How long has it been since you’ve upgraded your business tech?
If your business is expanding, your need for reliable, up-to-date technology is too. Part of the growing pains you’ll encounter as you build a loyal customer base is the inevitable investment in the technology that makes it possible. Equipment, connectivity, and infrastructure optimized for small business will do you no favors if you plan on growing.
A bigger business means more people can see you, leading to more network traffic and a higher risk for errors. Downtime is longer, infrastructure damage is fatal, cyber threats have less security to work around, and your website can become invisible for potential customers trying to access it on advanced devices. Archaic technology can even impact your overall productivity; how are you going to service your growing list of customers with the same methods you used to service a fraction of them a year ago?
It’s time to upgrade your technology, but it can’t happen overnight.
Supply chain shortages are impacting equipment lead time
In an industry-wide epidemic, equipment is hard to come by in a reasonable time window. Gartner estimates before COVID-19, average lead time for network hardware ranged from four to six weeks. Now, vendors are quoting around 200-300 days depending on the hardware, which equipment is prioritized, and the way the vendor strategizes their supply chain process.
This shortage isn’t just limited to technology; the entire global supply chain is offset as we move towards an endemic. Technology, baby formula, vehicles – If it’s manufactured, there’s a shortage of it. This is due to:
- Equipment and computer chip shortages
- Labor shortages due to sickness
- Demand bottlenecking
- Limited storage space in shipping containers
The state of consumerism in the world’s current state is one of scarcity. There’s not one answer that can resolve these issues and bring your business the equipment it needs at a faster rate. However, this isn’t a journey business owners have to endure on their own.
Plan ahead with your IT partner
On top of juggling business strategy and employees, business owners face a great deal of responsibility when thinking about their next move. Technology can be your greatest ally or your worst enemy but trying to teach yourself computer expertise is not a productive use of your time. If you can recognize your business is in dire need of a technology upgrade, or you’re unsure where to start, team up with your IT partner. If you don’t have one, you’ll need one to grow to your full potential.
Having an IT partner can ease a multitude of headaches, such as freezing email servers or forgotten passwords, but they offer so much more. With the right IT partner, you can build a successful technology roadmap for the next several years, patch the fatal flaws in your infrastructure, and make business seamless for you, your employees, and your customers.
Speak with your IT partner today about purchasing new equipment—they can evaluate your current technology standing, communicate with the hardware vendors, set expectations with you about lead times, and help your business operate as you transition into the upgrade.
If you don’t have an IT partner, but are in need of professional guidance to plan ahead on much-needed hardware upgrades, contact us today.