How can you make smart decisions for your company without all the information to do so? A third-party IT assessment, or technology assessment, is an evaluation from a source outside of your company that gives you a full picture of your current technology disposition. On top of this, it will hone in on any events or components that have the potential to adversely affect your organization. These are frequently things that otherwise go completely undetected or, arguably worse, acknowledged but never addressed. The implied risks of forgoing these can be a matter of life or death for small and medium sized companies.
- Even if you think you have gotten a third-party IT assessment in the past, how have you used it to make your company better, smarter, and more mature
- Are you making the most of what you’ve got, and do you have what you need to meet or exceed your overarching goals as an organization?
- How does all of your new or existing knowledge about the in’s and out’s of your company relate to what you know about the trends for your industry and the tools available to you for success?
- How do you go about turning the valuable information that can come from a third-party IT assessment into actionable steps to improve your business?
1. The Value of Evaluation
A third-party IT assessment is an investment in your business, but often times business owners quickly question the value because they may not picture any immediate returns; however, the outcomes are undoubtedly worth it in the long run – just ask any company who has made this investment! Not only are you getting a full picture of the current environment, but (if done right) this outside source can also provide a whole host of actionable steps from there to better your technology disposition.
It’s easy to overlook what’s right under your nose, or something you may have a biased opinion about, right? Well, these assessments give your company a chance to learn about itself objectively and comprehensively. If you’re doing evaluations internally, this is a second set of eyes and a fresh perspective that takes into consideration the current utilization and environment, and can then put that up next to implied costs for available alternatives and options.
2. Staying Ahead of Problems
Don’t wait until you’re firefighting to decide where your business might need a check-up. Take this a step further and ask some of the more proactive questions about your security and compliance, backup and disaster recovery mechanisms and strategies, cloud solutions, and the like. Maybe you learned about new compliance regulations that your company is facing and you want to make sure you are in compliance. Maybe you heard about another local business like yours in your industry that is picking up the pieces after a disaster or other heavy-hitting event. A consultant will take the results of an IT assessment and discovery and then highlight starting points for alleviating potential weak links and pitfalls. Even though something is not a stop-gap to security or productivity now, you no doubt want to catch these things before they stop your business dead in its tracks!
3. Understanding The Why’s
As with any outside interaction with your business, you’ll vet any third party organization before “letting them in”, so to speak, we hope! When you’re looking for a trusted advisor, don’t be afraid to seek out recommendations, testimonials, and other evidence of their qualifications.
Once you identify your third-party IT assessment provider you should keep in mind that before any experienced, qualified source for this can start offering any recommendations they will need to learn as much as possible about your company’s environment and use of technology and IT within. A truly knowledgeable, experienced, qualified IT consultant will ensure that you understand the purpose behind recommendations and will not just throw out line items, numbers, and figures. It is only after careful evaluation that a quality resource can discuss with you existing factors that would contribute to any potential costs toward improvement. It seems obvious, but too often we hear about small and medium businesses jumping to suggested solutions without considering a given source’s true understanding of their company.
All of this contributes to you having more confidence in the decisions and investments you’re making for your business.
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