With the end of 2022 around the corner, most businesses are eager or have likely started planning for the year ahead, while most miss out on a significant opportunity to plan strategically. According to a survey, 63% of businesses conduct a review once a year, 18% twice a year, and 8% thrice a year (quarterly). This research shows how smart and important it is to have a year-end review.
As a result, to know where you are going in your business, it is important to look at where you have been – that is only possible with a year-end review. One area that companies need to review at the end of the year is their technology or IT system. Technology is massively involved in your business; if the technology in your business fails, your business fails. As a result, it is wise to conduct a year-end technology review.
Note: Conducting a year-end technology review isn’t a practice that applies to big businesses alone; it is a process that is also valuable to SMBs.
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Why is a Year-end Technology Review Important?
Just as self-improvement and reflection are essential to personal growth, a year-end technology review is also valuable and important to your business.
Conducting a year-end technology review for your company is a great way to take stock of how the technology in your business is doing. It shows pasts achievements and areas to improve. It allows you to jump-start the new year with new tech solutions for continued growth.
A year-end technology review gives you a chance to think back on how far the technology in your business has worked, what you have achieved with the technologies, and realign the technology with your business mission and vision.
8 Ways to Conduct a Successful Year-end Technology Review
To conduct a successful year-end tech review, conducting it with an open mind is essential. Here are eight steps to conducting a successful year-end technology review.
1. Review tech values
As your business grows, the value of the technology or technologies may change, which is completely normal. Therefore, start the year-end review by revisiting the plan and taking a look at the reasons for getting the technologies in the first place. Do these technologies still bring value, or do they need adjustment? What actions can be taken to align the technologies better to meet up with expectations throughout the next year?
2. Discuss and Celebrate Your Achievements
Have you ever heard the term “Drill down into the positive?” This is a great time to look at what is going right and what you’ve achieved. This can put wind in your sails as you look at things that may not be going so well, and gives you the opportunity to analyze why things went right, so you can repeat them.
3. Review Disappointments
There is always a time of disappointment in business; at this time, you need to look at what went wrong or what you didn’t do right. During the review, try to view the technology as an outsider. Discuss the things you set out to achieve with the technology but didn’t.
4. Review What is Working and What is Not.
After reviewing the disappointments, use this opportunity to analyze your business technologies, the software you use, where you can manage time, or if you need to hire an MSP to handle the IT services of your business.
5. Talk about Unresolved Issues
There might be some technical issues that should have been resolved but were pushed aside; as a result, slowing progress. Use this opportunity to talk about most (if not all) unresolved issues and how they can be fixed before next year.
6. Discuss Improvements
One of the reasons for a year-end review is to look at where you can improve. Therefore, think about the areas that need improvement, such as upgrading your technology, using VPN, and more. Aside from improving your business technology, you can also think about the improvement in other areas such as marketing, expense tracking, customer service and satisfaction, and more.
7. Perform a Security Vulnerability Test
Cyber security is one of the reasons why conducting a year-end technology review is important, as technology is an integral part of the business infrastructure. Just a single breach or malware attack can cause significant downtime. During the year-end review, have a cyber security expert conduct a security vulnerability test to identify areas you need to improve your technology’s cyber security.
8. Set New Goals
Now, sew new goals or adjust the old ones. As your business priorities shift, so will your business goal, and keeping them updated is a way to remain motivated. Therefore, setting goals is a way to lead you into the new year and will help you determine what steps you need to take to accomplish those goals. You could set short deadlines or build an achievable list. This enables you to keep your progress in check and boost productivity and profits.
Need a Strategic Year-end Review Planner?
Technology is an essential part of a business; therefore, conducting a strategic but successful year-end technology review is key to moving the business forward.
The end of the year is rapidly approaching, and it is almost time for a year-end review. Cloudadvize can work with your Dallas-Fort Worth business to offer the support and advice needed to conduct a successful year-end review.
📞 Contact Cloudavize today for a free consultation to get started.
