Strategies for Creating an Intelligent IT Plan

Strategies for Creating an Intelligent IT Plan

By Robert P. Green, CPA.CITP

An IT Strategic Plan Ultimately Will Make a Business More Effective & Prosperous

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any business owners regard information technology (IT) as yet another of many demands on their overhead budget — a mountain of cost without any tangible return — and in many ways like disposable equipment. In reality, IT is an integral part of business operations that requires planning, intelligent execution and maintenance. IT plans--similar to a business plan but emphasizing IT initiatives-may differ in their look and structure, but they have four foundational objectives in common that you should keep in mind as you move forward: Adopt a planning-oriented perspective to IT as a whole Consider existing (and near-term) business needs and conditions Implement the plan using suitable employees, outside consultants and vendors Consider financial and operational constraints and parameters 13

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As a business owner, CEO or other management/ operations executive, you are the logical candidate to oversee and integrate IT planning. This doesn’t require you to be an IT guru.

Rather, IT should be part of your overall strategic planning process to ensure that the business’ systems support the business’ objectives, and provide security and integrity for the underlying data.

Adopt a Planning-Oriented Perspective If you examine the business and its existing needs, you are more likely to value IT as having a far-reaching impact.

Sadly, most businesses view IT as not a particularly integral set of fixtures and services.

As a result, business owners deploy a Band-Aid approach to IT activities. They fail to see how IT can dramatically impact their overall business effectiveness, and allow for growth to occur without losing control.

Often, IT projects occur because: An owner sees something interesting that they “gotta have now,” and it ultimately results in nothing positive for the business A particular manager screams loud enough for a project that they need for their area, without regard to how it may impact the priority list of the company as a whole

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Harm has occurred, such as a major security breach, requiring new devices (firewalls, etc.) and software (intrusion detection, antivirus, etc.) that should have been present anyway A customer, banker or influential outsider requires specific data, programs or IT procedures to do business with them How do you break this norm? Prudence, planning and managerial governance.

IT projects should occur as part of a rational, prioritized plan in concert with business objectives, rather than the result of crises, subjective whims or other factors.

Existing Business Needs and Conditions How do you begin? Strategic IT planning is not a one-size-fits-all process. Each business has its own unique needs and conditions and is at a different IT starting point.

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This starting point is defined as the business’ current IT environment. During the planning process, measure your existing systems against what you would reasonably use if you started today with a suitable IT environment.

Other conditions exist that impact IT planning and implementation. Each business has its own culture, plans for the future, spending capabilities, commitment to IT, zeal for process improvements, ownership structure and management philosophies. Most importantly, each business has its own mix of employee experience, IT savvy and tolerance for change.

Only when these and other businessspecific parameters are made known and understood can reasonable steps be taken to implement broad IT initiatives that ultimately will help your business run more effectively and prosperously.

In its simplest form, IT strategic planning begins, not by looking at technology, but at the business itself. The IT strategic planning process first considers the existing business, its IT environment, its users, their needs and the business’ plans for the future.

Mapping Solutions After your current environment is clearly defined, you’ll need to brainstorm possible solutions. A multidisciplinary team should be part of the solutioncreation phase. This is the critical part of the planning process. It requires participation of your Chief Information Officer (CIO), your Chief Technology

Officer (CTO), and, or absent either of these leaders, a competent, experienced outside IT professional. In any case, these persons should maintain a solid understanding of IT tools available in the marketplace and how they can impact the business’ operations and work flows. Although you may be tempted to enlist your company controller or network administrator to execute these tasks alone, they may not have a broad enough perspective or enough knowledge of the company to adequately do the job.

Your team will need to identify the following: Business functions and processes Existing tools used to support functions and processes Gaps between the tools used and those available Priority of “bridging the gaps” IT solutions (e.g.; hardware, software, processes, etc.) that solve the gap challenges

Clarifying the Steps Once reasonable solutions are conceived, a strategy to implement them is devised. This strategy should identify the activities that need to be undertaken, when they should occur and what resources-people, equipment, money and time-are necessary to do them.

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This task often is daunting. Many businesses find the task becomes more efficient and effective if they have a knowledgeable person or firm at their disposal to implement IT initiatives with the least amount of stress on the organization. This person or firm should be capable of prudent selection of software, hardware and vendors to support plan initiatives.

Further, this party would be responsible for maintaining and keeping to the plan and understanding that implementation must be scheduled over a reasonable period of time, supported by ample employee preparation.Ultimately, like any good business plan, an IT plan is a living document that is always being revisited and adjusted to handle changes in the business. And like a business plan, it is best devised before a problem develops.

Consider the Financial Impact An IT plan is not worth the paper, or bytes, on which it is written unless it is backed up by a suitable budget, with specific employee responsibility for such expenditures. Doing so increases the odds that a company will move out of a crisis mentality into a more proactive, calmer mode.

An IT budget should include line items that support IT plan initiatives, including: New hardware and software costs Upgrade and maintenance costs (service and product related) 16

Staff and outside resource costs for network administration, security and costs not covered by service plans or warranties Employee training Internet/ Web support costs

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Make Sure Others Are Clear About IT Your IT message is simple. Encourage others in the company to: Understand that IT typically requires as much commitment and resources as any other aspect of the business to meet business objectives Commit to spend the human and financial resources necessary to ensure IT does not become the Achilles’ heel of the business By communicating this message, you reduce the risk of having your business fall behind technologically and you help ensure a prosperous and healthy, fully operational future.

Scott Cooper, CMC, also contributed to this article Published by California CPA Magazine, October, 2002 Reprinted with permission of the California Society of CPAs and California CPA Magazine.