Save Money and Time with a Technology Roadmap

It’s 2020: Do you know how much you’ll spend on tech for your company or organization this year? How about in 2021? 2023? 

It doesn’t take a psychic to figure future tech needs out, what you need is a good technology roadmap.  

Technology Roadmap Basics 

A technology roadmap is an action plan that shows the current state of a company’s hardware and software, and where it needs to go over the next several years. This documentation is critical for every business and organization because it: 

• Helps you budget for future tech expenses
• Reveals what elements will need to be upgraded or replaced
• Decreases downtime caused by tech malfunctions
• Provides a snapshot of current inventory 
• Can improve productivity

Often, IT departments compile technology roadmaps for their companies. When we work with clients as their IT service provider, we begin creating a technology roadmap by taking a comprehensive inventory of: 

• All the company’s hardware (network, firewall switches, servers, back-up devices and workstations). 
• The current operating systems, noting their probable end of life and warranty status.

 We also audit: 

• The active directory to make sure there are no stale accounts that could be costing the company money.
• Current security measures, checking for new tools or features, and warranty expiration.
• Domains for security certificates and expiration dates.
• Software licensing and expirations.

These assessments and audits allow us to include in the roadmap estimates for things like software renewals, replacement for hardware and upgrading of operating systems that will be aging out of warranty protection. 

Forward and Back 

The best technology roadmap also includes a look back at what actions have been taken over the last one or two years in terms of a company’s tech purchases, repairs or upgrades. This information adds to the ability to possibly predict when technology might fail. By planning ahead, you can avoid the unforeseen costs of failures and minimize downtime. Each annual budget can accurately allow for tech outlays in advance.

A technology roadmap should be updated quarterly. It’s all about being proactive instead of reactive. If your staff would like help with a roadmap, contact us. We can walk you through the process, or take it off your plate completely.