One of the biggest differentiators we have among our competitors is that we are constantly assessing our clients’ environment. Once a month, for most clients, we are on site ensuring all systems and supporting appliances are meeting best practices.

Every quarter we produce an IT assessment. An IT assessment is a comprehensive and thorough review of a company’s technology systems and environment and results in a written evaluation and recommendation. The assessment appraises how the technology helps or hinders the core business and recommends how to use technology to meet the business goals and objectives. The assessment can include, but is not limited to, network and systems performance, software audits, concept testing and development, strategic evaluations, technical reviews, and risk management. Once a year, we also include an IT budget to help meet any of the identified initiatives.

An IT system isn’t just technology for technology’s sake. Technology should help meet specific business goals and provide value. IT assessments can make sure that the technology is meeting these goals or provide a blueprint for improving the technology and a specific and measurable template for achieving business objectives. It can also ensure that technology and security is in compliance with government guidelines and best practices.

Any business in today’s environment is running on a network of connected computers, servers, printers, and other hardware. The network is the backbone of the entire enterprise and can be a major bottleneck in business applications. An IT assessment provides a network performance review and makes recommendations based on traffic, errors, packet loss, and conflicts that can bring a business network to a halt. Investing in the latest computers and servers is a waste of money if it is attached to a sub-optimal network.

Software that is out of license compliance or copied illegally can cause huge fines and penalties to a business. IT assessments evaluate the existing software for compliance and create an audit process for future software. A software audit now as part of an IT assessment is much more cost effective than an audit later by a software company.

Security of data is key to any business. Proper security measures not only protect the data from outside hackers, but the ability to demonstrate good security is essential for new sales and customer retention. IT assessments evaluate and make recommendations to close holes in security and help create a bulletproof computing environment for critical data.

Finally, business continuity is a significant part of any good business plan. In the event of a disaster, the technology must be able to continue operating so that day to day business can continue. Proper backup procedures, redundant systems, and recovery methods must be in place. An IT assessment provides a disaster recovery plan to ensure that the business continues in the event of anything from a small electrical problem to a major disaster.

An IT assessment isn’t so much a map, as the dashboard of the vehicle that will get you there. While you may know where you want to take your business or how you want it to run, an IT assessment will let you know if the network and systems you are running on will be able to carry you there.