Today, computers are considered the key piece of equipment in most jobs. And where there are computers, there is infrastructure, whether it’s a handful of employees sharing an internet connection and a NAS, or a large company with racks of servers and a complex network.
You have your infrastructure set up, but the trick is knowing whether the IT tools you have at your disposal are appropriate to your needs. And I do mean trick, because it can often be difficult to identify whether your IT setup is working for you.
Here are 5 ways to tell whether you should review your IT systems and consider making changes.
- You need more office space
This might seem a bit obvious, but often IT is one of the last things that management consider when they’re looking for new premises to house their growing workforce. If you’re having to move out of your current office and seek out bigger digs, it’s very likely that your IT systems could use a revamp as well to cope with all the additional work they’re expected to handle.
- Admin and processes eat up your time
Computers are intended to make our lives quicker and easier. But they are still only tools and they still need us humans to tell them what to do. And if you’re at a stage where your manual work processes are eating into your time while the computer sits idle and waits for your input, it could be a sign that there is a better way to make use of your IT investment, to make it work smarter for you.
- Inducting new staff is complicated
When new staff members start, they’re no doubt keen to crack on and get started in their new role, and we all know the frustration of having to get to grips with where files are located and how the various systems work. If the induction process starts to look a bit like a legal document, then it’s a clear sign that a number of your IT systems could be simplified, and perhaps it’s time to review your IT-based work processes.
- Your staff are frustrated
It’s highly unlikely that your staff are consciously aware of the IT needs of your company, but they could offer some clues that suggest you might want to consider upgrading. The first is that they start to grumble about how slow things are getting, or that the computer systems don’t work well for them; a sure sign that a review of your infrastructure might be in order. The second is when staff make suggestions of tools or programs that could be used to complete tasks in a more efficient way. It’s a good bet that if you’re considering new software, your hardware may need to be upgraded to cope with it.
- Departments become disparate
It’s expected that different departments in a company will have different IT needs to a certain degree. But, if your company’s IT infrastructure is starting to fracture and each department is doing their own thing, it’s time to take a step back and review, to get a handle on providing an IT environment that serves all your staff equally well, so that they don’t feel the need to try to find their own solutions.
