If you want to make your SMB more competitive, one of the best places to look is at your technology usage. Are your electronics simply there, with technical issues that lead to downtime? Or does your technology actively support the goals of your business, help you reach higher levels of productivity and create happier employees and clients? If not, you can do something about it with XL.net’s strategic technology planning for Chicago SMBs.
Our Technology Alignment Plan (TAP) is what we call the overall roadmap and variety of services that we offer to our clients. This powerful tool supplies businesses with a clear idea of how they can improve various elements of their IT approach to support business goals.
SMBs are easily overpowered by big competitors when it comes to technological capabilities. Often that comes from the SMBs not using technology strategically.
In our strategic approach, we get to know your business — where it’s been, where it is and where you’d like it to go. And we get to know your tech — the problems, the benefits, the goals and the desired outcomes. Then we take all of that information and outline the next steps to XLerating your business.
IT alignment can offer benefits to your bottom line, the number of IT issues you have, market agility, satisfaction levels, collaboration and many other factors. Businesses that lack an alignment plan often have unorganized technology. By aligning your tech to your business goals, you can:
If you want to read more about the importance of aligning your tech strategy with your business goals, check out our guide on the subject.
When learning about your business, we interview key stakeholders and leadership about your technology. And we examine all the technology you have — from servers to meeting room monitors to printers. We make sure your tech suits your needs and your potential.
In less than a month, we give you a plan that can improve your performance and reduce IT issues by up to 80%.
You’ll walk out with a road map for the future — we see where your business is, and where it could go. We provide a document that outlines a few key items to get you there:
A ranked list of IT issues that are holding your business back. These might include security problems, slow IT response times, an inefficient process for updates, recurring service disruptions and other similar events. Identifying these efficiency-reducing elements is the first step in minimizing their effects on your business.
Projects that can be achieved within the next 90 days and success metrics. We'll identify possible technology projects, such as assessments or new implementations, as well as provide measurable data points for you to work with and calculate success.
A list of larger projects that require more time and resources and success metrics. Over time, once more of the short-term inefficiencies are reduced, you can start to focus on the big-picture elements, such as creating overall improvements to certain metrics. Continual monitoring and assessment are still critical throughout this year. As with the quarterly plan, we also provide clear measurables to work with.
We walk you through the plan and show you what you can do to reduce IT issues, increase employee efficiency, and align your IT with your business goals.
Once we’ve created a plan, we can help you follow through on it with all the resources you need. We offer a hands-on partnership that supplies you with an array of strategic IT services, including access to our 24/7 service desk, central services monitoring, a project engineer and much more. You can read more about our strategic IT services or contact us to find out more.
If you’re ready to learn more about your company’s technology usage, we can help. XL.net specializes in strategic business-IT alignment plans throughout Chicago and the surrounding area. Our expert staff has an array of skills and qualifications that make them particularly well-suited for the job.
Contact us today to request a TAP, and we’ll be in touch shortly.