2017 is shaping up to be a great year! Your sales are up. You’re adding more staff. Business is booming.
Here’s the big question: Can your IT handle the growth you’re seeing on the horizon?
Your IT is the backbone at the foundation of your business and it needs to be able to meet your growing demands.
How to Tell You’re Outgrowing Your Systems
Performance is the first to suffer when demand outstrips IT capacity.
Key signs:
- Staff complain about the time it takes to enter information, create reports or run analytics.
- Applications seem to run slower than they once did.
- Shopping carts are abandoned or customers leave your site without completing tasks.
- You can’t add new functionality or features because they’re not compatible.
- Some of your solutions or software have reached “End-of-Life” (EOL).
IT Checkpoints for Growing Businesses
When your business is growing, there are different places that could be impacted and start to affect performance.
You want to start with a solid foundation.
Whether your servers are in your offices or in a datacentre (or if you’ve decided the time is right to move to a cloud or hybrid server solution), you’ll need to spec out, buy, configure, load balance, test and then plan the cut-over from the old to the new system. When planning for the migration to new server hardware or a transition to whole new platform, you’ll need to budget for hardware (or cloud fees) and configuration costs, any extra space in the data centre you might need during the migration or transition, and a short period of downtime to cutover from the old to the new. Don’t forget to look at load balancers, switches, firewalls and your internet connection that might also need an upgrade.
You need a flexible foundation.
Cloud-based server solutions like Microsoft Azure or Amazon Web Services let you dial up and dial down the amount of resources you need in an environment that’s load balanced for optimal performance. These services can make scaling up easier for companies experiencing rapid growth, while helping businesses that need to adjust to large increases or decreases in traffic without sacrificing performance.
You’re still using an old computer.
Don’t forget to look at desktop-level PCs because if your laptops, tablets and computers are dated, you won’t get the performance improvement you want.
Your software is out of date.
Software will, eventually, reach EOL when there’s no longer support or updates available. You should always keep your software up to date for security reasons but older solutions also present challenges when trying to adopt new hardware, or incorporate newer IT solutions like IoT or mobility.
There are new software options on the market.
Over time, you might outgrow key pieces of software. The good news is there are lots of new options to meet the evolving needs of businesses including SaaS solutions, off-the-shelf packages, custom software development, or a hybrid solution.
Your hardware and software aren’t compatible.
Lightning fast hardware won’t deliver peak performance if it doesn’t work well with new software you put into place. Check each piece for compatibility.
It goes without saying that everything needs to be tested before going live to ensure your systems can handle the load and will pass the usability test!
Planning for the Transition
It would be great if you could flip a switch and your systems would automatically upgrade, but moving from an old system to a new one will take time and you need to plan, plan, plan so that the transition is as seamless as possible for customers and staff.
Our team at Whitecap has extensive experience helping businesses plan for (and manage) the technology transitions required by companies that are experiencing exponential growth. And, as importantly, Whitecap has the expertise to help businesses with all kinds of infrastructure to protect their web assets and data in the most secure manner possible. Although we’re known for helping customers develop custom software solutions, Whitecap has an equally excellent track record for helping businesses with their web security and infrastructure needs. Send us a message to get the expert advice and support you need to meet the competitive demands and growth you’re facing.