Technology Review Guidelines
First steps
If you are considering changing any aspect of your technology infrastructure the only sensible place to start is to work out what your functional requirements are and where they come from. Ask your end users what they need and what common problems they encounter.
Once you have a list of things you need to carry out your day-to-day business, prioritise them into short-, medium- and long-term goals.
Evaluate the technologies available to achieve your goals.
Perform a cost-benefit analysis of the technologies chosen and then review your prioritised list in light of the high level costs.
Decide who is going to carry out the work. Do you have the skills in house or would it make sense to use a company like ours. EMH Technology can help at all of the above stages and would be happy to work alongside your existing staff. We can be as involved as you need us to be.
Best practice
In general computer technology and infrastructure are a core part of most businesses and you should aim to review your technology requirements regularly.
As with cars and any other pieces of machinery you should plan regular maintenance. This should cover hardware, updating software patches, and antivirus software, and reviewing your data backup requirements.
Ensure you have a Technology Policy covering the use of technology by your staff and also an operational and architectural guide that sets out what technology you have and how it operates so that you are covered if staff leave. This architectural document is a useful starting point for your regular technology reviews as it helps people to understand what impact any planned changes are likely to have on the current environment.
Ensure you know how your company would work in the event of a disaster.