In this article, we provide you with a basic framework for prioritizing your upgrades to achieve your technology goals successfully and reliably, while minimizing the risk of disruptions to your business.
Are you considering a major technology makeover? Moving your business forward can be a daunting proposition on many fronts—but when it comes to technology, sometimes it's hard to know where to even begin. In this article, we provide you with a basic framework for prioritizing your upgrades to achieve your technology goals successfully and reliably, while minimizing the risk of disruptions to your business.
The Challenge
Today's office environment consists of many different yet interdependent technological components, each with its own complexity. A poorly planned network upgrade can lead to confusion, lost time, and costly mistakes. But whether driven by a need to improve the bottom line, or to better serve clients and members, technology upgrades are key to running an effective and competitive organization.
One Step at a Time
Each element of your office technology can be categorized into essentially four layers—or steps, which build upon each other. To achieve a complete technology overhaul and upgrade, we recommend you carefully and deliberately segment the project into these discreet, manageable phases. Although executing your technology upgrade incrementally will require more time at the outset, it provides the central advantage of ensuring that each stage of your upgrade is handled in a thorough, dependable manner.
This reduces the possibility of oversights which can lead to expensive project "backtracking" and lost productivity. By upgrading one step at a time, you can ensure each element is working properly before implementing the next—which can significantly reduce the efforts required to resolve any issues that may arise.
Upgrade Priorities
We recommend you consider the following diagram in planning your upgrade:
The First Step: Basic Functions and Security
Any kind of construction requires a strong foundation, and your network is no exception. It is critical that your basic network infrastructure is in place and fully operational before any additional elements enter your production environment. This first step includes cabling, switches, internet access, firewalls, file servers, email, backup, virus and spyware protection, inter-site communications, workstations, and the operating software associated with each of these.
Equally important is the thorough documentation of all your centralized network components, which will greatly facilitate any future upgrades.
The importance of this first step is obvious, but often overlooked or undervalued by companies looking to minimize budget costs. A company might decide things are working "well enough" before adding the desired upgrades. However, it is crucial for accountability and troubleshooting that you feel fully confident in every aspect of your network's basic performance before proceeding with enhancements. For example, if you install new accounting software on a poorly configured network, and the software doesn't work properly, it can be extremely difficult and time-consuming to determine the root of the problem, and then resolve the underlying issue. On the other hand, if your new network is functioning and tested, and a problem arises with the accounting software, it can be pinpointed and resolved much more efficiently. This can save your company considerable time and money.
The Second Step: Off-the-Shelf Enhancements
After ensuring your network has a sturdy, reliable base, you can begin to implement the off-the-shelf products popular among many organizations. This category encompasses readily available software and hardware solutions that are easy to implement, and offer sought-after capabilities.
Examples might include a network fax application that can send and receive faxes from each user's computer, wireless networking technology for guest internet access or internal mobility, or even a remote access solution which allows users to work from home.
The reason why we recommend implementing these applications directly after establishing your basic system is twofold: They are generally easy to install, and can provide the added benefit of a psychological boost. Having the latest popular technologies improves morale and increases confidence in the organization. As a result, your staff is more motivated to participate in your next set of upgrades, which are usually among the more difficult, and require significant effort and participation from the users in order to be successful.
The Third Step: Line-of-Business Applications
Line-of-Business (LOB) applications are the software programs essential to your specific industry. For example, most associations use a membership management system (like ASI's iMIS) to track and serve their members. Law firms often have a document management system (such as Interwoven's WorkSite) to help them generate and track vital legal documents.
LOB applications have the most direct impact on your daily operations and your ability to be competitive. These are fundamental upgrades for you, and ones that positively require a healthy, functioning network system.
While you might begin planning for the implementation of your LOB applications during the 'Basic Functions and Security' phase, you should wait until the foundation is complete prior to deploying these applications. Additionally, LOB programs are generally more complex, and the installations and upgrades are usually more involved. For this reason, we suggest you focus on these applications after you have added the desired off-the-shelf products.
The Fourth (and Final) Step: Conveniences
The definition of a convenience item varies for every organization. For some, handheld devices (like BlackBerrys and Treos) qualify as conveniences, while for others, these are indispensable business tools. We recommend that anything you classify as neither time- nor mission-critical be placed at the end of the implementation schedule.
Planning Pays
The importance of planning in each of the steps we've described cannot be overstated. We suggest you consider investing up to 10% of your overall project budget in the planning and research required for the upgrade.
This type of investment, especially in the world of technology, pays high dividends during the actual execution of the project—and beyond—by helping to anticipate and avoid potential pitfalls.
Last Word
Planning a full system upgrade can be a confusing and intimidating undertaking for any organization. But with the correct planning and prioritization, it is one you can surmount with measurable success—step-by-step.
If you have any questions about how to plan your next technology overhaul, contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
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