Four Steps to Leverage Technology and Fuel Business Growth

The way you leverage technology produces dramatically different results in company growth.

My company is a Managed Service Provider, or MSP.  As an MSP, we manage computer networks for businesses in the New York Metro area.

Our typical client is a business with at least 15 computers, that embraces technology to excel and compete.  We have many clients, and our involvement gives us an insider’s perspective on how technology is harnessed in their businesses.  Based on our personal experience, as well as observations at our clients, one thing is sure.

The way you leverage technology produces dramatically different results in company growth.

As an IT company, you would think that we have all the latest products and technologies to automate everything we do, right?  I’m happy to say that today, this is pretty much the case, but it wasn’t always this way.

Years ago

Years ago, Tarrytech had several disjoint products and manual processes for our core business functions including time tracking, ticketing, antivirus management, and client documentation.

We used spreadsheets for ordering and product procurement, and manually sent out paper invoices.  This was the way that we started, and although it got the job done, it was very inefficient, didn’t scale well, and limited our growth.

As a business owner who wanted to grow quickly, I knew that I had to make some changes!  I knew that we needed to leverage technology, but also understood that buying the latest “shiny gadget” wasn’t the only part of the solution.

Although you can’t address every part of your business with technology, you can greatly impact your results by selecting the right technology, and building processes around its use.  Replacing the core systems at Tarrytech to fuel growth and efficiency took a lot of blood, sweat, maybe some tears, and certainly a dedicated effort.

However, having gone through this process, I’d like to share some of the lessons that I’ve learned, as well as offer some encouraging results.

If you’d like to leverage technology to fuel growth and efficiency in your company, follow these four steps:

1.   Identify Your Core Processes

As a business, what do you do?

Do you need the ability to track client issues and vendors?  Do you have inventory?  Do you ship product?  How do you track your payments or send out invoices?

Clearly this is a very short list of items that you might need to perform in your company.  However, it illustrates the type of questions you need to ask to help you identify the components you can address with technology.

Once you have a complete list of your core processes, it helps to identify which are the least efficient, most painful or most labor intensive to complete.  These are the processes that you will want to prioritize when implementing a new solution.

Depending on the size of your organization, you won’t be able to turn the ship around overnight, and having a roadmap to identify the order of importance will maximize your results.

2.   Research Solutions

There’s lots of hardware and software solutions that might be a fit for your business, so how do you know which is the right fit?

I found that the best way to begin your research is to speak with other businesses who have already implemented some of these products.  What do they like about them?  What is working, and what are the product shortcomings?

Industry events and publications are also great for this type of research, and you might find that there is a ubiquitous solution in your industry.

3.   Select The Solution

Using your research, narrow down the solutions to a few vendors.

Schedule interviews with them, and learn how they address each of the core processes you identified in step 1.  There are many factors to discuss including functionality, architecture, ease of use, integration with other products, migration assistance, and cost.

4.   Build Processes Around the Solution

Once you have selected the solution, create a roadmap to complete its implementation.

Identify the items that you will address first.  Perhaps the best advice I can give in this phase is to create processes around the use of the product.  Identify how you will use it in your business.  Identify where a task begins and where it ends, and the steps that you will perform in between.

Document each these steps and create a written procedure for each task.  Use this document to train current and future members of your team.  This will assure that the product will be leveraged to the fullest capacity, ensure a consistent deliverable, and leave no gaps in accountability or completion of the task.

Takeaway

It has been 5 years since Tarrytech went through the process of revamping and optimizing technology in our business, and the results have been dramatic!

We have grown in excess of 20% ever year.  We have documented processes around every delivery area, both internal and client facing.  All team members have a full understanding of how we use our technology solutions to complete our tasks.  As part of the process of implementing the new technology, we leveraged the product functionality to help refine our job roles and clarify our responsibilities.

I’m certain that we would not have experienced this growth without leveraging technology, and building the supporting processes around its use.

In addition, there are even more encouraging results.

I have seen countless examples of similar results at clients who have implemented and maximized technology solutions in their businesses.  A current example is a law firm client who has been working with Tarrytech for the past year.

In the past year, we have replaced several core systems, including an upgrade of their time and billing software, and the implementation of a VoIP phone solution.  Since these projects have been completed, the law firm has hired 6 new staff, and have opened a new office.

Although we can’t take credit for the successes of the law firm, I’m certain that this type of growth could not have been sustained without the new technology solutions.

If you want to grow your business, I encourage you to critically analyze how you currently deliver your products and services.

Explore how you can leverage technology to deliver these products and services and create roadmap to implement them at your firm!

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