Management

Why Your Business Should Do IT Your Way

Technology should be adapted to fit the business, not the other way around.

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Ryan has been a magazine and newspaper editor for 21 years, with the last 15 covering a variety of bases for CDW’s family of tech magazines. As Editor in Chief, he works on developing editorial strategy and is always on the lookout for new writing talent and sharing great stories with the IT world. In his spare time, Ryan enjoys spending time with his family, biking and obsessively following Iowa Hawkeye sports and Cubs baseball.

There’s no one “right way” to approach technology. The range of tools, products and services readily available to businesses means that an IT chief can set a course that’s uniquely suited to a company’s particular environment and needs. This spring 2013 issue of BizTech lays out several possibilities for businesses to consider.

Cloud computing, for example, holds increasing appeal for small and medium-sized businesses alike. CDW’s 2013 State of the Cloud Report notes that from 2011 to 2012, SMB cloud adoption doubled — to 40 percent.

“The reality is that companies need to look at different ways to deliver IT,” says Mark Bowker, an Enterprise Strategy Group analyst.

The IT team at Mobiquity, a fast-growing mobile solutions company near Boston, certainly agrees. Cloud technology is an ideal solution for Mobiquity because it allows scalability without a major upfront infrastructure investment, says Infrastructure Architect Tim Harney.

Remote managed services also offer businesses a way to enhance capabilities without blowing the budget.

“That guy you need one day a year, you can’t have that guy on your staff, but you have access to that capability with a managed services provider,” says John Carroll, infrastructure chief for Taft, a 600-employee law firm headquartered in Cincinnati with seven offices in four states.

Wireless can create clever ways to support specialized workgroups as well. At Midway Motors in central Kansas, the rollout of 20 wireless access points — which were nearly plug-and-play, notes Chief Technology Officer Dave Ediger — let service technicians tap into data on cars’ advanced computing systems.

These are just three examples. You will also: learn about the newest technology for managing virtualized environments; read about how three unusual companies embrace technology to offer one-of-a-kind products; see how a restaurant and hospitality college cleverly deploys digital signage.

With spring on the way, it’s the ideal time to give some attention to renewal and defining an IT strategy that’s perfectly suited to your business.

Pete sig