The Importance of Having an IT Plan for Your Organization
16 Jul 2020 IT Services
The strategic planning of IT processes can be a critical part of ensuring that a business performs optimally, as a proper IT plan will provide more than just support, advice, and assistance. At EC Managed IT, they understand the importance of having an IT plan for your organization, and they can help you create the ideal IT strategic plan for your unique business needs.
What is an IT Strategic Plan?
An information technology (IT) strategic plan is a document that outlines the different technology-based business management processes that an organization uses to guide successful operations. This plan is designed to act as a guide for employees to use when making IT-related decisions, as well as to help the organization put together its overall IT strategy. While an IT strategy focuses on how it will help the organization succeed, an IT strategic plan will help the business implement those strategies.
IT Strategic Planning Process
The process for creating an IT strategic plan will often be as follows:
1. Overview of the IT Plan
During the first stage of putting together an IT strategic plan, a business will need to define a long-term vision and mission statement for the business. Doing so will show where you want the business to go and how these goals relate to the strategic objectives of the organization.
2. Long-Term Vision of the Company
It is important to analyze the technological and human resources that the company already has, as well as the market trends and the future technological environment that the organization plans to use to achieve its objectives. This will help the business define the strategic guidelines and tangible objectives that they want to achieve.
3. Defining Gaps in the IT Plan
Make sure to study the current state of the company’s systems, processes, and technology assets and to compare them to the long-term business prospects defined in the previous step. By comparing the two, you will be able to identify gaps in the IT plan and recommend any necessary actions.
4. Scheduling and Budgeting
Building an effective IT plan involves developing priorities and putting together budgets and an investment plan for purchasing new software and hardware in the future.
5. Implementing the IT Strategic Plan
Based on what the organization defined in their strategic plan, decisions can be made to reach the agreed upon objectives, including training, vendor and software selection, system integration, and hardware procurement.
6. Benchmarking
After the IT strategic plan has been implemented, it is important to evaluate the results and compare them with the organizational objectives defined in the document. This will help you determine if the plan and its implementation achieved the expected results.
If you would like to learn more about the importance of having an IT plan for your organization, or if you are interested in one of their IT consulting services, please contact EC Managed IT at 604-888-7904 or by requesting a consultation online.
