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For many in the SME space, IT decisions are often a product of necessity, rather than a function of strategy.
Systems are upgraded when they fail, processes are reviewed when they break and new tools are only introduced when gaps make them essential. Meanwhile, the business adapts. And on the surface, at least, this may feel efficient. It avoids unnecessary spend and disruption, and it mitigates the risks associated with over-engineering.
Over time, however, it can lead to a different type of problem: inertia.
When “everything’s fine” becomes the problem
In business, stability can be taken as a sign that everything is under control. Systems are running, support is responsive. Nothing to see here. But stability doesn’t always translate to efficiency, and staying in the same place, while perhaps comfortable, only masks the inevitable.
Technology itself is dynamic and as it evolves, so too do market expectations and processes. Failure to adapt to changing macro-conditions reduces your resilience and hobbles your ability to adapt.
The impact of a status quo model in the face of rapid sector change might, at first, seem relatively minor. Workflows take longer, manual workarounds might become necessary. Everything becomes slightly more difficult, but nothing breaks and so nothing changes.
But, delaying change is a negative-sum scenario in which businesses are forced to absorb inefficiencies across their day-to-day operations; opportunities are missed because systems can’t support them. The insidious nature of this capacity gap means that they creep below urgent action thresholds, sitting unaddressed on a low priority list. It becomes part of normal operations.
Hoarding, or how we build reactive systems
For SMEs, complex systems are the result of accumulation driven by individual decisions taken in the face of challenges viewed in isolation. The end result is an infrastructure that represents the collective product of all the problems you’ve ever faced, rather than your growth strategy.
The system works in the context of your own experience, but does it drive growth? And does it provide you the capacity to lead in your sector?
Failure to adopt a phased approach to IT change raises the prospect of a higher risk, higher cost, Big Bang implementation. Deliberate actions allow for systems to be shaped to organisational priorities; delay invites only chaos and uncertainty when your stable system finally destabilises.
Progress is a choice
Intention is key: learn to recognise the early signs that all is not well and act accordingly before minor issues snowball, or before the market leaves you behind. If necessary, turn to your IT provider to help you optimise your infrastructure to support both your current and long-term goals.
Your IT provider shouldn’t just maintain what already exists. They should provide the perspective you need to measure its value against your business operations. They should help you to identify where inertia is taking hold, and the changes that will have the greatest impact for you and your clients.
If they’re not willing, or able, to do that, then you should be asking why.
If system performance is just good enough, and issues are resolved relatively quickly, it can be easy to discount the risk of inertia to your future operations. But the question you should be asking is not “is my infrastructure allowing me to do business?”, but “is my technology enabling progress”?
Is it making the business easier to run? Is it supporting how the organisation is evolving?
Or is it quietly anchoring you to decisions made years ago?
Inaction is a choice and, in time, it can come to be one of the most expensive that a business can make.
William Thackray, Operations Director, of AGT Computer Services
Also read:
The Hidden Costs of Poor Hybrid Cloud Strategy – And How to Avoid Them
5 Tips for Creating an Effective Enterprise IT Strategy
Image source: William Thackray
