Despite less-than-stellar economic conditions in other parts of the world, Canadian entrepreneurs are optimistic about the year ahead. According to the BMO Small Business Confidence Report, nearly three-quarters of small business owners describe their 2012 business performance as 'excellent' to 'good’ and half of them predict their businesses will grow in 2013. But are they ready?
“Most business owners have a plan to ensure they have adequate financial and human resources to manage growth, but many overlook IT requirements until there’s a bottleneck,” says Ron Mondor, President, Zantek Information Technology. “With a little foresight, technology can be a business accelerator.”
Top 5 growth roadblocks
1. Manual processes
Manually entering the same information into multiple systems or spreadsheets is an error-prone and time-consuming process that makes it difficult to add new employees, products, and locations – especially if another currency enters the mix.
2. Outdated systems
Investing time and money in maintaining an outdated system and working around its limitations is a lose-lose scenario, not to mention risky. How would a crash affect your business?
3. Tethered business plans
If mobile technology isn’t factored into your 2013 plans, you may want to explore this highly-prevalent trend. Savvy businesses are looking at ways to tap into the growing popularity of mobiles phones and tablets as work-related devices – for employees and customers.
4. Lack of coordination across departments
Nothing slows down operations more than information silos. As your business grows, expect delays if key business processes, such as sales order processing and inventory management, don’t share real-time information.
5. Incomplete and inaccurate business data
Any problems you currently have obtaining information about your operations will be compounded as your business grows. People across the company will need to make timely decisions, stay on top of shifting customer demands, and accurately plan…and you don’t want them doing that based on ‘gut feel’.
So how do you avoid these growth roadblocks? Get an IT assessment. It’s a professional and unbiased view of your information systems with prioritized recommendations. “Without fail, assessments turn up ways to streamline processes, lower costs, reduce risk, and alleviate frustrations,” says Mondor.
Take away - IT can't be an AT (that's afterthought)
Whether your business growth is driven by new products, market expansion, or acquisition, it ultimately means more data, calculations, and transactions. Get the information you need to proactively plan any upgrades and, perhaps most importantly, capitalize on technology solutions that will accelerate your business strategy.
Useful links related to this article
> Fact sheet: IT Diagnostics Report
> Whitepaper: Telltale Signs That You’ve Outgrown Your Current Systems
> Ask an expert: Email your IT question to Zantek
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