steps

At Blue Tree, we have developed a robust life cycle approach to helping organizations think about how they are deploying technology, making buying decisions, and managing technology. 

We have also created a proprietary Vendor Management system and have a formal process for making sure that plans are sustainable and scalable. 

If you’re looking for a team of experts to implement a Vendor Management program within your organization, please reach out. We’re ready to help! A comprehensive Vendor Management program is essential for growing and protecting your business, especially for long-term success.

What Is Shadow IT and How Is It Impacting Your Bottom Line?

In the ever-evolving landscape of enterprise technology, CIOs and CFOs are facing a new challenge – the rise of shadow IT expenses. 

As employees increasingly adopt and integrate external technologies without the explicit approval of the IT department, managing these unaccounted expenses has become a critical concern for organizations.  

In this article, we explore the complexities of shadow IT and provide a strategic approach for CIOs and CFOs to effectively manage and mitigate the associated costs.

What Is Shadow IT?

Shadow IT refers to the use of technology, software, and services outside the sanctioned and managed IT infrastructure of an organization. While employees may turn to shadow IT for its perceived agility and efficiency, the associated expenses often go unnoticed until they impact the company’s bottom line. Common examples include unauthorized software subscriptions, cloud services, and collaboration tools.

The unregulated nature of shadow IT can introduce significant risks and costs to an organization. Security vulnerabilities, compliance issues, and duplication of services are just a few of the challenges that can arise. Moreover, the financial impact of shadow IT expenses can be substantial, affecting budgets and hindering strategic planning.

Cisco tells us that 80% of end users access software unapproved by IT.

VP of Experian, Michael Bruemmer, says 80% of breaches start with employee negligence. This includes Shadow IT.

Shadow IT is clearly not as sinister as it sounds. It’s usually just the result of people looking for better ways to do their jobs. Unfortunately, this type of technology can be a huge source of problems if left unchecked. 

Strategic Approaches to Managing Shadow IT Expenses:

1. Visibility and Discovery

  • Invest in tools and technologies that provide comprehensive visibility into the entire IT landscape, including shadow IT.
  • Regularly conduct discovery audits to identify unauthorized applications and services in use within the organization.

2. Educate and Empower Employees

  • Foster a culture of transparency by educating employees about the risks associated with shadow IT.
  • Empower staff to communicate their technology needs, encouraging them to involve IT in the decision-making process.

3. Establish Clear Policies

  • Develop and communicate clear policies regarding the use of external technologies.
  • Implement approval processes that ensure all IT-related expenditures align with organizational goals and security standards.

4. Collaborate with Business Units

  • Work closely with different business units to understand their specific technology requirements.
  • Collaborate on finding solutions that meet both business and IT objectives, reducing the inclination to resort to shadow IT.

5. Implement Cost Management Tools

  • Utilize cost management tools to track and analyze IT expenses, providing insights into where resources are being allocated.
  • Establish benchmarks and key performance indicators to measure the efficiency and effectiveness of IT spending.

6. Continuous Monitoring and Adaptation

  • Implement a continuous monitoring system to stay abreast of changes in the IT landscape.
  • Adapt policies and strategies based on evolving technology trends and employee needs.

By comprehending shadow IT and adeptly controlling it, you can reduce security vulnerabilities, enhance operational efficiency, maintain secure operations within budget constraints, and empower your team with the necessary tools to amplify productivity.

Reach out to our team of expert technology advisors for professional guidance on managing shadow IT and keeping it under control.

Why IT Is So Expensive & What You Can Do About It

Can you even imagine a world without technology? It’s hard to picture when we often exchange the phone in our hands only to pick up our laptop. Technology helps us to communicate with others and the objects around us. Our phones let us check our security system, lock up our house, gain access to our office, and check email.

When we look around today, Information Technology (IT) has permeated every aspect of our lives and our businesses. It helps us solve problems, create opportunities, and establish automation to create efficiency. However, we have become so reliant on it that we understate its benefits.

As a result, we often view IT as a commodity, not a value. When evaluating budgets, organizations often question the cost of IT and the return on investment that it provides. In this post, we’ll discuss the primary factors contributing to IT costs and ways you can optimize your technology spend.

As you might expect, many factors contribute to overall IT costs. Though they may vary across industries and organizations, the following four contributors significantly impact businesses and receive a lot of attention.

Contributors to IT Costs

1. Rising Costs of Hardware & IT Services

You can’t help but notice the rising cost of almost everything in recent years. Unsurprisingly, IT hardware and labor costs have also been pushed upwards between supply chain issues, inflation, and labor shortages.

Increasing costs have led many businesses to scrutinize their IT budgets, among others, to ensure a return on investment for their spending. However, it’s essential to consider the cost of not spending adequately on IT.

2. Importance of Cybersecurity

Any IT work, whether launching a website or building a global network, exposes your business to the risk of cybercrime. You’ve undoubtedly read articles about the cost of cybercrime and its impact.

According to Statista, the average cost of a data breach in the United States in 2023 is expected to be $9.48 million US dollars. And the estimated cost of cybercrime is projected to increase significantly. 

Protecting all systems and networks from unwanted digital attacks is essential, and cybersecurity must be a top priority for all businesses. Not only does cybersecurity help to protect your organization from financial attacks, but it also blocks disruptions to your business.

3. Leveraging Emerging Technologies

Changes in technology and emerging technologies also impact overall IT costs. While we can plan for some technological advances, we can’t plan for everything. Software designed for current needs eventually becomes outdated, often requiring costly updates.

New technologies may create opportunities and improve efficiency, but they come with a cost. Artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, cloud and edge computing, and other advanced technologies offer tremendous value at a significant cost.

According to McKinsey, corporate investments in 2022 in advanced technologies were more than $1 trillion, demonstrating faith in their potential value. AI alone is projected to add as much as $4.4 trillion in value in the coming years.

4. Hiring Qualified People with Specialized Expertise

Hiring the right people with the right experience is vital when staffing your IT projects. Not only do they need to understand current technology, but they also need to keep abreast of industry trends.

If you don’t have the right expertise, you may deal with business disruptions and costly security breaches. Without an ability to understand current business needs with an eye to future technological advances, you risk not only not solving today’s problems or meeting the current opportunity but also the ability to transform your future.  

What You Can Do to Optimize Your IT Spend

According to KPMG’s 2023 US Technology Survey Report, 65% of respondents said they must do more with less budget in 2023. If you’re fighting the same budget battles, you’re not alone.

Before you make changes, start with an internal assessment of your IT services.

This assessment should include hardware costs to internal and external staffing resources and processes. Anything within your IT budget and that IT touches should be evaluated to determine the value and return on investment.

This assessment will provide the foundation for change, which may validate the need for budget cuts, staffing adjustments, outsourcing, and more. Once you understand the costs and their ROI, you can then evaluate and compare your opportunities.

Are you looking for a team of technology strategy experts to help you optimize your IT spend? Our team here at Blue Tree would love to talk to you and explore how we can help by not only pinpointing the source of your technology challenges but designing, implementing, and supporting cost-effective solutions to help your business grow.

Driving Business Efficiency Through the Alignment of IT Service Delivery

Driving Business Efficiency Through the Alignment of IT Service Delivery

I have been approached by C-Level executives with a common question, “How do I eliminate the disconnect between the efforts produced by my IT Department and the perception of their service delivery by internal staff? The two are asymmetric!” 

The alignment of a company’s Information Technology Service Delivery and its internal Business Consumer can be a moving target for many small to medium sized businesses. 

Often, IT is perceived as hard working but producing limited work products or is slow to produce value to its end consumer, the Business. Interestingly, the disconnect has a hidden synergy requiring further introspection. 

The following breaks down these perceptions with a solution aligning IT and the Business in a more harmonious and interactive way.

Business Perception 1:
Delivery of requested requirements do not meet expectations

There is a classic visual representation for this phenomenon. Everyone, being human, takes their own experiences into how communication is delivered and understood. 

Sometimes there is a language barrier between what the Business is requesting and how IT interprets the needed support. When this happens, there becomes an obvious disconnect between the requestor and the service provider.

Graphic courtesy of Susanne Madsen, "5 Pitfalls that Prevent us from Delivering what the Customer Really Needs".

Business Perception 2:
IT is unable to Deliver Services within desired timelines

Many businesses started small and have grown homogeneously over time. Often, their IT staff also started small but did not grow in proportion with the Business. Frequently this is done to reinvest in other non-IT related aspects of the Business (e.g., hiring more staff, increasing product speed-to-market, or expansion of services). 

Unfortunately, when IT investment (staff, skillset, or toolset/infrastructure) does not grow incrementally with Business expansion, then the Business starts acquiring Technical Debt. 

What is Technical Debt? The industry defines this as a budgetary decision, based on present Business opportunities or circumstances, that forgoes the investment in IT resulting in the depletion of IT’s ability to provide the required service delivery in the future. For example, delaying a monetary decision to upgrade the organizations aging desktop fleet results in latent computer response time, thus slowing down the efficiency of the workforce. 

It also introduces vulnerabilities as Operating System manufacturers stop releasing security patches for those aged systems. This latter example creates a circumstance where an imminent security vulnerability could negatively impact the Business on a profound scale. 

The last example of Technical Debt is not growing IT staff and skillsets in a proportionate ratio of the number of employees supported. In this scenario the supply of technical resources cannot keep up with the demand for services requested. This commonly results in IT services being delivered outside of desired timelines. The cost of Technical Debt increases with time and can become a slippery downward slope. However, Technical Debt can be mitigated.

Solution

IT is the underpinning support enabling the business to produce its products or services. Orchestrating your Business users and IT staff in harmony is essential to success. Following is an approach to bring symmetry to operations.

Grahic courtesy of Info-Tech Research Group

1. Develop the Mission and Vision of the Business if none exists.

2. Evaluate your overall Organizational Maturity. Are there aspects that can be improved? Create a Three-Year Strategic Business Plan with targeted goals increasing Organizational Maturity alongside other growth-related business goals. Ensure goals are feasible, obtainable, realistic, and require both IT and the Business to implement aspects of those goals together.

3. Assess IT’s Service Delivery Maturity. Are they Unstable? In constant Firefighting mode? Aligned as a Trusted Operator? Already a Business Partner? Or are they a full-on Innovator? If the assessment does not fall within the Business Partner or Innovator levels, work with IT to create a Three-Year IT Roadmap aligning with the Strategic Business Plan, Mission, and Vision. Periodically measure business stakeholder satisfaction throughout implementation of the IT Roadmap to measure gains or identify delivery aspects requiring further improvement. If internal resources are spread too thin to facilitate the assessment and IT Roadmap, reach out to a reputable consulting firm who can provide access to evaluation tools and assist with your planning.

4. Create an IT Steering Committee of key stakeholders consisting of a small but core group of strategic Business and IT leaders. This Committee should report to an Executive Stakeholder and collaboratively select the core IT investments required by the Business and provide principal oversite on execution and budgetary allocation.

Rome wasn’t built in a day. Give the organization time necessary to complete the above recommendations in a useful and impactful way. Ensure your strategic goals have metrics to measure whether they are being achieved. Carefully plan for budget to support these goals over a specified timeline. Adopt an organizational value set that facilitates both IT and the Business dialing into the frequency from which each is communicating to fully understand the context and intent of the Service Request and its fulfillment within Service Delivery. And lastly, continue to drive synergy and innovation by celebrating the incremental wins together.

Bridging the gap between IT and business needs can unlock remarkable efficiency and innovation, but it requires the right strategy and alignment. If your organization is ready to assess your IT maturity, reduce technical debt, and create real synergy between IT and business teams, let’s talk!

Book a quick intro meeting to explore how we can help you align IT with your business objectives and set a path toward sustainable growth.