So if you’ve followed this link, you’re probably thinking, “I don’t know where to start.”
You know what?  It’s OK if you don’t know where to start, for right now. 

From service companies or manufacturing to construction and retail, a company without a technology plan is going to get “caught behind the eight-ball” as the landscape changes and you must play catch-up in a hurry.
On top of showing you where to start, here’s what you’ll get with Your CIO’s strategy and planning.
 

1. We’ll look at your goals and work to design a minimally viable strategy.  We don’t want to overthink this right from the start, and we can build from there. The beauty of this start is that you know that threshold we cannot go below, and you’re going to want to get the most ROI. Going into debt (financial and/or technical) may not be the best plan.  Whether you are looking to add facilities and people or shut down facilities and move more of your employees to WFH, laying out the supporting technology is going to be one of the keys to security and success for your business plan.
    

2. We will make sure this plan delivers value.  Your technology plan should add value to your business and not be a cost center.  For instance, if you need to adhere to a specific compliance requirement to gain or retain business, (whether you are there already or not), the plan should meet this requirement for you to sustain your plan.  If you’re looking to maximize your business’ value for equity investment or sale, we can get that for you.
    

3. Your CIO will design and optimal strategy to achieve the goal. Let’s face the fac that Time=Money.  The faster you need something done, the more it will typically cost.  If you don’t have to get it done by a certain time or date, you might be able to get it done for free (It might take 40 years, but it could possibly be free.) Your CIO will set out the schedule for implementation that balances Time and Money.  Depending on your business goals, this could be months, to years.  If your plan is to be at Point X in Two years, it might not be the best idea to pay overtime and expedited deliveries to execute this plan in three weeks.  However, if you can save 80% on equipment and 50% on labor by pulling the trigger now, that might be the best plan and you’re already set for your two-year technology plan.
    

4. We’ll make sure that your resources are aligned and available when they are needed, and that includes you, the business owner.  Your CIO will set out the steps necessary to achieve your goals and make certain that it is achievable on the timetable set forth.  We certainly won’t schedule critical network tasks or milestones to be completed while the network engineer is flying to Australia for the first real vacation she’s had in two years or during critical financial systems updates.
    

5. Make it clear which steps are to be executed by whom. Ownership and accountability are key to successful execution of strategic objectives.  Objectives should specify both responsible owners and/or execution teams.  Transparency of this ownership is key, as it allows teams and owners to proactively address risks that could impact timelines, costs, and goals. It also enables the execution teams to quickly adapt or adjust course as priorities, costs, technologies, etc. change.
    

6. Communicate the goals to everyone, not just the project teams.  Implementing a change in secret is a bad idea, in every strategy.  Let’s say that the plan is to move all systems to the cloud and you’re getting ready to start the migration and it’s going to take 48 hours to get your file systems migrated.  Can everyone live without file access for 48 hours?  How about your financial or sales teams? What if some items simply won’t run in a cloud environment?  We’ll get it out in the open and make sure that everyone is aware of the timelines and that will ease the process and make sure that
    

7. The ultimate in accountability; execute the plan to completion.  Good news, Your CIO knows how to wrap up your plan.  Many times, the best laid plans stall or flounder at 80-95% complete and never finish.  We’ll wrap up this plan, and make sure that you are ready for the next.

Key Strategies:

• Keep your desktops, servers, and applications are up-to-date

• Grow your business

• Secure new business by meeting compliance requirements

• Update point of sale systems

• Deploy new/better security technologies

• Ensure that business keeps operating during

  • Natural Disaster

  • Security Breech

  • Equipment Malfunction

  • Personnel Change

• Reduce technology expense

  • What am I getting for my spend?

  • Do I need all of this?

  • Am I being over charged?

  • There has got to be a less expensive way to get this done