How to Prepare Your Business for Inevitable IT Changes

Whether we like it or not, technology changes quickly. That change is usually beneficial; you can accomplish more, gain more visibility, stretch your resources further, and do things you wouldn’t have thought possible or affordable a few years ago. On the other hand, sometimes technology changes arrive with the frustration of having to learn something new, develop new processes, and deal with a mountain of other annoyances. Listed below are some tips on how to prepare you and your business for the inevitable changes that your IT will be facing over the next few years.

Document EVERYTHING

Whether it comes to just installing a new equipment or mapping out and deploying a 50-user network, thorough documentation is absolutely imperative. It doesn’t matter who worked on the project; someday, somebody else will need to touch that device or software, change some kind of configuration, or replace something. If they aren’t intimate with what was done during setup, they will either be spending a lot of extra time getting familiar with the past or they will miss some key feature or element and need to do the work twice.

This literally applies to each and every detail of your organization’s IT. Here’s an idea of what definitely needs to be documented:

• Hardware/software purchase dates and warranty information
• License information (number of users/devices, length of the license for, etc.)
• Model and serial numbers, product keys, etc.
• Who installed it and when.
• What steps were taken to install it. Were any workarounds or special configuration options used?
• Where can we get support for each individual component and for how long?
• Configuration settings for the hardware and software.

Your documentation will likely change based on what aspect of your IT is being documented. For example: a router will have different information than your Microsoft Office deployment.

At Macro Systems we document everything we do carefully. It’s one of the most critical skills we train our technicians to do. Without thorough documentation, supporting complex network environments with a lot of moving parts would be a logistical nightmare and a lot of time and money would be wasted on seemingly simple tasks.

Be Prepared for Some Kicking and Screaming

Often when a company invests in new technology, someone is going to be resistant to change. “I liked it the old way,” or “This doesn’t make sense, it just makes my job harder,” are a couple common responses to anything new. No one is saying you shouldn’t listen - if productivity is being hindered then something needs to be done.

The problem is that changes in tech usually require a change in the steps an employee makes. If Larry has been doing his job the same way for eight years, implementing a new line of business app for him to learn is going to take him out of his routine a little and require him to get good at the new software.

Ultimately, most employees want to be good at their jobs. To counter the resistance to change, educate your staff about the benefits of the change, and what it means for them and the company. Admit that the goal isn’t to make their jobs harder, and that training will be provided to iron out the new system. The same goes for when you implement new security requirements. Nobody likes having to use two-factor authentication, but the benefits outweigh the irritation. 

At Macro Systems we understand that old routines can be hard to break. If you are looking to revamp and upgrade your network, we can help make the transition smooth. Give us a call at 703-359-9211 to talk about your needs.