It's 2006. Does your business have a road map to address
your business challenges and opportunities with new
technologies?
If you answered 'no,' then you've come to the right
place.
With the new year comes new and emerging technologies to
consider for your business. For instance, in 2006 you might want to
take advantage of wireless Internet Protocol (IP) phones, unified
messaging or videoconferencing. All three are now available for
small businesses, and all three can improve operational
efficiencies, employee productivity and provide substantial cost
savings--crucial competitive advantages for any small business.
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Before you invest in any technology, however, you need a plan--a
road map that matches short-term and long-term business goals with
specific technology solutions to help you meet those goals.
But small businesses often don't have a plan for technology
acquisition. Instead, they traditionally add technology as a means
of only addressing an immediate problem. That approach can set the
stage for problems as companies evolve.
In other words, without a road map, you may be investing in the
wrong technology for your business at the wrong time. In addition
to wasting money, you may be creating more problems than the
technology was intended to solve in the first place.
Here's how to create a technology road map for your
business.
Step 1: Identify current and potential
business challenges
Identifying what your most pressing obstacles are today--and what
they'll likely be tomorrow--can help you accurately determine
the best technology solutions for overcoming those challenges. Some
common challenges small businesses face include:
- improving operational efficiencies,
- enhancing customer responsiveness,
- containing costs of doing business, and
- keeping data secure.
Step 2: Map the new technology solution
to the biggest business challenge
For your 2006 (and beyond) technology plan, connect the dots
between your biggest business challenge and the specific technology
solution that addresses that challenge.
For example, if improving operational efficiency is your biggest
challenge, consider investing in a secure computer network
foundation. Such a flexible communications platform supports
wireless networks, virtual private networks (VPNs), and other
communications tools. A secure computer network foundation goes a
long way toward improving your business's operational
efficiencies by enabling employees to communicate more easily
wherever they go.
Similarly, if reducing operating costs is your top priority,
consider a converged network capable of carrying voice and video as
well as data. You'll have only one network to manage, which
reduces costs; you can take advantage of voice over internet
protocol, a great way to cut telecommunications costs; and so on
(read "Should Your Business Switch to VoIP?").
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