When Forecasting Business Growth, Don’t Forget the IT!

Business growth—who doesn’t love it? Whether you’re a first-year entrepreneur on a shoestring budget or an established business with a solid customer base, you’re no doubt still planning ways to ramp up your game.

Offering an increased number of products? Actively searching for new customers? Looking to shift to a new market? All good ideas.Sometimes business growth happens organically; more often, it’s the result of careful planning and a clear focus on achieving a set goal. If you’re planning on expanding your business, don’t leave technology out of the equation. What types of technological growth should you count on? And what problems can neglecting your IT budget cause?

Tech and Business Should Grow Together

There are two ways IT should factor into your business growth plans—internally and externally. Internal IT will contribute directly to how your business runs. Examples of internal IT planning include:

• Increasing the number of available employee workstations, usually by adding desktops or laptop computers to your existing setup
• Making sure your network can handle additional traffic
• Purchasing new or expanded licenses for the software you use; making sure all licenses are current
• Considering additional or specialized software; for example, using specially designed accounting or inventory software can help you save time on routine tasks

• Updating or creating a website
• Regularly posting on your company blog
• Launching or reinforcing a social media presence through Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, or other sites
• Using email to keep in touch with your customer base, either through newsletters, email blasts (short, sales-oriented emails), or a combination of the two

In many cases, both internal and external IT planning and successful deployment will take time—lots of time. This brings you to another decision: are you equipped to handle this yourself, or will you delegate it? If you choose to delegate it, can it be done in-house, or should you hire a freelancer or a consulting company to manage it for you?

Don’t Neglect Planning for IT Growth!

The decision is yours. What’s right for one company may be completely wrong for another. But this question deserves serious consideration. Neglect your internal IT, and you sacrifice efficiency and performance; let your customer-facing technology grow outdated, and your client base will almost certainly shrink.

Either outcome is expensive. And since growth is the name of the game, neither of these outcomes is desirable for business owners.If you’re not sure about your IT future, give Techsperts Services a call. We can help you manage your internal IT needs in a way that will help your business adapt to future growth.