13 Jun 3 IT tips to stay ahead of the competition

Solutions for your growing SMB

Your enterprise must do everything it can to stay ahead in the digitally driven world. Therefore, taking advantage of every bit of tech and advice you can is important. But there are things you can do today to start your company on the path to becoming a true enterprise leader while beating back the competition.

Taking advantage of IT solutions and utilizing business tools properly can prove challenging, but it’s not impossible. So, start on the right foot.

Tip #1: Plan 5-10 years ahead

Yes, half a decade at least when it comes to planning out IT and cybersecurity. Why? For a number of reasons. We’re growing more dependent on technology every day. Because of this need, said tech must be secured. The prevalence of IoT, internet-connected devices, faster net in general, and mobile hardware is convenient, but it generates numerous attack surfaces.

That’s a long way of saying you need to plan your IT for the next half-decade to a full decade. A lot of SMBs aren’t thinking in the long term, and it’s something that will cost them. You want to think about the survival of your organization, and you need to consider how IT needs will change, along with technology.

Speaking of. . .

Tip #2: Know the trends

While it’s easier said than done, understanding trends allows you to capture enterprise value and market power. For example, knowing if a type of software or technology will be popular enough to integrate into workflow models, and whether or not it’s good to invest in. Keeping pace with trends translates to staying ahead. Early adoption brings a lot of power to a business, while the rest are left as stragglers.

“But how do we know which trends are the right ones?”

If it was that easy to know, the question wouldn’t exist. The difficulty and understanding a trend is just that: difficult. There are things you can do to understand trends with extensive research and analytics, but it does come down to some chance-taking. But, knowing IT, cybersecurity, and digital trends makes the difference between those who lead and those who play catch up.

Tip #3: Take advantage of third-party resources

Getting ahead of the game and trouncing competitors means taking advantage of every resource you can. Third-parties enable this if your in-house resources are short. An MSP – managed service provider – can provide infrastructure, experts, and even virtually scaling software to build out plans with your company, as an example.

The thing is, we’re still short on experts and IT staff, so shortages are common. It’s those shortages that can cause a company to fall behind, and nobody wants that. If you’re running short on resources, it’s time to reach out, or risk losing out to the competition.

Utilizing these tips, you’ll stay ahead of the curve.

For more information, you can also reach out to Bytagig today.