Planning For IT in 2021 to Ensure Organizational Growth
2020 was arguably one of the busiest years for tech experts. The pandemic forced many organizations to make massive rapid changes, e.g., allowing more workers to operate remotely. IT personnel spent most of the year deploying new infrastructure and ensuring that the available apps and services were secure, agile, and responsive enough to support the unprecedented shift. Read on to learn more about how this digital transformation will impact your technology planning and budgeting in 2021.
What’s Covid-19’s Impact On Organizational IT Planning?
To survive the pandemic, organizations had to be responsive and agile in refining their approaches to doing business digitally.
IDC predicts that more than 65% of the global GDP will become digitized over the next few years. This demonstrates that the pandemic has not stalled digital transformation; it has instead expedited it. Moving forward, organizations will increasingly switch to the cloud to facilitate remote access to files and data. Cloud computing will give your staff the agility they need to stay productive from anywhere, anytime.
According to IDC, “companies focused on digital resiliency will adapt to disruption and extend services to respond to new conditions 50% faster than ones fixated on restoring existing business/IT resiliency levels.” Therefore, you should consider resilient and adaptable technologies as you plan for 2021 and beyond.
What Should You Consider When Planning For Technology In 2021?
According to a recent CompTIA study, business spending on technology will increase by 4.2% in 2021, reaching an all-time high of 5 trillion. The report also indicates that digital transformation using the cloud and other technologies will be instrumental in helping companies stay afloat.
To get ready and plan ahead for the year as an organization its important to consider the following:
- Your Business Goals and Objectives: When planning and budgeting for IT, first consider how these technologies will help advance your business goals. Will you be continuing with the work-from-home model? Are you going to recruit more remote workers? How strong is your network? Do you need more bandwidth, or should you focus more on cybersecurity? Such questions should help you identify your strengths and weaknesses and areas to allocate more resources.
- Aligning Your IT Plan With Your Business Goals: There’s nothing like an ‘IT project’; you must align all tech investments towards achieving specific goals. Also, remember that not every new technology will apply to your business. Your IT team should analyze each tech investment and how it will help you achieve your objectives before allocating any finances.
- Stepping up Your Cybersecurity in 2021: Cybersecurity has been a serious issue for tech experts in 2020, and you can expect the same this year. The remote work model has expanded your security perimeter beyond your office environments. Employees now access your network from several locations using company-given or personal devices. You will need more resources to safeguard these increased access points, secure your data, and train the staff on these emerging threats.
- Compliance and Law Enforcement: Again, you can expect security compliance authorities to be more vigilant and harsher on defaulters because of the cybersecurity situation last year. So, consider increasing your budget allocations towards facilitating compliance efforts.
Why Should You Engage An Unbiased Third Party?
Although your internal staff may have a better grasp of your business framework and IT portfolio, there are several benefits to letting a strategic third-party lead the planning process. They are more likely to identify gaps that an internal team may overlook, thanks to their experience helping other organizations through similar processes. A third party is also likely to be unbiased because they have no ties to specific software/hardware vendors.
Alongside the apparent challenges, 2021 and the coming years will also provide businesses with opportunities to drive more profits by leveraging technology. Let TLC Tech help you through this digital transformation — the first step is having a well-thought-out technology plan for 2021.
