IT

How to Integrate IT Solutions with Business Operations Successfully

tegrthreRunning a business, especially in an economy as competitive as today, is a big challenge to overcome. As a business owner, you must be able to make the right decisions at the right time while staying in tune with market changes and other things going on around the business’s operations. Fortunately, you can now rely on IT solutions to help you stay on top of things.

Before you can enjoy the benefits of having a system that makes your life as a business owner easier, however, you need to choose the right system (or systems) and implement it correctly. Here are the tips to remember if you want to successfully integrate IT solutions with your business operations.

Understand Your Needs

Not all software or solutions will work for your business. The cloud-based sales app that other successful companies use isn’t always the best one to use in your specific case. The best way to avoid the trap of choosing a popular system and finding out later that it doesn’t suit your business is by reversing the process.

Instead of going over the options and choosing the most popular one, start by analyzing your business workflows and understanding your specific needs. Does your sales team work from the office most of the time? Is your manufacturing line relying on a just-in-time supply of raw materials? Ask specific questions like these and create lists of the kind of system you need.

With the list in hand, choosing a system will be so much easier than you think. To accommodate the need of the sales team, for instance, you can go with a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system that is designed for your specific industry instead of going for a more general system for large companies.

Lead the Implementation Process

Behind every successful IT implementation, there is always a project leader that knows what he or she is doing. For most small businesses, that project leader is the business owner; in your case, you can take charge of the implementation project and oversee everything from start to finish.

On the other hand, you can also hire someone with specific IT and business skills. Top universities such as UAB Collat School of Business are making their online bachelors in information systems programs more up to date to meet this specific need from the market. The online BSIS degree holder you hire will be more effective in helping you choose and implement – and maintain – the right systems for your business.

Whichever option you choose, you need to ensure that you are fully knowledgeable in the specific IT system you are considering. You will need to not only implement it, but also train your staff how to use it, and deal with any troubleshooting. This is something that many business owners don’t have time for, so unless you are running a small company, and have a background in IT, it might be best to hire a professional.

Evaluate and Maintain

Maintenance is just as important as the initial installation. While most systems are designed to be standardized, you may still need to make adjustments – either to the workflow of your business or to the system itself – and perform regular evaluations. It’s recommended that you do this every six months to a year if you want to keep abreast of any problems, or take advantage of any developments as your business grows.

Again, you may want to hire a professional to do this for you. You could either hire someone to work for your business, or hire a company on an as-needed basis.

IT implementation is never a one-time thing. There are updates and adjustments to be made in the future. As your business grows, the systems need to be adjusted as well. These are part of the maintenance process, which is also a key element in the success of your IT integration process.

If you have any questions, please ask below!