2022 is almost drawing to a close. Now is the perfect time to review the year that’s passed by and start planning for the 12 months ahead. As you strategize for the next year, an important factor to consider is the technology you use by conducting a year-end technology review.
What is a Year-End Technology Review?
A year-end technology review is an opportunity to review the use of technology in your organization with an eye to optimizing your solutions and improving overall efficiency.
Your review should tie closely to your company’s strategic IT plan, which sets out your vision for the use of digital tools in your organization. Having an IT plan helps to ensure that technology brings value and return on investment (ROI) to your company. Some common goals that are included in these plans include improved security, better digital collaboration and enhanced network speeds, for example.
Of course, for non-technical folk, creating an IT plan and reviewing technology can be tricky. How do you know where to get started? Well, research shows that most organizations spend their technology budget on four major areas: software development, cybersecurity, data and cloud infrastructure.
This doesn’t mean you need to adjust the use of technology in all of these areas. The changes you make, and the investments you choose, will depend on your organization’s needs. This is where your plan and technology review become vital.
How To Conduct an Effective Year-End Technology Review
The below step-by-step guide will help you to conduct a year-end technology review. If you’d like support with first drafting up an IT strategy, our geeks can help. We can even take on your technology review for you, so you don’t have to worry about ticking another item off your to-do list.
Here’s the steps we typically take, which you can use in your own organization.
Get Feedback From All Of Your Employees On What Is and Isn’t Working For Them
First things first, put your ear to the ground to gain an understanding of how IT is working for the people who use it the most: your employees. Don’t just focus on the opinions of the senior management team; speak to everyone in the business.
There are many ways you can gain feedback: online surveys, paper forms and in-person conversations are all valuable. Here are some questions we recommend including:
- Which applications can’t you live without?
- Which tools do you wish we had? Why?
- Which tools do you use everyday? Which tools, if any, do you rarely use?
- Have any of our solutions been repeatedly faulty?
- Do you undertake repetitive manual tasks? If so, please describe these?
- Have you received a cybersecurity threat in your inbox, like a phishing email, recently?
- What channels do you use the most for communicating with employees and customers? Why is this your choice?
Carry Out A Vulnerability Scan or Penetration Test
A vulnerability is a security weakness in your IT infrastructure that malicious actors can exploit to steal data or launch a cyber-attack. Your year-end technology review should therefore include a vulnerability scan or penetration tests to discover such flaws so they can be remediated.
Vulnerability scans and penetration tests require specialist skills, so you’ll need to bring in expert IT specialists to run these tests for you. Ideally, you should carry out a vulnerability scan every month as a maintenance procedure. These automated tests are quick to do and require little human intervention.
Alongside this, we advise carrying out a penetration test each year for a deeper exploration of potential vulnerabilities that an automated scanner might miss. The results of the test can then inform your IT strategy for the next year.
Review The Results
Once you’ve got the feedback from your employee surveys and the results from scan or penetration test, you can now analyze your findings with an eye to making tangible improvements.
For example, you may notice that many employees aren’t using certain tools, meaning you can decommission them. If your people are overwhelmed by manual processes, consider what automated tools there are that could ease the burden, such as customer relationship management solutions or financial tools.
If you’re not sure about which tools would be best for your company, don’t fret! We can assist you every step of the way, helping you to unlock the potential of digital transformation in your organization.
Ready For Your Year-End Technology Review? Contact Us Today!
How would you like to worry less about technology so you can focus more on a thriving company? Connect2Geek.com can help! Our affordable and tailored Managed Services Plans provide multiple tech support services that are PROactive rather than reactive.
We’ll carry out a full year-end technology review and help you strategize for the year ahead. Give Connect2Geek.com a call today to find out how easy your life can be with our Managed Support Plans, 208-468-4323.