Smoothly running technology is just a baseline benchmark of successful IT. To truly gain a competitive edge, you need to leverage technology that improves operations, gather the valuable customer data and delivers insight that helps you achieve your goals.

The right technology can provide you with the agility you need to adapt to industry shifts and uncover new revenue streams. Aligning your IT strategy with your business strategy will spark innovation—after all, your IT team can’t develop solutions if they don’t know what direction you want to take your organization.

 

These five questions can help you bridge your business and IT strategies:

1. What Are Your Business Drivers?

Establish your strategic parameters by identifying the factors that drive your business—specifically those that require IT enablement.

 

2. What is Your IT Vision?

Identify the processes, infrastructure changes and organizational strategies needed to meet business goals.

 

3. Where are Your Current Alignment Gaps?

Determine where your current environment falls on the spectrum of your IT vision and develop action items that can move you forward.

 

4. What Are Your Priorities?

Figure out what changes will provide the biggest (or most immediate) return on investment and implement those first. Then move to the remaining action items if you feel they’re still worth the time investment.

 

5. Do You Have a Migration Plan?

Draw a roadmap to success—outline steps, deliverables, accountability, benchmarks and most importantly, a timeline.

 

IT strategy is both science and art—it requires equal parts technical expertise and innovation to move the needle within your organization. That’s why large companies lean on CIOs to maintain a big picture perspective when making technology decisions. But for small businesses, hiring an executive with that level of experience is out of the question. Fortunately, when you partner with a managed service provider, you can get a customized IT strategy that helps you bridge the gap between the two. Ask about virtual CIO services that can provide the expertise you need to implement the right technology, drive business and increase your profitability.