Servicing your IT engine
How to keep your business running smoothly
For the most part, people drive your business. Your employees are probably one of the most, if not the most, important assets in your company. But what kind of vehicle are they driving? An ’86 Chevy or an ’07 Smart Car? And who are the mechanics making sure your engine runs smoothly?

Just as a smooth handling, fuel-efficient vehicle with a good mechanic can help keep you on the road, a comprehensive IT strategy can assist you to increase employee productivity, make more informed decisions, and ensure operations stay on track.

MNP’s IT practice leader Roth Niven helps business owners understand how the right technology, tailored to their specific needs, can support their business plans.

“I solve business problems with an IT solution,” explains Roth. He emphasizes that an IT strategy involves more than just hardware and software. It’s also about the people and service providers who manage the IT systems - and the policies and procedures that govern IT functions and protect your business from risks.

Deciding where to drive
Just as you need a roadmap before embarking on a major trip, your business needs an IT roadmap to determine what to do, when to do it and where you’re headed.

Roth assists businesses in determining where they are now and where they would like to be. He also identifies major gaps and develops a roadmap to guide them on their IT journey. Along the trip, he helps steer them through five key pit stops:  

1. Governance. Having a strong IT strategy involves determining who makes decisions about your IT - and whether they’re selecting the right systems. You should also develop guidelines, policies and timelines for investing in IT.

2. Security and business continuity. Ensure your security policies identify potential threats to your business and develop a plan to mitigate those risks. Also be sure to plan for emergencies that affect your IT systems and prepare a response plan with procedures for responding to a potential crisis.

3. Architecture. Determining what your actual hardware and software needs are is a critical part of your strategy. Assess which programs and applications you’re using, what type of computers, printers and servers you have, and whether they’re linked together efficiently to meet your business needs.  

4. People. Ensure you have the right drivers and mechanics with the appropriate skills and talents to keep your IT engine well-oiled and your operations on track.

5. Partners. A careful assessment of your relationships and agreements with outsourcers, contractors and other service providers will help ensure you receive the greatest benefit from your partnerships. 

Keeping your motor running smoothly
Once you’ve navigated your way through the various pit stops successfully, your IT roadmap should provide your business with these key benefits:  

• Improved productivity. When your employees have the right systems available to meet their needs and those of your business, both performance and processes will become more efficient.

To illustrate this point, Roth recounts how one of his clients, a construction company in Alberta, was using a basic software accounting system to manage its finances. As the company grew, its requirements changed and the system was no longer able to meet its diverse needs.

Roth documented the business requirements and compared them with more than 50 systems on the market. He then recommended an application that could continue growing with the client through rapid expansion, helping keep their business operations on track.

• Increased savings. An IT strategy can help reduce costs in many ways. One of the most common is by conducting a review of IT inventory. This can identify redundant assets and overpayment for licenses.

“While many companies are good at purchasing licenses for software applications as new employees join the company, they often forget to cancel licenses when employees leave. This results in unused and more costly software licenses,” explains Roth.  

• Risk management. More than just ensuring you have backup servers if the power goes out, risk management means developing an emergency response plan in a situation such as a flood or a pandemic, when employees may be unable to get to work. As an example, Roth assisted a company in designing a contingency plan that maps out alternate office locations and ensures availability of resources (phones, computers, data) for crucial business operators during a crisis.

Driving your business and knowing where you’re going is easy when you have an efficient vehicle and a solid roadmap. A sound IT strategy can support your business operations - and ensure you arrive as planned at your final destination.

To find out more about how an IT strategy can help drive your business, call Roth Niven, IT Practice Leader at 1.877.688.8408 or your local MNP advisor.

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