7 Steps to Improve Your Business IT Infrastructure

Digital transformation can boost productivity, bolster customer satisfaction, and drive profitability in more ways than one. Organizations today face numerous challenges when their IT is outdated and unable to cater to the fluctuating IT demands of the modern business environment.

In fact, experts believe that in a world where remote and hybrid-remote work reigns, three quarters of businesses will need an extensive IT upgrade. Further shake-ups in the traditional work model have prompted the need for greater flexibility, skill improvement, and unhampered access to global talent.

In response, businesses look to agile operations enabled by more efficient and powerful IT infrastructure. In this article, we present seven steps to upgrade your business IT infrastructure and improve operations at the fundamental level.

1. Assess Your Current IT Setup and Identify Current Needs

Today’s IT ecosystems are more interconnected than ever. Cloud services work in tandem with traditional data centers in a dynamic ecosystem. Simultaneously, on-premises infrastructure communicates with remote servers to deliver data to users in multiple locations. Minute component failures can lead to catastrophic operational downtimes, security, and inefficiencies down the line.

Regular IT analysis is necessary for streamlined business operations. Comprehensive IT assessment takes into account the hardware, software, and data aspects of your business with a key focus on the following areas:

• Infrastructure security and capacity to take on your business’s increasing demands
• Application security and data protection compliance
• Server maintenance, storage, and data backup solutions
• Networking equipment safety, effectiveness, and efficiency

Remember, your IT infrastructure shouldn’t just meet your current needs. Scalability is an essential factor to consider while upgrading your IT infrastructure. Your IT setup must be configured to accommodate potential future expansion.

2. Plan Your IT Upgrade Process

With a clear picture of your IT infrastructure needs, it’s time to align each improvement with your business objectives. Starting with prioritizing your IT needs, bear in mind that not all improvements are equal. Some might be urgent – for example, bolstering your cybersecurity posture may come before performance optimization if your business faces a high-threat risk.

Align these priorities with your budget, balancing immediate expenditures against long-term investment. Next, consider the timeframe. A well-planned IT upgrade doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a process that can take weeks or even months, depending on the scale of the exercise.

Lastly, remember to consult with your IT team. They’re the experts in what can realistically be achieved within the given timeframe and budget. Their insight is invaluable and involving their expertise early in the process increases the success of the upgrade process.

3. Modernize Your Existing Infrastructure and Recruit Skilled Expertise for Better IT Management

IT modernization is an essential aspect of IT management for organizations. Battling fierce competition, boosting productivity, improving customer experiences, and streamlining operations demands more powerful and secure infrastructure.

However, it’s worth noting that digital transformation doesn’t end with infrastructure. With so many teams now reliant on collaboration tools, businesses may need to hire IT experts in this area. 

However, recruiting skilled IT talent is either difficult or very difficult as one report suggests. In that case, consider partnering with a Charlotte IT support company with highly specialized skills your organization needs.

4. Secure Valuable Data from Accidental Loss

Data is the backbone of modern-day business operations. With government regulations tightening the grip on data security and greater data privacy expectations, it’s clear that the pressure on small businesses to invest in more stringent data protection measures will be on the rise. Data loss often leads to performance and productivity slowdowns, regulatory fines for non-compliant financial and health services, and a damaged brand image.

Simultaneously, businesses must keep precious information resources available and accessible. Recent studies indicate that the real cost of data loss can spur in the millions ($3.6 million to be precise), or $141 per record. In our context, data loss refers to data that has been destroyed, corrupted to an unrecoverable extent, or deleted.

Cloud and hybrid-cloud backup systems have become increasingly popular countermeasures to data loss. But while storing multiple copies of data on cloud and on-prem infrastructure works, the greatest threat to its security remains the people. Employees should be trained on sanitary data handling practices to minimize the risks.

5. Embrace – Don’t Fight – New Technologies

Every tech revolution faces resistance in the first stages of its inception. For modern businesses, artificial intelligence and AI-powered technologies have been controversial from the beginning. Despite its benefits, companies may exhibit resistance to its adoption citing data security concerns and confidentiality.

AI systems process mass volumes of sensitive data, making them a prime target for hacker activity. The prevalence of AI systems has raised important questions about user privacy. As these systems get fed with personal and sensitive data, their misuse can lead to devastating infringements and attract heavy penalties.

Machine learning and artificial intelligence are now more accessible than ever. Companies that embrace AI can automate customer support and improve customer experiences. Business leaders can also benefit from deep learning algorithms that predict company performance based on vast, historical performance data.

6. Test and Troubleshoot

Once your IT infrastructure improvements are in place, it’s important to test their effect on operations and your organization’s performance at large. This step is a strategic process that helps decision-makers gather detailed insights in a systematic, strategic process.

Begin by testing individual components, then assess how they function together. Pay close attention to areas of inefficiency that could slow down your system. Where possible, leverage past results and benchmarking reports to measure performance before and after the improvements.

Don’t forget to test your system under various loads and conditions. For example, how does it perform under maximum load? What about during off-peak hours? These tests simulate real-world conditions and can reveal potential bottlenecks in your system.

7. Regular Maintenance and Updates

Regular maintenance prevents minor issues from escalating into major problems further down the line.

Begin by setting a schedule for regular maintenance checks. This includes running diagnostic tests and deep scans for performance and security-related issues. During the exercise, software and hardware systems should be updated to the latest version. Often, every new software update contains security patches addressing new security concerns.

Conclusion

Every business faces unique challenges with its infrastructure. While upgrading your IT, it’s important to weigh its positive impact on customer experience, employee productivity, and overall performance. Consider partnering with a managed IT services provider to help upgrade your business IT infrastructure, preferably one with extensive experience in your industry.

Frequently Asked Questions