IT Strategic Planning Guide

The role of digital transformation can’t be undersold, and your information technology network can make or break your efforts. With the right IT strategic planning, you can save your company countless hours on day-to-day tasks. 

However, if you ignore your IT infrastructure you may be losing ground. Employees report wasting an average of 2.4 working hours a week because they lack the right technology support. 

So how can strategic planning in IT help, and what do you need to do to get started?

Strategic IT Planning Explained

The strategic planning process is all about looking forward so you can meet your goals efficiently. This strategy will provide you an operating plan to determine the technology investments you need to make and how they will be implemented. 

IT strategic planning helps set your business up for success and save money on hardware and software. It helps you make informed decisions and maintain the investment required to keep your IT infrastructure up-to-date and performing at peak efficiency. 

The Benefits of IT Strategy Planning 

Developing an IT strategy will help your company streamline the budget and slash costs in wasted areas. This process will give your organization a concrete structure to work from. IT planning helps you:

• Maintain Focus: Your strategic plans include specific goals and can highlight the areas you want to invest in for growth. When you remain focused on high-value operations, you can efficiently grow your business into the future. 
• Cut Down On Waste:   IT planning will save time and money by helping you invest in scalable technology and improving employee efficiency. 
• Stay Agile: Your IT strategy will help you react to issues and respond to changes in the market quickly, without getting bogged down in trivial details. 
• Promote Collaboration: Digital transformation allows your teams to stay in contact and work cohesively wherever they happen to be. 

6-Step IT Strategic Planning Process

These guiding principles will help your project managers enact a plan for long-term success.

1. Outline Your Mission

To start, you should draft your strategic goals. Identify your strengths and weaknesses and create a list of technologies that can help. Make sure your plan outlines key business opportunities you want to expand. Set mid-term goals you plan to achieve within 12-18 months. 

2. Stick to High-Level Viewpoint

It may be tempting to dive deep into all your available data while you make your plan. However, it’s best to take a high-level view rather than getting stuck analyzing every speck of data. Get input for each component of your plan by delegating analysis to teams from each department.  

3. Take Proactive Steps 

Your strategic initiatives should reflect forward-thinking business practices. The longer you wait to address a problem, the more costly it can become. While a short-term strategy can help you react, IT strategy and planning help you foresee issues and rapidly respond to change. 

4. Set Key Performance Metrics

Success metrics offer a quantifiable way to measure strategic objectives. These will help you assess your plan and evaluate areas that aren’t working. These metrics may include employee satisfaction, adoption rates, and financial budget management.

5. Allocate Resources

Make sure your plan includes itemizing the internal and external resources you need to invest in so you can properly allocate them. Once you know what you need, it’s time to put your plan into action. Hiring an IT managed services firm can help you get the ball rolling more efficiently, and help you save money in the process.

6. Get Your Team On-Board

One of the main reasons that 67% of strategic plans fail is because of lack of employee enrollment. If your team isn’t implementing your vision properly, take time to identify what’s holding them back. By listening to your team and helping everyone work towards a common goal, your vision is much more likely to become a reality.  

IT Strategy and Planning That Supports the Dreams of the Doers

IT plays a critical role in your business’s future, but without a forward-thinking strategy, you can drain your resources without ever reaching your company’s full potential. That’s why it’s crucial to have someone with the expertise you need on your side. 

Netsurit has over 24 years of experience offering complete end-to-end IT support. We can provide everything you need, including hardware, software, data, and security. 

Our award-winning team of experts will help you implement an IT strategy that keeps your business on the path to success.
Get in touch with us today to find out how we can help you align IT with your business goals.