IT plays a significant role in growing businesses, but many executives may not realize the benefits it provides. The efficiency and effectiveness of a team are influenced by the business technology and applications they use. Therefore, it is essential to measure the performance of the IT function to ensure it adds value to the organization. Digital advisor, Erik Baryol, suggests four steps that businesses can follow to measure, evaluate and improve the business value of IT.
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The first step is to understand the areas that impact the business value of IT. There are four areas to evaluate, including team efficiency, cybersecurity, IT risk management, data protection, and disaster recovery, and IT infrastructure. In evaluating these areas, businesses can assess how well their employees utilize existing technologies, protect themselves against cybersecurity threats, and whether their IT infrastructure helps or hurts their productivity.
The second step involves taking a self-assessment to determine how well the organization measures up. Answering ten questions enables businesses to understand the areas where they need improvement. The questions cover topics such as whether the company has supervisors managing and maintaining technology processes, whether staff is trained to recognize security threats, and whether the company uses multifactor authentication for vital business applications.
The third step is to evaluate the results of the self-assessment. If a business answered no to three or more questions, then their business technology may be hurting productivity, efficiency, and the bottom line. They need to engage an expert to evaluate the four areas in step 1 and provide recommendations for improvement. If the business answered yes to eight or more questions, they need to develop more specific, measurable tests for each of the four areas to better measure and report their technology performance moving forward.
The fourth step is to create a roadmap to solutions, identifying the people, processes, and tools that need improvement. A designated leader should create a plan to improve these areas. This leader should be experienced and able to identify problems and guide the business towards solutions. The roadmap should take into account the entire organization, not just a single department.
In conclusion, understanding the business value of IT can be complex, but measuring the IT function is critical to ensuring it adds value to the organization. Businesses can follow four steps to measure, evaluate and improve the business value of IT. They can understand the areas that impact the business value of IT, take a self-assessment, evaluate the results, and create a roadmap to solutions.
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