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Are You IT Strategic? – Part II Last month we looked at questions to be asked when looking into new or updated technologies for your business. These questions focused on building a long term IT strategy rather than taking care of the “now.” Keep in mind the question to be asked: What is the strategy of the business from an IT perspective? This month we will look at three other technologies that represent growing trends within the technology sector: Data Backup, Data Storage, and Workstations. Data Backup: The number one reason business owners and C-Level personnel lose sleep at night: the backup. Data backup is the process of technology copying important information to disk, tape, or even CD/DVD. Since companies rely more and more on technology to run their business, it is important to know that their data is stable and recovery will be as painless as possible. However, this depends heavily on the technology used for this important task. Questions to ask when considering a new or updated solution:
Data Storage: Data continues to grow in our businesses as we depend more on email for communication, replace certain aspects of paper with digital imaging technologies, and rely more heavily on network based line of business applications. Buying disk space because it is low cost is not a strategic decision. Businesses need to consider several aspects of the data being stored on the network and having a good archiving strategy is key. Here are some key questions to ask when your storage needs continue to expand:
Workstations/Laptops: In most cases businesses buy desktops based on price vs. performance. With the release of the Vista, businesses are faced with a choice of sticking with XP Professional for now or moving forward with Vista. Each business scenario must be prepared to choose between the two operating systems based on what will be most productive for the end user. Below are some questions to ask when considering new workstations/laptops:
While I have provided few questions in each section to be asked when making IT purchases or decisions on new business solutions, the important aspect is to be sure they are asked or discussed. Buying technology based on price or what is “trendy” is not what makes a business strategic. Be sure that you align yourselves with the right internal IT staff or IT Solutions Providers who are focused on the long term direction of the company. Technology changes are fast and furious; make sure you stay strategic in all facets of your decision making process. |
Carl Mazzanti is Co-Founder and President of eMazzanti Technologies, Microsoft’s four time Partner of the Year and one of the premier IT consulting services for businesses throughout the New York metropolitan area and internationally. Carl and his company manage over 400 active accounts ranging from professional services firms to high-end global retailers.
eMazzanti is all about delivering powerful, efficient outsourced IT services, such as computer network management and troubleshooting, managed print, PCI DSS compliance, green computing, mobile workforce technology, information security, cloud computing, and business continuity and disaster recovery.
Carl Mazzanti is also a frequent business conference speaker and technology talk show guest and contributor at Microsoft-focused events, including frequent prominent roles at the Microsoft Inspire (Worldwide Partner Conference / WPC).
Carl, a serial Entrepreneur, gives back to the community through Entrepreneur teaching engagements at Georgetown University, the company’s ocean wildlife conservation effort, the Blue Project, and Tree Mazzanti.
