CEO’s briefing: Technology roadmap for growth

As companies grow, their IT inevitably needs to change and develop. In reality, few companies follow a well planned path, so the result is often a complicated mixture — different generations of infrastructure, business systems, and digital activities. The situation can be further complicated by informal ways of working, such as spreadsheets and manual workarounds.

The solution is a Technology Roadmap for Growth. It gives you a plan for streamlining the inefficient processes and workarounds whilst laying the groundwork for growth. It shifts the discussion from IT as a budget line-item to how technology can actually drive business growth.

What does a good technology roadmap do?

The right IT and technology roadmap allows a business to scale up confidently, whilst maintaining or improving their margins and customer service. It ensures the Board have up-to-date information regardless of the increasing size of the operation. It allows the leadership team to delegate authority to managers, who can make judgements based on accurate data. And it allows the Directors to move swiftly and to take opportunities for partnerships or acquisitions. Furthermore, an IT roadmap optimises the value of the business in the event of an exit.

What will the roadmap fix?

Admittedly, it’s not easy to create an IT roadmap. But without one, we typically see businesses impacted in the following ways:

  1. Inefficient processes eroding margins and making good service difficult or expensive. Errors and issues increase as the business grows, which damages profitability and cash flow. Short-term problems dominate management and there is little time or money to plan for expansion.
  1. Poor reporting tools means that analysing costs, revenues, efficiency and profitability is difficult — which products and customers are profitable shouldn’t be a matter of opinion, and comparing trends and plans versus actuals should be easy.
  1. Lack of standardisation means the business is reliant on individuals. People keep their own vital lists and system workarounds, which limits growth and expansion. When these key people are on holiday or sick then the whole business is affected. If they leave it’s a major problem!

What does the CEO’s briefing explain?

  • How the absence of an IT roadmap affects businesses and their ability to prosper
  • How to turn business objectives into IT objectives
  • The best way to make a flexible and practical IT roadmap
  • How to ensure the roadmap remains relevant and up to date.

Where can you learn more?

Watch this video where CEO and co-founder Graeme Freeman explains what a technology roadmap looks like and how to start planning yours. Or visit our Knowledge Centre, which includes all content related to this topic.