Overcoming IT Hurdles as a Small Business

Information Technology for small businesses may come with a few hurdles.

Running a successful small business can feel like a juggling act fit for Cirque du Soleil.

The pain points that many small business owners feel are universal.

Cash flow, labor, order fulfillment, etc., etc.

Among these objectives, and obstacles, often lost are the million little things that make them possible.

Optimizing your processes and safeguarding against the unthinkable can help your business grow and sustain itself under a variety of conditions, and with technology continuing to creep into every facet of our lives, developing and executing a reliable Information Technology (IT) plan can be the difference between progress and vulnerability.

Overcoming the obstacles that may stand in your business’s way for IT goes far beyond purchasing a laptop for your traveling salesman.

With so many options available and many technical variables, how do business owners ensure they are making the right decisions for their company?

What are some of the significant hurdles your business may face in the Information Technology realm?

By looking closer at some of the standard IT problems we see in today’s business landscape, we can assess some of the common pitfalls your business should be aware of and what it can do to avoid them.

But first, what’s so important about IT anyways?

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Information Technology is Growing Into Every Business Function

Consider your everyday life.

How do you read the news?

How do you communicate with family or friends that live across the country or the world?

How did you do those same actions 20 years ago?

How about 10 years ago?

The ’00s and ‘10s have ushered in a phenomenal rate of technology that seems to update faster than users truly get a chance to acclimate to.

We are connected with technology in ways that seemed impossible only a few decades ago, and now are so common we take them for granted.

Businesses must adapt and implement technology into their processes or risk losing customers who are accustomed to an evergrowing instant gratification expectation.

This is a world in which orders can be tracked thoroughly from the point of sale through delivery, and those same orders may even be processed and delivered within 24-36 hours.

Critical messages are expected to be answered instantaneously, and questions should be available the moment a question is posed.

Utilizing IT helps your business stay ahead of the competition and maintain the expectations of your customers.

Information Technologies encompass far more than a few computers.

There are phone systems to consider, passwords to develop, protections to implement, and so much more.

Information Technology is a wonderful tool, and staying on top of your IT strategy can help you retain customers, fulfill orders, work more efficiently, and so much more.

IT Security and Access

One of the easiest ways for a business to fail at reaching their full potential in their Information Technology processes is a lack of secured access.

Are you aware of who has access to sensitive information within your organization?

Is there a way for your company to trace a security breach?

Economic espionage is costing Americans billions of dollars every year with this trend on the rise, according to the FBI.

Securing your information and trade secrets is more critical than ever as companies domestic and abroad compete for additional market share.

Creating a solid plan of firewalls, access requirements, assessing the physical access to your hardware, etc., can be the difference between a competitive advantage or losing a first mover’s advantage.

Data Storage, Backup, and Usage

Hackers, hardware/software failure, viruses…it doesn’t matter, all you know is all of your data is gone.

All of it.

Good thing you have a secured backup for all of your data…right?

Without having a designated plan and design for how and where your business will store its data, and then back up said data, your IT goals and company are at risk of

losing everything.

Data is a powerful asset, and in today’s world, when we have the ability to track, monitor, and communicate in so many ways, losing your data can be a disaster that costs

you your business.

Furthermore, without a proper plan on how to utilize data created by your employees and/or gathered from customers, your company is not optimizing a tremendous opportunity.

You’re also losing money due to the labor it takes to acquire, organize, and deduct a conclusion from said data.

Put into place a plan on how your company’s data will be collected, stored, secured, backed up, and utilized.

Skipping even one of these steps can cost your business time, money, and heartache.

Applications and Updates

Connecting applications throughout your work processes can keep teams on the same page, work organized, and processes working smoother than ever before.

Take, for example, our previous section speaking on the collection of data.

Taking advantage of applications that can collect this data and even some which use machine learning to decipher some of the data for you can save you time and money.

Be sure to stay up to date with your applications to ensure everything works together smoothly and so that vulnerabilities are closed and your business remains secure.

Failing to Plan Your Information Technology Goals

Information Technology can seem daunting to those who are on the outside looking in, but if there’s one thing each aspect has in common: planning is the key to success.

There are a ton of options and technical terms that can have someone who is more casual towards technology as a whole feeling a bit overwhelmed.

Luckily, planning is an essential part of any business function, and that concept is not lost here.

You work hard to ensure your business is running well, and customers are satisfied. Outsourcing your IT planning and set up can help you mitigate mistakes and keep your focus on the thing you do best, running a business.

BEMA Information Technologies has the experts that help small businesses all across America assess, plan, and execute their IT goals.

Our IT assessments take an honest approach to what your goals are as a company and what it will take to make those goals a reality.

We take pride in jumpstarting small businesses through the power of Information Technology.

Contact Us Today and discover how an IT assessment can improve your business and help you overcome the various hurdles you may face.