What Is Strategic Consulting?

An IT strategy is a plan that tackles how the company should utilise technologies to achieve its business goals. It’s an umbrella term for the different aspects of a company’s IT infrastructure.  

Though each component of an IT strategy is essential, some are more invaluable to the company than others. Due to their comparatively higher significance level, business owners often invest more of their time, funding and effort into these projects. If you wish to do the same, you’ll do your best to know the four key areas to prioritise in an organisation’s IT strategy.   

Before anything else, you must first determine the current condition of your IT infrastructure. This involves identifying the technological weaknesses as well as strengths of your organisation.   

The assessment can also provide valuable data that you can use for your strategy. For example, it can give insights into your personnel’s current technological proficiency level. If they have sufficient proficiency, adopting technologies won’t be an issue. On the other hand, if they lack technical skills, digital transformation can prove to be complicated. In other words, assessing your existing IT infrastructure will be the basis of your IT strategy.   

An IT assessment can analyse different aspects of your company aside from its personnel. These include your existing software, hardware, physical IT environment and cybersecurity.  

Financial analysis is when you look at the costs associated with each key area and adjust them according to their priority. It’s an essential key area to ensure your financial decisions are on the right track. Here’s a look at some of the costs involved in developing your IT infrastructure:  

• Leasing and licensing fees of software, hardware and IT services  
• Maintenance costs for your software and hardware  
• Initial costs of company-owned devices  
• Maintenance costs of your physical server  

• Salary of your IT personnel  

In addition, financial analysis involves looking into ways to actively reduce your IT costs according to the current expenditure of the company. Below are some examples of ways to reduce IT costs:   

• Invest in specific types of software (e.g., open-source, all-in-one, etc.)  
• Utilise the cloud for storage  
• Move your physical database to the internet  

• Watch out for hidden charges from IT service contractors 

Finally, financial analysis also looks into the IT costs of running the business as opposed to the costs associated with changing or innovating the business. This is to understand whether you’re investing sufficient funds in transforming or innovating your IT infrastructure. This is a particularly important metric if you wish to grow and expand your business.  

A company’s IT infrastructure will always be a tempting target for many hackers. Moreover, IT infrastructures of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are especially enticing since they typically don’t have any particular security measures and are easier to infiltrate than critical infrastructures. Data breaches can also be disastrous since data breaches can result in a temporary disruption of a company’s IT system. It may only last for days, but it’s enough to deal a great blow to its profits. Therefore, cybersecurity must be a priority in your IT strategy. (2)  

Cybersecurity is the practice of protecting your IT infrastructure from digital attacks like ransomware and phishing. A company’s cybersecurity should at least consist of the following:  

• Anti-virus software  
• Cybersecurity policies  
• Data backup/recovery solutions  
• Encryption tools  
• Firewall  

• Intrusion detection  
• IT security audits  
• Password management 

Moreover, an IT assessment should help determine your company’s existing security risks and vulnerabilities, further emphasising the importance of that particular key area of an IT strategy.   

Most, if not all, business goals require the use of assets, assets being any resource the organisation owns and controls. These may include cash, materials and even the company building itself.   

Assets are particularly important in an IT strategy since its success ultimately depends on the company’s existing technologies, which are also assets. Examples of IT assets include:  

• Infrastructure equipment like routers, modems, wireless access points and servers  
• Existing in-house software, hardware and applications  
• Contracts, agreements and leases for existing IT services, software and hardware  

• Company-owned devices, including laptops, desktops and tablets  
• IT personnel, such as marketing, customer support and cybersecurity experts  
• Utility equipment, including generators, power supplies and electrical supplies 

Asset management is the practice of making the best use of these resources to maximise returns and minimise risks. Applying this is when you assign employees with IT strategy consulting jobs to handle your IT infrastructure. Doing so allows you to make the best use of their skills, unlike when you assign employees with mostly customer service skills.  

Like your IT strategy, business management consists of numerous key areas, some with higher levels of significance than others. Although an IT strategy is an integral part of a business, especially those focused on technology, it’s still just one part of your organisation. If you wish to manage your business more effectively, you must distribute your resources across the different aspects of your company. 

1. Anonymous. “5 Tips To Secure Your IT Infrastructure For 2021.” Red Plam Technology Services. Last updated December 2020. Accessed June 2022. https://redpalm.co.uk/tips-to-secure-your-it-infrastructure-2021/ 
2. Dosal, Eric. “What is IT Asset Management (ITAM) & Why is It Important?” Compuquip. Last updated April 2020. Accessed June 2022. https://www.compuquip.com/blog/importance-of-it-asset-management 
3. Foret, Will. “Four Tips To Help Reduce Your Fixed IT Costs.” Forbes. Last updated April 2020. Accessed June 2022. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2020/04/02/four-tips-to-help-reduce-your-fixed-it-costs/