Given the vast changes to the way we are currently working (despite a slow return to “normality”), it is possible over the last year you have been thinking about or have indeed changed some of the technology systems in your business.
First of all, if you have made a recent change, congratulations. This is a job that all too often falls down a business owner’s list of priorities.
If you have been putting off upgrading some of your IT systems there are a whole host of reasons why you might want to look into it.
There are a host of reasons which we have explored in previous blogs around why you may wish to change or update your IT systems. You may be looking for something that has greater flexibility, or is more responsive to your business needs. Or you may be looking for something with bolstered security credentials.
Yet with all of the good intentions of upgrading IT systems, it’s entirely possible you may have had some initial teething problems in getting set up. Here are three of the most common issues we see when a business implements new technology – and what you need to be wary of.
Getting buy-in from staff is the most important thing you can do when implementing new technology is ensuring you have appropriate buy-in from staff to use it. Ultimately this boils down to ensuring that you can confidently answer the following three questions:
1 – Do staff understand the need for change?
2 – Do staff feel comfortable using the new system?
3 – Do staff feel supported through the change?
Shadow IT systems occur when staff starts to use non-approved applications to share or save files. For example, if your company uses SharePoint as your file system of choice, if some staff are unsure or uncomfortable with using it they may start using something like Dropbox or Google Drive instead.
Obviously, this can be a risk to security as it’s unlikely that staff setup systems will be as robust as ones set up by your IT provider. This will almost certainly mean that work and documents are duplicated as well, meaning productivity will take a hit.
Really this area follows on from getting buy-in from staff right at the start of a change process. To ensure that staff is following new procedures and processes you will want to ensure that adequate training is put in place to allow them to use the new IT system.
Putting this type of training in place will mean that staff feels that they are being supported to engage with these new systems, it will mean that fewer errors happen than those being left to figure it out on their own, and most importantly – it will reduce the risk of those shadow IT issues (discussed above) cropping up.
If you’re planning on making and switch with your IT systems but don’t know where to start, we are here to help. Learn more about our IT consultancy service here.
