Is your IT infrastructure supporting your growth? How to conduct a thorough assessment

Managed IT · Aug 28, 2024

For small businesses, deploying the right IT infrastructure can directly affect your company’s efficiency, profitability, security and even your reputation.

Does your business have the right IT infrastructure to support your growth? Let’s consider a few questions you might ask yourself.

When did you last review your company’s IT infrastructure to determine if you’re using the most efficient and cost-effective systems, devices and processes?
Do you know what percentage of their time your IT (or other) employees spend updating and troubleshooting your organization’s technology?
Do you have a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy that includes safeguarding all data, across all systems and apps, as well as training employees on data-security best practices?

If these questions make you a bit uneasy, you’re not alone. Many small and midsize businesses overlook the fact that a disjointed or poorly managed IT infrastructure can significantly hinder operations and growth. Conversely, a well-organized tech stack, managed with the right expertise, can provide a competitive edge.

In this post, we share tools on how to begin to answer the questions above and explore why evaluating your current IT infrastructure is crucial for improving your daily operations and supporting your company’s growth. We’ll provide a checklist to guide your assessment and discuss the type of IT expertise needed to help you achieve your goals.

Do you know what your IT infrastructure comprises?

Most businesses don’t implement a comprehensive technology infrastructure in one go. Instead, they gradually adopt IT tools and processes as needs arise. Over time, this organic growth can make it challenging to keep track of all the technology in use.

To help you get a clearer picture, here’s an overview of the key components of a typical IT infrastructure. We’ve also included some questions to help you assess how effectively your company is managing its evolving tech environment.

1. Hardware

Hardware represents the most tangible aspect of your technology infrastructure, including desktop computers, laptops, company-issued mobile phones, servers, data backup media, printers, copiers and on-premises telephony systems. While you likely maintain an accurate inventory of these items, your IT infrastructure also encompasses any work conducted on these devices, regardless of location.

Questions to consider:

Are you conducting proactive monitoring of hardware to detect issues before they arise?
Do you have a policy or permissions set up for device use?
Do you enforce a policy regarding how and when employees can use their personal devices for company work?

2. Software

Just as with your hardware infrastructure, your company probably has a two-tier software environment. You’ve purchased and given employees access to business applications for a range of workflows: file-sharing, messaging, team collaboration, document creation, data storage and more. You can monitor your company’s usage of those applications and take steps to help ensure they’re keeping your corporate data secure.

However, employees may also use additional online tools to complete their tasks without the IT department’s approval, a practice known as "shadow IT." This can create vulnerabilities, as it may lead to a lack of oversight and control over company data or introduce unsecure software that could result in a data breach.

Questions to consider:

Do you require IT approval for the use of third-party business applications by employees?
Does your IT team regularly monitor the digital environment for unauthorized or unapproved web applications?
Are all software applications and tools your employees use integrated into a centralized management system?
Do you have a policy in place to evaluate and approve new software applications?
How do you manage and ensure compliance with licensing agreements for the software in use?
Are you regularly updating and patching your business-critical software to address security vulnerabilities?

3. Networks

Your IT networks encompass all communication technologies used to transmit data, connect with other networks, or access the internet. Just as with hardware and software, "shadow IT" issues can arise here, with employees potentially using networks outside of your company's control to share corporate data.

A common risk is employees accessing and sharing sensitive or regulated data over unsecured networks, such as public WiFi hotspots.

Your IT networks are essential for transmitting data, connecting with other networks, and accessing the internet. Just as with hardware and software, managing your network effectively is crucial for ensuring smooth and efficient operations. When employees use networks outside of your company’s visibility, it compromises your ability to control how data is transmitted and shared.

Questions to consider:

How do you monitor and manage network performance to ensure optimal speed and reliability for all users?
Are you tracking and managing bandwidth usage to prevent bottlenecks and ensure that critical applications have the necessary resources?
Do you have a strategy in place for scaling your network infrastructure to accommodate business growth and increased data traffic?
How do you manage and update network equipment, such as routers and switches, to keep them current and functioning properly?
Are you assessing and optimizing network connectivity options, such as internet service providers and connection types, to meet your organization’s needs?
How do you handle network maintenance and troubleshooting to minimize downtime and disruption to business operations?
Does your company operate a firewall, virus detection software or other security measures to protect data and systems within your digital environment?
Do you use a VPN (virtual private network) or similar security measures to protect your employees’ data transmissions when they’re outside your company’s firewall?

4. People

The fourth pillar of your IT infrastructure – and the one that many businesses overlook – consists of the people across your organization using your tech stack (or their own) to create, store and share your corporate data.

In some ways, people are the most important component of your IT infrastructure because without knowledge and proper training, they can undermine even the most sophisticated and costly technology tools.

To cite just one example of the risks here, a 2023 IBM report found

phishing is the most common type of cyberattack against Canadian businesses

Typically,

phishing involves the use of fraud and/or deception

to induce victims to take an action that helps the hacker carry out an attack. A common example is sending an email that appears to come from a victim’s bank and asking them to input their account number and password.

Questions to consider:

Do you include cybersecurity awareness training in your employee onboarding process?
Have you established and communicated a company-wide policy on protecting data and following best practices for IT security?
Do you regularly update your team on emerging data-security threats and provide guidance on how to handle them?
Do you have a dedicated team of IT experts always monitoring and protecting your company’s digital environment – either in-house employees or a third-party
managed service provider (MSP)
?

A checklist for assessing your current IT environment

Now that you have a sense of the impact your IT infrastructure has on your business, you’ll need to determine where your technology environment stands today.

Here are some of the key steps for evaluating your existing IT environment and identifying the tools, skills, processes and relationships you might need to add.

Step 1: Inventory your entire IT infrastructure

This will take some effort, especially considering your infrastructure likely also includes elements you’re not currently monitoring and may not be secure.

Enlist your IT team to create a complete list of hardware, software and networking solutions your organization officially uses. Then ask them to dig deeper and work with employees to determine if any additional tools they’re using, such as personal devices, workflow apps they’ve downloaded themselves, etc.

Step 2: Evaluate your network architecture

Test the performance of your wired and wireless networks, internet connectivity and VPN access. Document any reliability issues, bottlenecks or other network problems.

Step 3: Conduct performance assessments across your environment

Review the performance of servers, employee machines, telephony systems, operating systems and business applications. Identify and document any system failures or performance issues.

Step 4: Test your cybersecurity readiness

Work with your IT team or a third party to simulate penetration attempts and test your digital environment’s security capabilities, including social engineering tactics like phishing.

Step 5: Assess your regulatory compliance

our organization may be subject to privacy laws and responsible for securing all personally identifiable customer data stored in your digital environment. But do you know where all this data resides? Do you have strict policies regarding how your staff accesses and shares that data?

You’ll want to ensure that you review all applicable data privacy laws and your current practices for transmitting customer data, as well as identify any gaps in regulatory compliance.

Step 6: Review your IT skillsets

Considering how important the right IT infrastructure is to your operations and business goals, you want to make sure you have the right capabilities and expertise, whether from in-house employees or an MSP.

Conduct a thorough review of all skillsets across your team. Determine if you have sufficient skills for cybersecurity, database platform management, network management, etc.

If not, you’ll need to determine whether to hire more full-time staff or outsource to a third-party.

Step 7: Ask for your employees’ views on your IT infrastructure

Survey your staff to understand their experiences with the current technology capabilities. Identify what’s working well, what improvements could enhance productivity and any recurring issues that impact their work.

Gaining the right expertise to support your IT infrastructure

When you’ve completed the steps above, you may find that your existing IT infrastructure falls short of supporting at least some of your strategic goals. Technology changes at a rapid pace, and few organizations have the resources to regularly identify and implement new IT capabilities that could improve their operations.

So, rather than trying to rectify every performance issue or fill every functionality gap your assessment reveals, your best bet is to partner with a managed service provider, ideally one that has helped thousands of Canadian businesses improve their IT infrastructure. We can help you take IT off your to-do list.

Connect with a managed IT specialist

today to learn how TELUS Business can help build an IT roadmap for your company.

Authored by: