Do you know the six most common IT challenges for fast growing businesses?

Do you know the six most common IT challenges for fast growing businesses?

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Extended periods of rapid growth are positive for most businesses. It means that the business is acquiring new customers, which is driving increased revenue and better business outcomes. Whilst these periods are exciting and necessary for the longevity of a business, they also bring new challenges, especially regarding IT and technology.

Here are six common IT challenges your growing business could face, and how they can be solved with the help of a trusted third-party IT provider.

1. Budgeting for Scaling Up

As your business grows, you will also need your IT systems to grow with it, including everything from software licenses to cloud servers. If you are not careful, your business IT spend can get out of control, leaving you with a large invoice, exceeding your budget and eating into your profit margin. Often, fast-growing businesses are not getting the most value from their IT spend and deployment, and implementation of technology is reactive, rather than proactive.

Partnering with a third-party IT provider, typically gives you a simple monthly cost per user, with everything included for the end-user and back end set-up. IT providers can also proactively forecast the cost of larger projects, and the associated ongoing fees, which makes it easier for you to stick to your IT budget.

1. Receiving Adequate IT Support

As your business grows, it will have different requirements regarding IT infrastructure, as well as IT support. If you have an internal IT department, periods of rapid growth may mean more time dedicated to research, implementing and deploying new systems, to support the growth. The result is less time dedicated to actioning support tickets, which can decrease productivity within other departments and slow business growth.

By involving a third-party IT provider, you can either outsource the implementation of new technologies or outsource your support desk. This gives your IT departments more time to do what they do best to support the continued growth of your business.

1. Onboarding New Employees

Hiring new employees on short notice is always a challenge. However, this is only made more difficult due to the current chip shortage which makes hardware procurement a lengthy process. Even if you already have the devices needed, they still need to be reimaged and set up for the new employee. A difficult onboarding experience can give new hires a poor first impression of the company, leading to increased churn.

A trusted third-party IT provider can assist with the onboarding of new employees through the procurement and deployment of new devices. This ensures that every employee receives the right equipment, and that it is ready to use from day one.

1. Safeguarding Against Cyberthreats

Whilst most cyberattacks that we hear about in the news are high profile multi-national enterprises, small businesses and fast-growing start-ups are just as likely to be targeted. This is due to the fact that cybercriminals view these companies as easy targets as they typically have invested less in security. If your business gets attacked, it can harm your reputation, and lead to significant downtime as the attack is remediated.

This challenge can be solved by investing in a comprehensive IT security solution. Such a solution typically includes multiple layers of defence to prevent a hacker from accessing confidential data. Most IT security solutions include backup and disaster recovery functionality to ensure swift recovery after an attack.

1. Lacking Capital Expenditure

In the early stages of rapid growth, businesses may not have sufficient liquid cash to invest in upgrading IT systems to support the growth. Particularly for infrastructure such as servers, which require a significant capital investment. Thankfully, with the rise of cloud servers, businesses can move away from capital expenses and move to operational expenses. There is no upfront investment, as you only need to pay for what you use.

An IT provider can help you with the implementation and deployment of cloud servers and use some of the built-in cost management features to ensure your business gets the most value from your cloud investment.

1. Managing Customer Relationships

Whilst small businesses can typically get away with using spreadsheets to store customer relationship information, it is not feasible once a business reaches a certain size. This can be solved through a customer relationship management solution, such as Microsoft Dynamics 365. As the implementation of such a solution is not a quick process, businesses should invest in a CRM solution early, to be prepared for their continued growth.

How Extech Cloud can help

If your business is currently growing, or looking to grow, don’t let IT challenges hold you back. As a third-party IT provider, Extech Cloud can ensure your IT works as intended and supports the growth of your business. Find out more about how we can help your business, contact an Extech Cloud specialist today.