Windows Advantage - The Business Beat - Preparing a small and midsize business technology plan

Most business owners know that preparing a business plan will help ensure the success of their company. A business plan provides a road map to guide the business from startup, through changes and ultimately, to success.

The same can be said of a business technology plan, which helps ensure that companies successfully deploy innovative technology solutions to resolve business needs and problems in a rapidly changing, competitive market.

Planning the plan
If you are not an expert in technology, the best way to prepare a business technology plan is by involving a technology expert from the beginning. By combining your business expertise with the knowledge of a technology expert such as a value-added reseller (VAR), value-added provider (VAP) or integrator, small and midsize businesses (SMBs) can create and implement winning technology plans.

There are several steps to be taken prior to selecting a technology consultant partner. First, select an internal staff member to lead your company's Business Technology Advisory Council (BTAC). The leader will facilitate BTAC meetings, serve as liaison to the selected technology partner and make sure a business technology plan is completed.

Next, formulate the BTAC. It should be composed of key management staff members who understand the business workflow in detail. The BTAC reviews and documents business needs and problems, selects a third-party technology partner, sets technology goals, establishes priorities and ensures that the business technology plan is successfully completed and implemented.

As your company increases its number of employees, business units, locations or other business components, you may have to form additional technology groups. Typically, BTAC members lead these smaller, individual groups and then bring input from their individual groups to BTAC meetings. Forming groups, exchanging operating information, and reporting progress at regular meetings is critical to the formulation and success of the business technology plan.

Business issues
Initially, the BTAC should focus on business issues as opposed to technology issues. The BTAC needs access to all or part of the company's business plan. The business plan lays out the company's strategy for achieving success. Understanding business strategy and operations is essential to planning, investing in and deploying technology solutions.

The business plan contains key elements that will help the BTAC develop a business technology plan. These elements include, but aren't limited to the following:

Once the BTAC understands these elements of the business plan, the group can begin dissecting specific business needs and problems, and start developing relevant technology solutions.

Many business needs are common to SMBs. As a result, technology companies such as Microsoft, Compaq, Citrix Systems Inc. and others have created technology-based solutions to meet these generic business needs. These solutions can be implemented by authorized third parties that can customize and integrate the various manufacturers' solutions to meet any special needs.

The BTAC should start by focusing on the following broad issues:

PCs, laptops or other computing devices: Anyone in your company who might need to use an implemented business technology solution will need a PC or a laptop.

LANs: These provide connectivity among the PCs and other peripheral computing devices, such as printers and modems. Users with PCs connected via a LAN can share information and thereby improve productivity. It is important to determine who needs to be connected to the LAN and why, meaning what business functions will they perform in collaboration with others?

Office productivity: The old days of typewriters, foil overheads created outside the office, calculators and typesetting are over. Now, color printers and computer software such as the Microsoft Office suite take document creation, number crunching and presentations to a new level of professionalism. Determine which staff members perform office productivity duties and be ready to discuss their workflow and business requirements with your third-party technology provider.

E-mail: This form of communications has revolutionized the process of exchanging information within internal staff, as well as with outside resources such as independent contractors and vendors. Discuss and document who needs to communicate and transfer information, how that is done currently, and why the current system was designed as it was.

Fax: PC- and LAN-based faxing solutions reduce the time and materials involved in conventional faxing. Start by documenting the number of fax lines, fax machines and fax users, as well as information about why staff members send faxes.

Remote access: If you have mobile employees or staff members who work from home, remote access solutions can enable them to access your business's LAN cost-effectively from anywhere at anytime. Determine if you have mobile workers, what they do, and what you would like them to do.

Business accounting: It is necessary to produce and evaluate financial statements. Additionally, business accounting reports such as current sales figures, costs and receivable aging reports are also important. With computerized accounting systems, it is possible to access this information instantaneously, which means accounting professionals need only be used for high-end data evaluations and resulting recommendations.

Internet: You probably already know what the Internet means to businesses today: uncharted visibility, revenue, and, for vendors and remote employees, access to valuable technology resources within your company's LAN. Discussing and implementing an Internet strategy could be the most important technology step your business ever takes!

SMB's can take advantage of dozens of technology solutions to streamline operations and increase productivity. In addition to the areas mentioned, it may also be wise to review needs and potential technology solutions for manufacturing processes, warehouse operations, environmental controls and customer service issues. The key is for the BTAC to focus on the most important business areas.

Technology issues
Once the BTAC gets through the business issues, the next step is to organize and document the technology products and solutions currently deployed in your business. Quick access to these details will reduce the time the third-party technology provider spends performing an on-site technology audit.

Armed with an understanding of current technology products, the SMB and technology provider can determine if existing technology can be integrated into new technology solutions. The budget process for specific hardware and software products can also begin. If the company already use PCs and Microsoft Office, it can use Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Access to organize and store internal technology audit information.

Document the following relevant information as well as any other critical details:

Also consider documenting:

Location information: Produce a map or a list of static remote office locations and potential home offices with relevant address and phone/fax number information.

Existing computer and phone cable specifications: Count cable runs and then document their source and destination, the cable type (written on the cable) and other relevant cable information.

Existing or previous third-party relationship information: If you have worked with a third-party solutions partner that provided documentation, recommendations, product details, and contact information, give this information to the new technology partner.

The SMB should be ready to select a technology partner who can help review any technology issues that may have been overlooked, as well as areas not mentioned here. Of course, if a third party was used to develop the plan, you may already feel comfortable with them and they would be a likely choice to help complete and implement the plan.

Once the third-party technology partner is selected, a high-level representative or two from that firm should be placed on the BTAC. That person or persons will listen to BTAC members and present technology solutions in general terms for discussion. Based on their involvement with the BTAC and their experience in matching technology solutions to business needs, third-party solutions providers should produce a business and technology needs analysis document for each potential solution.

This document can be brief or detailed, depending on the need, budget and potential solution. I will cover this analysis document in a future article. This third-party provider-produced document, combined with your own internal documentation, provides the basis for an SMB business technology plan.

Conclusion
Formulating a plan is essential to ensuring the success of your investment in business technology. In the course of its development, it is necessary to consider various business processes and ideas in detail. This allows you to confidently select and deploy the best technology solutions.

Leonard DiCostanzo is president and founder of Turnkey Computer Systems Inc. His firm focuses on small and medium enterprises (SME) in various vertical markets, Leonard has designed and implemented custom solutions for local and wide area networking, system administration, remote access and other critical business-technology issues.