The right technology solutions can make or break a business
When we think about a successful business, whether large or small, there are some key ingredients which cannot be overlooked. Yes, you need the right people, in the right roles, and a well thought through business strategy with considered objectives.
Matching your IT strategy to your business strategy seems like a ‘no-brainer’ but many businesses don’t perform this step and run the risk of limiting their ability to achieve their goals. For instance, if your strategy is growth then your IT infrastructure must be easily extensible – if it is not then your business processes will falter when you hit the limits. If your strategy is customer retention and growth, then your customer care application software must add value to your relationships, not just perform transactions.
But, even if you have the right strategy, underpinning your success is a need to get your business processes right, and the technology that supports them. Without trust in the data that you have about your organisation and appropriate systems in place, business decision making is based on ‘finger in air’ conjecture. You run the risk of spending time on activities which could be automated rather than time on more strategic endeavours. Financial and administration errors can often start to become more commonplace.
A technology solution that caters for the data and IT requirements of each member of your team, is needed. A specialist consultancy provider like Gibsons has the expertise and experience to conduct a rigorous Business Requirements Analysis to identify needs, and to determine how to best fulfil them.
Often your typical company ‘IT guy’ and even many IT service providers, are not in a position to support a company with the strategic end-to-end technological solution that it needs.
A $120m organisation came to us in need of such support. A national student accommodation provider, their technology solutions were letting them down. Legacy systems were either not scalable or were not an ideal fit for the business model. There was very little trust in the data in their installed legacy software, and there were significant issues with their accountancy and administration accuracy. Working from the ground up we identified the company’s processing needs in consultation with all stakeholders.
By looking to enable strategic processes, encompass the needs of every role within the business, and heed the lessons learned from the legacy systems, we could ensure the procurement of the most appropriate solutions that would support the business well into the future. We were also able to identify the real focus for application solutions so that we could specify not just the required features but also the speed and simplicity required in capturing guest data.
Investing in digital and technology strategies for your business that adopt a Whole-of-Business approach, considering both the customer and business outcomes; are crucial for business performance and success.
The technology selection process we adopted was rigorous, ensuring a best fit was sought across managed services for network management, hardware, print, telephony and desktop.
We implemented fit-for-purpose application software and services for the student accommodation industry. We also commissioned general purpose application software for accounting, payroll and rostering that had native integration with the accommodation application. The new technology was implemented at the start of a period of growth at the business and did not required further investment to scale as the business grew.
All too often we see businesses let down by their systems, their processes and the technology that support them. Get these right and you set your business up for greater efficiency and effectiveness across all aspects of your operation.