A good technology plan will address the following areas:
Identifying Immediate (Critical) Needs - Immediate technology needs should be addressed by priority. Critical needs are those that severely hamper or prevent the execution of activities key to your organization.
Reviewing Hardware Fault-Tolerance Strategy (Cloud Service accessibility, Local Servers and Mission-Critical Workstations and Devices) - By ensuring that all servers and other mission-critical appliances are hardware fault-tolerant, downtime and remediation costs when a failure occurs can be significantly minimized. For example, when properly implemented, server hard disk fault-tolerance can allow the resumption of normal server operation within a matter of minutes, should a hard disk fail. For cloud dependent business applications, firewall redundancy or multiple Internet providers may be needed.
Reviewing Data Security Strategy (Network Security, Backup, Anti-Virus/Anti-Spam, Anti-Malware, Critical Updates, Power Conditioning) – Keeping critical data intact and out of the wrong hands is of utmost importance. Malware, ransomware, and other causes such as unstable or "dirty" power conditions are all capable of corrupting systems and critical data. Poorly secured networks or computer systems can allow hackers or malicious apps into your systems. Backup strategies need to be reviewed and recovery procedures implemented to ensure the integrity of your data through any event.
Efficiency Improvements/Cost-Reducing Strategies – By evaluating internal practices and staff skill levels, cost-saving measures and changes to your infrastructure can be implemented that will result in improved efficiency.
Preparing End-Of-Life Equipment Upgrade/Replacement Plan - Many times, replacing aging equipment actually helps reduce your costs. It is more economical to replace aging workstations than to continue to upgrade or maintain them, when actual physical labor costs are recognized, along with the cost of replacement parts.
Implementing a Scheduled Maintenance Program - Scheduled maintenance should be a part of any organization's technology plan. At a minimum, regular maintenance, when performed properly, will maintain service pack levels and critical updates on all equipment, and ensure that hardware and data fault-tolerance procedures are being properly maintained. A good maintenance program will also include remote network monitoring, providing economical 24x7x365 real-time analysis of all your critical devices and services.
Developing a Disaster Recovery Plan - It's never too early to address disaster recovery. A comprehensive disaster recovery plan is needed to get your organization up and running as quickly as possible, in the event of disaster, service interruption or catastrophic failure to your environment. This can be just technology related, or it can encompass all phases of business operations. For instance, how will a retail business conduct transactions if a critical computer or service is not operational? Or, if there is an Internet outage, how will staff communicate?
Prioritizing Technology Improvements in Phases – To avoid large up front expenses, implement your technology plan in phases tailored to meet your organization's forecasting and budgetary requirements starting with your highest priorities first.
How can Harmony Technology Solutions bring this to life?
Create the Plan – We will perform all the evaluation and create the technology plan that fits your needs.
Implement Change - We will successfully implement each phase of your technology plan in order to meet productivity and security requirements.
Evaluate and Revise - Your technology plan will be evaluated and revised throughout each phase of implementation, as well as on an annual basis, in order to insure ongoing achievement of your business goals.