You have plans for your business. And technology must fit into that plan. Maybe you’re going to grow by 50% in 2 years. Perhaps you want to move to the cloud to increase mobility and decrease upfront infrastructure costs. Your technology needs to support these goals. That’s why it’s important to create a roadmap for how your technology is going to get you there.

When the focus is on fixing things as they break, it’s like using buckets to collect water from a leaky ceiling without understanding the reason for the dripping water. This is what reactive and break-fix IT is about. Being proactive is like saving money for a new roof in order to replace it before water starts leaking into the house. Strategic IT is about looking at infrastructure and applications holistically while understanding the goals of the organization to implement a plan. When choosing an IT service provider, work with one that understands your business and implements technology that continually excels your business.

Today, digital technology is a strategic priority for every business. So how are you going to differentiate yourself from others in the same industry? Once these plans are implemented, the right people need to be in place to manage this ongoing digital transformation.

Focus on ROI. While cost is an important consideration, looking for the cheapest IT provider out there doesn’t mean that you’re getting a strong return on investment. Businesses continually evolve, and IT needs to keep up with that. Plus, IT is a continuous improvement process. It’s a constant feedback loop of incorporating data to make the technology experience better for your business. Make sure you think about the return you’re getting for the time and money you’re putting into IT.

When IT is down in your organization, consider the amount of lost revenue you experience from a loss of employee productivity. Additionally, if IT doesn’t work the way it should, employees will find workarounds and not use software and infrastructure to the full capacity. This also decreases employee productivity, impacting the bottom line of your organization.

When employees are complacent with technology because it’s broken and annoying to use, this creates dissatisfaction with the ability to do work effectively, resulting in higher employee turnover.