How Do We Create an IT Strategy Without a Dedicated IT Department?

Though operating a business without an IT department might seem inherently risky it is not necessary to have a dedicated IT department in order to produce an IT strategy. Let me suggest that if you are running a small business you have already had to make a number of decisions with incomplete information. Computers, due to their complexity, are often singled out as particularly difficult. However, don’t sell yourself short, or overcomplicate things. There is probably more collective IT intelligence available to you than you think. You have access to colleagues, turn-key software solutions and other small business enterprises that specialize in computer integrations. All of this is to say that computer systems can be treated as a strategic resource once you have decided at the top level how you would like your business to evolve as it grows. Once the “big picture” growth plan is decided, the projects or building blocks needed to achieve this plan can be developed. The use of computers will just be treated as one element that can be adjusted or modified to support the overall plan.

For most small businesses your objective is to grow. This means that you always need to be dedicating a portion of your resources to building for the future. So let’s start  with growth as a given objective. Being able to grow your business will give you access to more resources, reduce the cost per unit of output, and give you access to more options for completing tasks. To achieve these things you first need to decide what growth means for your business. Some typical measures of growth include higher revenue, more profit, more customers, entering a new market, or adding locations.

Your growth plan starts with defining the plan objective. It could be a financial goal, customer growth, improved customer satisfaction or wherever you believe you can get the most impact with given resources.

Following this planning template will help ensure that the objectives of change can continuously improve. The goal should then be divided into projects and prioritized. Ownership of each project is assigned and from there a timeline can be built up. Before going further it is important to communicate to the employees of the business that this project is starting and what the objectives are along with which people are playing which roles in the plan. This will ensure support from other employees.  As the project moves closer to implementation, enlist the help of an alpha test group to try out the improved operation and suggest improvements. Document the new process, then release it internally. It is not unusual to tweak the results a little bit in the first 30 days or so. Just make sure to record the changes.

Just about any project that helps to run your business more efficiently will already be configured so that it is connected to your local area network of computers. In essence, as you build your list of projects to grow your business you are also building some part of new IT functionality. Often the available business systems are designed so that you only use and pay for the part of the software that you actually use. Do you want to track and improve lead generation? Get some CRM (Customer Resource Management) software. Record sales transactions and help with inventory planning? Get some Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software. Even though you don’t have an IT department, you do have access to a lot of the capability. I should also mention that there is a whole cottage industry of computer experts (advisors) with computer expertise for hire as another resource. Some of them specialize in particular software solutions.

Hopefully you’re feeling more confident about your IT resources and planning. There is another option to consider. You can ask around and find a computer advisor willing to work under contract. The primary purpose is to make sure there is someone who knows, and can take care of the maintenance needs of your equipment. They can also give advice about cyber security, software and maintenance. Ultimately this person is the potential seed your own internal IT expertise if that is your goal. Developing this talent internally is also a good way to get your company connected to expert sources. This can help ensure your company has some capacity to understand and plan strategically in the IT space for years to come.

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