While 74% of businesses say they want to be data-driven, only 29% connect their analytics to action. Collecting data is one thing, but using it to create actionable insights is the only way to move forward with data-driven plans.

Most of us know the story of Apollo 13, the ill-fated mission in 1970 by NASA to land astronauts on the moon. In brief, what could go wrong did go wrong, resulting in the crew in space and the engineers on the ground performing miracles to get everyone safely back to earth. It can sometimes feel similar in a business IT department, i.e., dealing with problem after problem just to keep the show on the road.

Access Rehab Centers is the largest provider of therapy services in Western-Central Connecticut, offering a full spectrum of rehabilitation services under one roof ⁠— including occupational, speech, and aquatic therapy. 

You don’t need to be in the IT industry to know that technology is essential to every aspect of business. We all get it – IT is important. The problem is that discussions about IT focus too much on technology and all its bells and whistles. It’s time to change that focus.

In this blog, we are going to focus on something different (and more important): business operations and outcomes.

After seeing other companies implement technology projects that have revolutionized business, leaders may realize that incorporating tech into operations has great potential to become profitable. One study that reviewed years of data from more than 400 global companies found that IT investments that enable sales are more likely to increase business profitability than those that help reduce business costs. 

Most small and medium-sized businesses operate with limited resources. Aligning information technology and business goals maximizes these resources because it helps teams work together towards common goals. This important strategic business concept is commonly known as IT-business alignment.

Take a look at four ways your Connecticut SMB will benefit from aligning technology and business goals.

Spending on technology can either be a sound investment or a costly expense for SMBs. So, what are the issues to take into account to determine whether an IT expense is an investment or a cost for your company?

Take a look at some of the questions we believe you should ask yourself before taking the plunge on a new service, tool, or solution for your Connecticut SMB. 

When disaster strikes, a business continuity plan can help save your business from financial and reputational damage as well as complete bankruptcy. And even though we prefer not to think about things going wrong, disasters do happen. 

Like countless others across the United States, small and medium businesses in Connecticut changed the way they work, practically overnight. And to accommodate for this, many businesses like yours were left reinventing their IT budgets.

Our state has recovered 69% of the 292,400 jobs lost to COVID. However, despite a record number of unfilled job openings, paradoxically, there are 91,000 fewer people working in Connecticut than in February of 2020. One way for Connecticut business owners to access a larger talent pool is to invest in adapting their business to function well with remote workers. After all, remote work is here to stay.

Below, we share 4 ways remote work has impacted IT budgets and a few insights on what these changes might mean for you in 2021.

Building an IT budget — especially with the way things have been going in the past 20 months or so — can seem like a daunting task for small businesses. Your IT department experienced a rise in demand from the rest of your staff. With more meetings occurring online and an overall increase in requests for support, your tech team may be looking to you for guidance on how to build an IT budget that safeguards your SMB’s business continuity.

On the other hand, you may be wondering how to balance those needs with a plan that doesn’t break the bank and instead gets the most return on your investment. Take a look at the following four tips for building an IT budget in 2021.