The Benefits of a Technology Strength Assessment
December 9th, 2021 by Van Ausdall & Farrar
It’s a basic fact of life: change happens. Just as we all go through changes as people, businesses and organizations evolve.
Technology also evolves, perhaps even quicker than anticipated. A technology solution you brought in two or three years ago may not be the right answer today (or tomorrow). And even if the outdated technology is still “getting the job done,” it may not be performing in a way that delights your customers nor optimizes your competitiveness.
Technology that is built for performance keeps your organization competitive, enhances the customer experience, and mitigates risk.
But how do you know if your company has the right technology solution to thrive in today’s competitive business landscape? That’s where the experts at Van Ausdall & Farrar come in. Our Technology Strength Assessment will help your business improve its technology footprint by leaps and bounds.
What Is a Technology Strength Assessment?
Van Ausdall & Farrar’s Technology Strength Assessment will help you understand what you need to eliminate, what you need to optimize, and how you need to leverage improvements to grow your business. It consists of 80 questions and takes about 10-15 minutes to complete.
When the technology assessment is finished, we’ll provide your individualized Technology Strength Score – from 0 to 100 – in the following categories: Information, Print, Process, and Communication. VAF can then work with you to discuss what’s currently working and areas that need improvement.
The questionnaire consists of simple “yes” and “no” answers. To provide you with a sampling of what the technology assessment looks like, here are a few of the questions:
- Are your business’ password and password change policies managed centrally and strong enough to protect your data?
- Do you utilize device monitoring software in order to detect and remediate system issues and concerns quickly?
- Is your server data backed up nightly with more than one instance that is stored off-site or in the cloud?
Issues with Outdated Security and Technology
Here are some situations in which companies can be negatively impacted when technology is not optimized for success.
LACK OF BUSINESS CONTINUITY
Time is money. Therefore, any time not producing costs money. When you are forced to recover from a natural disaster, accident, or cyber-attack, there is an associated cost. Moreover, the risks to your business increase with the time it takes to recover.
LACK OF NOTIFICATION
Many businesses allow minutes, hours, or days of downtime to negatively impact their business because they aren’t even aware there is a problem. The faster you discover an issue, the sooner you can address it. It’s a double-whammy when a customer is the one that brings the problem to your attention. What if customers can’t call or contact you about the problem? That’s yet another cost.
LACK OF SECURITY
Your technology stack can become out-of-date relatively quickly. Trying to hold out on expenses translates into a liability when utilizing old, unmaintained systems. This “strategy” opens up a business to risks such as cyber-attacks and data breaches.
Technology Solutions from Van Ausdall & Farrar
What can be done to prevent deficiencies? Here are a few of the solutions we offer at Van Ausdall & Farrar.
-
CLOUD SOLUTIONS
A cloud environment offers more flexibility than a hardware environment. Cloud solutions address the lack of continuity problem by improving recovery time and access. Modern threats on businesses of all shapes and sizes accentuate the importance of a virtual recovery capability. Businesses must set a goal for recovery time to best understand the size of the problem and its potential impact.
-
MANAGED SERVICES
Proactive IT management services help identify problems quickly and address them immediately. By properly tracking and monitoring your technology stack, you can negate a lack of notification issue and jump on the problem as soon as you know what is wrong.
-
DATA SECURITY
There are technology solutions and services to help keep your data secure. You should have a plan for keeping up with new technologies that are built for performance, including the ability to thwart attacks and ward off data breaches.
Contact VAF for a Technology Strength Assessment
Does your usage of technology simply get the job done or is it optimized for performance? Van Ausdall & Farrar can help you identify where you are most vulnerable. Our Technology Strength Assessment can help prioritize your information technology needs and provide recommendations.
The assessment also reveals how you compare with others in your industry. Find your Technology Strength Score today. Contact us today to learn more about the technology solutions offered by VAF or to take our Technology Strength Assessment.
Posted in: Insights from VAF Blog, Cloud Solutions, Managed IT Solutions
