IT Management Planning

Its not just large businesses that need to develop an efective and
comprehensive IT strategy. For SMEs, having the right sot!are and support in
place can improve operations and provide a distinct edge in todays competitive
mar"ets.
#alculating the cost o ne! technology and !or"ing out IT budgets can oten be
di$cult !hen there is no specialist IT advisor on the payroll. Start%ups may not
have IT provision at the top o their list !hile they try to ma"e their core business
!or" and more mature organisations might have ingrained habits that mean the
they dont e&plore ne! avenues o IT management and support.
Planning Your IT Budget over the Next 5 Years
It pays to thin" ahead particularly !hen you are developing your IT strategy.
S"imping on the costs and do!ngrading your budget in the short term may seem
li"e a good idea but it could be doing more harm than good to your business in
the long run.
'articularly i you are no! loo"ing to gro! your business, you need to align your
IT provision !ith your uture goals and, !ithout a (uali)ed proessional to lean
on, that can oten be a daunting process.
*ou !ill need to develop a strategy or systems maintenance and support as !ell
as decide !hat ne! technology you are going to introduce to help !ith your
e&pansion strategy.
Cloud Vs Server Technology
Many businesses are starting to move a!ay rom e&pensive and labour intensive
in%house hard!are to cloud based servers. 'articularly or small to medium si+e
businesses it has a number o advantages,
It incorporates more -e&ibility !ith lo!er running costs.
It can gro! as your business gro!s.
#ontracts are oten shorter.
*ou can access your data on the move on laptops, mobiles and '#s.
It comes !ith inbuilt security that you can be con)dent !ill protect you.
.uying a ne! server or replacing an old one might seem li"e a more cost
efective !ay o updating your IT inrastructure but, particularly in the long run,
cloud technology !ill ofer you a greater degree o -e&ibility.
More Businesses are Outsourcing
Its all very !ell to employ an IT planning specialist in%house and have your
server on site, but it is a costly !ay o running this aspect o your business.
/utsourcing has a number o advantages or small businesses, the main one
being that you can access afordable high level e&pertise that is tailor%made to
your needs.
0 virtual IT director can help you manage your IT inrastructure more efectively,
developing a coherent and meaningul long term plan that ta"es into account
ho! you !ant to gro! your business !hilst also providing a secure environment
to operate in.
1ith M2 #omputings 3irtual IT 4irector you !ill have access to a range o
e&perts !ho can identiy the right solutions or your business and help you
develop or the uture.
For urther inormation please visit http,55!!!.m2computing.co.u"