02 Feb How IT Health Checks and Assessments help IT Leaders plan and take decisions with confidence and get the budget signed off 

By Simone Fisher

Any IT Leader needs to plan confidently to get budgets signed off.  In effect, IT departments compete with other parts of the organisation for investment, marketing, operations, or human resources, to name a few. 

So when IT hasn’t been allocated the budgets, it is sometimes not down to funds not being available, but instead, the organisation has placed priorities for investment elsewhere. 

This can be a real challenge for IT Leaders in trying to convince budget setters that IT is a strategic and necessary investment, especially if marketing submits requests for a fancy new logo and rebrand. 

A simple trick that helps our clients is to change how IT budgets are framed and submitted. 

Be honest; how many times have you submitted an IT Budget request titled “IT upgrade” in your career? It’s not exactly the most attention-grabbing initiative.  

But, by simply rephrasing and reframing the budget request to “IT Upgrade: How it will help save the organisation £250,000 through efficiency savings and help prevent the finance director from facing a fine from the ICO”, I know which one is more likely to grab attention.  

Yes, I am being flippant, but you hopefully get my point. 

When writing a compelling investment case, the title of your budget will help you considerably and make your plans stand out from the ‘competition’. 

But there is another hidden element in the title I used.  

It is the use of facts.  

And establishing these facts is where IT Health Checks and Assessments come into their own. 

By implementing an IT Health Check and Assessment, you will be able to: 

Gain Insight into Your Current Situation and the ability to set priorities: By independently assessing your current IT infrastructure, you will clearly understand where you can prioritise areas for improvement. 

Whether it be outdated software, insufficient hardware resources or a lack of security measures, these facts will enable you to make informed decisions about your technology’s future and plan accordingly. 

Submit realistic timelines and budgets: Health Checks and Assessments also enable you to submit realistic timelines and budgets. This includes all aspects of tasks and resources required to complete your objectives. Building in contingencies and being flexible enough to adjust your plan is also essential.  

Plan for the future: As your IT health check and assessment is conducted by an experienced expert in their field, they can often provide an opportunity to review current technology and identify areas for improvement, as well as areas where investment may be required in the future. This information can help you plan for growth and ensure your IT infrastructure can support your organisation’s needs as it evolves.  

Prevent unexpected issues: By undertaking an IT Health Check and Assessment, you can spot and deal with potential issues before they become significant problems. This prevents unexpected downtime, data loss and other disruptions to your IT operations. 

Enhance security: IT security is of utmost importance for any organisation, and regular health checks and assessments ensure that your systems are secure and comply with industry best practices. These assessments identify security gaps and vulnerabilities and offer solutions to enhance your security position. 

Enhance efficiency: IT health checks and assessments help you identify how to keep your systems running smoothly, thereby improving efficiency. This enhances productivity and reduces the time and resources needed to resolve issues. 

Having the facts to make better decisions: IT health checks and assessments provide valuable information that can help you make informed decisions. They allow you to understand the state of their technology and identify areas that require attention, enabling you to make informed decisions about investments in hardware, software and security measures. This information can help IT Leaders make better decisions, avoid costly mistakes, and stay ahead of the competition. 

IT health checks and assessments are a valuable tool for IT leaders from all sizes of organisations and all sectors. They provide the facts you need to make informed decisions, help avoid unexpected issues, enhance security, improve efficiency and offer the opportunity to plan for the future.  

And more importantly, they can provide budget decision-makers with proof and facts of the level of investment you need to achieve your IT goals and Objectives. Thereby ensuring that your IT systems enable your organisation to be successful, secure, effective and innovative. 

Are you interested to find out more? 

You can find a list of our Health Check and Assessment Services here.