4 Tips for Conducting a Successful IT Assessment

Just like you would for your health, your home or your car, taking proactive and precautionary measures for your business’s IT systems is helpful in preventing avoidable issues that can be extremely costly. One of the most important ways to do so is to schedule an IT assessment.

IT assessments are thorough evaluations of your business IT systems to give you and your IT provider a comprehensive view of your technology status and any future needs. To facilitate a successful IT assessment, here we go over some of the most important steps to take.

Understand How IT Assessments Benefit Businesses

Knowing what an IT assessment is and what it can do for your business is extremely important. By understanding what to expect from your IT assessment, you can avoid confusion and understand what steps may need to be taken following the assessment.

The goal is to get a comprehensive view of your IT systems in order to address issues that may need improvements, decrease operational costs, and confirm what is and what is not currently working for your business's goals.

Know Why You’re Getting an IT Assessment

Although IT assessments are similar for most businesses, it's important to know why you are getting an IT assessment specifically for your business at this time. Is your business currently going through a significant change? Is this a routine assessment? Are there particular issues your business is experiencing in terms of IT? By asking yourself these questions, you can better prepare your IT provider with insight as to what you hope to accomplish.

Find a Reliable & Knowledgeable Provider

Even if your business has experienced IT staff, it is always recommended to have a third party provider perform your IT assessment. This eliminates the possibility of bias and may reveal something your IT staff has overlooked.

Search for trusted providers in your area that have experience in comprehensive IT assessments. Asking questions about the provider’s experience, process and protocol before the assessment will also help determine if the provider is a good fit for your business.

Know What to Expect After an IT Assessment

Because IT assessments will likely result in recommendations for improvement, be prepared to discuss IT infrastructure changes following the assessment. For this reason, many business owners choose to conduct their IT assessment just before budgetary reviews.

Although you do not have to take the recommendations given to you, the goal of the IT assessment is to educate business owners on how they can better equip their business technology systems. This can mean investing in or planning to invest in things like disaster recovery, network security, hardware, software and the like.

If your business does not have the immediate funds for IT improvements, the IT assessment can provide a helpful plan to serve as a guide for future budget considerations. In addition, it’s important to remember that the cost of preventative IT measures is almost always less expensive than break/fix in the event that something goes wrong.

Taylored Systems — Your Partner in IT Assessments

For over 35 years, Taylored has been helping businesses of all sizes across multiple industries stay up to date with customized technology solutions. We work directly with each client to conduct thorough and comprehensive IT assessments. We aim to help businesses know the strengths of their IT systems as well as any areas that may need improvement.