Strategic Planning « Advanced Business Solutions

Strategic Planning

Some organizations are looking to grow aggressively, others are seeking to position themselves as leaders in a specific niche, and some are even setting themselves up to be acquired or merged with other organizations. Regardless of what you are trying to accomplish, your IT shouldn’t be a limiting factor in your growth – and this is where our proactive approach can help.

Often, during the “startup phase” of a business, leaders make minimal investments in IT systems and processes, as there are too many other pressing needs to attend to. However, as your business grows and consolidates, having robust and secure systems in place will not only protect your data, but will also create a foundation for you to scale quickly. The good news is that these systems don’t have to be prohibitively expensive!

Included in our suite of managed IT services, which are available for a set monthly fee, are dedicated Technical Account Managers who work with you to develop multi-year strategic IT plans that address process and technology gaps. Our mission is to develop an IT roadmap that implements an integrated solution that leverages the strengths of your people, processes, and technologies. For our managed services customers, the dedicated Technical Account Manager handles the strategic planning related to ABS service areas, and our Virtual CIO Service provides extra support to clientswho want to extend the planning process to their phone systems, point-of-sale devices, and other technologies.

Virtual CIO

Developing an IT strategy and managing your infrastructure can be very difficult when you don’t have a full-time technology leader on staff. The ABS virtual CIO service is a flexible and cost-effective way to ensure you develop an IT strategy that aligns with your business goals and have high-level direction on the implementation of that strategy over time. We offer this service on both a long-term and an as-needed basis, which means that you can get the exact level of support that you need.

Having a virtual CIO is the perfect way to add strategic value to your organization, whether you are a larger organization without an in-house CIO, or a smaller organization that has complex IT needs. By sitting in on weekly leadership meetings and providing reports on IT like a full-time CIO would, your leadership team will enjoy increased visibility into IT performance and a regular touchpoint to keep IT-related issues top-of-mind.

The virtual CIO’s high-level direction can help fashion your technology roadmap for both IT infrastructure and other technologies, and can further support you with compliance documentation and readiness, RFP writing, phone system consulting, new facility coordination, workflow improvements, and more. Especially in smaller or fast-growing organizations, this seat at the leadership table is usually filled by the youngest and most tech-savvy person in the company: the virtual CIO is not only knowledgeable about technology, they bring a great deal of experience to the table. This will help you proactively identify and address issues that may not be as obvious to more junior members of your team and give you the peace of mind that you are on the right track.

Strategic Planning Services

When you engage us as IT partners, our Technical Account Manager works with you to outline IT strategies that will align your organization’s IT with your business goals. They assess, define, and plan your IT strategy based on your business direction, and work one-on-one with your management team to develop a strategy for implementation. Once we have a technology roadmap, we work with you to create a tactical plan within your budget that manages resources and timelines to your desired outcomes.

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Featured Case Study

Buffalo Construction: Data Drives Success

As a nationwide general contractor operating in all 48 contiguous states, Buffalo Construction needed a better way to manage their IT. Buffalo wanted to become proactive in the IT world. They needed to erase their current mode of reaction and step up and forward into new, comprehensive IT strategies that could revolutionize not only Buffalo’s IT experience but the business as a whole. By strategically partnering with ABS, they developed plans to avoid the “quick fixes” that ultimately end up costing more in time and money down the road. Instead, they invested in their business data to double down on IT and business growth.