What are IT initiatives your organization needs to consider for the upcoming year?

As the year comes to a close and the new year approaches, it is a good time for small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to consider their IT initiatives to improve efficiency and stay competitive in their industry. Since technology changes so rapidly, it is important that organizations consider their IT initiatives every year. Here we will go through 8 IT initiatives for your organization to consider for this upcoming year.

8 IT Initiatives for 2025

1. Strengthen your Cyber Security Measures

Often, SMBs are more vulnerable to cyber attacks since they tend to have fewer resources for their cyber security infrastructure. A few elements of your cyber security infrastructure to consider implementing are multi-factor authentication (MFA), employee training programs to recognize cyber threats, and regular security audits. Since cost can be a major hindrance to SMBs when it comes to cyber security, it is recommended to partner with a Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP). Partnering with an MSSP can help your organization utilize its expertise and scale down costs with the cyber security tools used for all of its clients. They can also offer more around the clock service at a lower cost than hiring your own 24/7 IT team.

2. Ensure Compliance with Regulations

It is essential that organizations comply with industry regulations and standards. Not doing so could lead to legal issues and damage to the organization’s reputation. Be sure to be informed on relevant regulations for your organization. Then, consider how those regulations impact your IT infrastructure. This IT initiative is really important yet could be easily overlooked. Updating this initiative could include things like:

• Updating privacy policies
• Implementing data protection measures
• Conducting regular compliance audits.

3. Implement Remote Work Technologies

During the COVID pandemic many organizations went fully remote and have since had more staff returning to the office. While in some cases many staff have returned to working in the office, the reality is that remote work as a whole will not be going away anytime soon. With this being the case, it is important that organizations invest in tools that help with remote work. This includes things like:

• Slack or Microsoft Teams as collaboration tools
• Project management tools such as Trello or Asana
• A VPN (virtual private network) tool for secure internet use

Having some tools such as these can really aid in boosting productivity while also helping you keep your environment secure while employees work remotely.

4. Embrace Cloud Solutions

Cloud solutions have a lot of benefits for SMBs. They can help with flexibility, scaling capabilities, and cost savings. Not to mention, there is a component of increase cyber security that certain cloud solutions provide. Three of the most common cloud solutions out there are Google Cloud, Microsoft, and Amazon Web Services (AWS). By hosting your data in the cloud, you can access it anywhere there is internet, reduce costs of on-site hardware, and utilize their focused and enhanced security services. By having enhanced security and regular backups you greatly reduce the impact of a ransomware attack on your organization. While not a solution to prevent attack, it can help with speed and cost of recovery.

5. Upgrade IT Infrastructure

Having outdated IT infrastructure can negatively impact your organization’s productivity. Be sure to regularly assess your organization’s hardware and software in order to identify areas that need upgrades. Doing this can help reduce a pile up of systems becoming out of date and failing. It also is beneficial to plan ahead to be sure there is room in the organization’s budget. Remember, this isn’t just employee workstations, it includes servers and other network equipment, as well as peripherals like keyboards. This IT initiative is essential for maintaining a working and robust IT environment.

6. Invest in Employee Training

Earlier we mentioned employee training as a part of cyber security. Having your employees complete cyber security training is crucial to setting up defenses for your organization should you be attacked. Additionally, it is important to consider having an IT initiative that focuses on training employees in the latest technology. Doing so can increase efficiency aiding in the completion of work. While training employees around new technologies is important, it is also important to give them refreshers on using current technology in a more efficient way to leverage their time and aid in innovation.

7. Enhance Customer Service

Technology can play a key role in your organization’s ability to provide quality service. At least once a year, organizations should set up an IT initiative to assess their technology and its impact on serving your customers. This could include customer facing technology like web portals, mobile apps, and chatbots. It also includes employee facing technology that impacts customer service like business intelligence tools or CRM systems. Staying on the cutting edge of customer service technology could be what sets your organization apart from your competitors.

8. Explore Emerging Technologies

There are a lot of newer forms of technologies emerging such as artificial intelligence (AI), internet of things (IoT), and machine learning (ML). These tools aren’t right for every organization but it is important to know what is out there and what capabilities your organization could be missing. Finding ways to use technology not to replace work or workers but to enhance it and make it go further to better serve others is the very root of why technology is created.

Conclusion

Focusing on these IT initiatives as the year comes to a close can help SMBs start next year off on the right foot with the ability to go further in the year to come.

Want advise about IT initiatives that are right for your organization?

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