When 2019 came to a close, did your bottom-line look like you wanted it to? Whether in the red or black, we’re sure you hoped it could have been better. Now take a good look to see if greater investment in IT earlier in the year could have helped you attain that goal. Was there a day of downtime? That probably cost you money. Was there a cyber attack? That may have cost even more. Did a marketing project take longer to accomplish than anticipated? That definitely limited your earning potential. In every instance smarter IT practices could have helped. Will you look back with the same regret at the beginning of next year? Not if you read ahead.
Five Ways Better Investment in IT Will Help Your Business Become More Profitable in 2020 and Beyond
1. IT Will Make Your Entire Company More Productive
Accounting, administration, HR, marketing, and every other link in the chain will become more productive though sweeping
digital transformation. A major part of this includes the introduction of software as a service (SaaS) that is steeped in enhanced productivity. This is where an enterprise subscription to Microsoft 365 comes in, offering your hierarchy the opportunity to leverage tools such as Microsoft Office 365 and Microsoft Teams while still allowing integration with many third-party apps that your business may already depend on.
Then there’s artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (also integrated into MS 365 software), which can help automate numerous processes including mundane tasks that should not be executed by skilled and valued staff. Instead, you can leverage your human resources for income-earning projects that require more creativity and critical thinking.
2. IT Will Prevent Cyber Attacks
As we alluded to in the introduction, those of you who suffered a cyber attack last year had your bottom line impacted even if there was no ransomware to pick your corporate pockets. Cybercrime can impact you in so many other financial ways. It can lead to downtime and subsequent inability to service customers/clients. It can lead to bad press and consumer trepidation should the information about the hack get leaked. It can lead to large fines from the Privacy Commissioner of Canada if reports aren’t adequately filed. It can result in a loss of third-party (vendor, supplier, etc.) relationships if a hack on your business exposed them to harm as well. The ways cybercrime can impact your bottom line are unfortunately endless but with better IT you can put up a blockade against all threats.
Improving your knowledge base regarding cybercrime is one thing, arming your teams with intel about everything from
computer viruses to watch for in 2020 to
new types of phishing schemes. Increased IT support helps establish this company-wide knowledge base. But improved IT investment will also provide you with access to
enterprise-level SMB security tools that are backed by
artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, which allows you to not only adapt to new strains of malicious software but keep ahead of it.
3. IT Will Prepare Your Business for All Other Disasters
While cybercrime gets most of the press, there are many other digital threats to your businesses that can halt revenue streams with the flip of a literal and proverbial switch. There’s internal sabotage, staff error, supplier/vendor failings, power grid outages, and extreme weather. The latter is more concerning than ever, especially in Canada which has seen
history-making weather events over the past year, compounded by
electrical use reaching all-time highs in response to some of them. All of the above increases the risk of sudden and unpredictable events that leave devastation in the wake for unprepared organizations. In 2020, that preparedness comes in the form of digital transformation (a recurring theme) that is steeped in
secure cloud migration to help ensure you have the
most effective disaster recovery plan in place.
4. IT Will Uncover Revenue Opportunities You Haven’t Yet Considered
IT support that delivers AI and machine learning capabilities does more than protect your digital assets.
It opens up a world of revenue-generating opportunities. AI helps scale online sales and revenue acquisition programs because it allows your company to predict what customers want to order, along with other actions that drive profit.
CMO reports that top-performing enterprises are more than twice as likely as their competitors to be using AI for marketing while over 60 percent of respondents (SMBs included) indicated that AI and machine learning will be their most significant data initiative for the year ahead. These enhanced tools also allow you to better manage and analyze data without human error or subjective opinion getting in the way.
5. IT Will Help You Manage Your Budget
Improved IT doesn’t just mitigate digital-based risk and uncover better income-earning opportunities,
it can also help with your budget. While there are AI-driven tools that can assist in establishing and monitoring progress towards KPIs, the help with your IT budgeting (which is indeed a part of your overall budget) will come from partnering with a Managed Services Provider (MSP). Depending upon the IT solution you choose, you may find a partner who will manage your IT budget to improve efficiencies which can positively impact your year-end balance sheet.
Fully Managed has
provided a roadmap to improving your IT through comprehensive digital transformation. We also encourage you to
learn more about ServiceNow, an IT support system that increases productivity and helps your business achieve new insights by consolidating to the most innovative ITSM solution on the market.
Contact us today to discuss how we will improve your bottom line in 2020 and beyond.