The rate of evolution of information technology (IT) is increasing rapidly, and new innovations are coming out. Small businesses find it hard to keep up with the latest technology trends. Legacy systems and outdated hardware/software inhibit most small companies from attaining their growth potential. Yet, the IT modernization of a small business’s infrastructure is much more attainable and affordable than ever before. The point is that you know where to start.
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Assessing Your Current IT Infrastructure
Before being considered for IT modernization, small businesses have to assess their existing IT infrastructure well. This assessment should determine the following:
- What hardware/devices are currently used? How old are they?
- What software/applications are in place? How updated are they?
- Does the technology adequately support current business operations and goals?
- What limitations or issues exist with the current setup?
- What IT-related pain points do employees experience?
Documenting the findings from the IT assessment creates a baseline understanding of the technology status quo. It also helps identify the highest priority areas for modernization and surfaces any glaring gaps that may hinder future growth. As businesses consider their options, they can explore expert recommendations here to ensure a seamless transition to modern IT solutions.
Defining Your Business Goals and IT Modernization Strategy
The next step is defining the key business goals that technology modernization aims to enable. For instance, goals might include:
- Improving workforce productivity
- Enhancing customer experience
- Streamlining operations
- Tightening data security
- Spurring product/service innovation
- Accelerating growth
With goals established, small businesses can devise an overarching IT strategy to progress toward those aims. The strategy should outline the core components slated for upgrade based on the assessment results and business objectives. It also needs to map out the required infrastructure and system integrations.
A few foundational elements often comprise small business IT modernization strategies:
Adopting Cloud Computing
One of the most transformative modernizations in the days of the cloud is moving infrastructure and applications to the cloud. According to the Global Cloud Computing Market Size, it is expected to grow from $602.31 billion in 2023 at a CAGR of 21.2% from 2024 to 2030. Small businesses can get scalable, on-demand technology resources without upfront capital investment on the cloud platform.
Almost every cloud provider also offers more advanced security options than an on-premises environment. Cloud adoption benefits the small business in the following main areas:
- Storage. Cost-efficient and versatile, file sharing/collaboration and backup for growing data stores are offered in cloud-based storage solutions. All top services such as Dropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive and Box all have free tiers to start out with.
- Business Applications. Cloud business apps save you from the cost hassles of installing licensed software. There are popular suites of productivity, sales, marketing, HR, and accounting tools offered by Office 365, Google Workspace, Salesforce, and Zoho.
- Infrastructure. Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) provides small firms with fast access to computing power, networking, and storage, allowing them to run workloads flexibly via public or private cloud models. Top IaaS providers include AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform.
- Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS). PaaS provides development frameworks that programmers can use to build cloud-based apps. Heroku, AWS Elastic Beanstalk, and Microsoft Azure App Service count among the most widely adopted PaaS platforms.
Migrating critical systems/data to the cloud future-proofs small business IT against escalating management overhead, capital/operational costs, and vulnerabilities of legacy setups.
Optimizing Connectivity and Communications
Outdated internet connections and communications systems dampen workforce productivity and customer service quality. Modernizing network infrastructure and tools improves performance, collaboration, and responsiveness across organizations. Key upgrades like:
- Broadband Internet. Upgrading internet plans to business fiber broadband delivers faster, more reliable connectivity for supporting bandwidth-intensive uses like videoconferencing, cloud apps, and IoT.
- SD-WAN (software-defined networking). SD-WAN simplifies network management using centralized software to route traffic over multiple types of internet connections efficiently.
- Unified Communications (UC). UC integrates communications channels like IP phone systems, video conferencing, instant messaging, and voicemail. Leading options include RingCentral Office, 8×8, Dialpad, and Nextiva.
- Contact Center. Contact center systems conveniently unify multiple customer service channels, such as phone, email, live chat, and social media messaging. Top solutions include Freshdesk, Zendesk, and Salesforce Service Cloud.
- Virtual Office Solutions. For businesses operating remotely, choosing to get a virtual office can provide a professional business address, mail handling, and meeting spaces without the need for a physical office. This enhances credibility while maintaining flexibility.
It enables distributed work arrangements, better internal/external collaboration, and sticking to customers’ preferred communications formats.
Incorporating New Devices
Today’s modern devices with higher processing capacities, mobility features, and application versatility allow employees to maximize productivity anywhere. Worthwhile upgrades include:
- Laptops. Newer laptops shed the weight and bulk of old models while outperforming them in speed, battery life and portability.
- 2-in-1 Laptop/Tablets. 2-in-1 devices provide laptop power plus tablet touchscreen versatility using a detachable keyboard or foldable hinge design. Top options include Microsoft Surface, Lenovo Yoga, and HP Spectre x360.
- Smartphones. Newer smartphones with longer battery life, better cameras and audio, and more stringent security protections than aging phones are relied upon by employees to access the mobile. The iPhone 16 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra are at the top of the heap.
- Wearables. They are smartwatches and fitness trackers that allow you to communicate or track your health while on the go. Features such as cutting-edge wellness monitoring are included on the Apple Watch Series 10 or Fitbit Sense 2.
Keeping pace with equipment upgrades allows small business staff to do their best work from anywhere while projecting a tech-savvy image to customers.
Key Areas to Modernize
Small businesses should go beyond foundational infrastructure and devices to identify the company-specific systems they are poised to benefit most from modernizing.
Financial/Accounting Software
Application of financial management onto cloud accounting platforms makes reporting and automation easily automated and facilitates collaboration in real-time amongst locations and/or departments. Top picks like Quickbooks Online and Xero integrate smoothly with other systems, enabling key upgrades like:
- Automated bank feeds, expense tracking, invoice processing
- Advanced business intelligence/dashboards
- Payroll management integrations
- Ecommerce platform syncing
- AI-driven tasks like anomaly detection
- Mobile optimization
Transitioning to modernized accounting tools saves administrative efforts while providing actionable financial insights to guide smarter strategic decisions.
Sales Enablement Systems
Equipping sales teams with cloud-based sales enablement systems amplifies productivity in securing and servicing customers. These centralized platforms consolidate all the tools, content, and data sales reps need for more effective team selling. Core capabilities that leading sales enablement systems like Salesforce Sales Cloud, HubSpot CRM and Zoho CRM deliver include:
- Contact/account management
- Opportunity tracking
- Sales pipeline visibility
- Content libraries
- Email integration
- Sales analytics/reporting
- Marketing/service team collaboration
- Mobile access
- Sales process automation
With sales enablement technology, small business sales teams can target high-value accounts, speed up sales cycles, and build robust pipelines based on a holistic view of customer interactions.
Ecommerce Platforms
A feature-packed ecommerce platform lets small retailers/manufacturers directly engage digital-first customers for accelerated growth. By 2025, global retail ecommerce sales are expected to reach $6.8 trillion as consumers conduct ever more shopping activities online. Top cloud ecommerce platforms like Shopify, Wix, and BigCommerce supply SMBs with enterprise-grade functionality, including:
- Online storefront building/management tools
- Cross-channel selling across marketplaces, social media, and search engines
- Diverse payment gateway integrations
- Scalable hosting and security measures
- Order processing automation
- Integrated shipping carriers
- SEO optimization
- Analytics on customer behavior and sales data
Leveraging a modern ecommerce platform positions small businesses to seize online sales opportunities and provide exceptional buying experiences.
Business Intelligence (BI) Solutions
Sophisticated business intelligence platforms take data analysis to the next level for sharper small-business decision-making. Cloud BI tools like Sisense, Domo and Tableau turn heaps of data from across company systems into interactive visualizations. Key BI capabilities like:
- Data warehousing
- Predictive modeling
- Data mining
- Reporting/dashboard creation
- Data visualization
With data-driven insights served up in easily digestible formats, management can pinpoint ways to cut costs, identify emerging opportunities, optimize processes, and strategize more effectively.
Vertical-Specific Software
Every industry has its unique operational needs that generic systems fail to address. Modern vertical-specific software offers small businesses in various sectors purpose-built tools to manage core processes efficiently. A few examples include:
- Construction. Field management platforms like Procore and Buildertrend help contractors schedule projects, coordinate teams in the field, track equipment/materials, and manage punch lists/closeouts.
- Professional Services. Tools like Mavenlink and Projector PSA optimize resource planning, project delivery, time tracking, billing and reporting for IT consultants, marketing agencies, law firms and the like.
- Restaurants. Restaurant management systems from Toast, Square, and Clover provide mobile point-of-sale (POS), online ordering, inventory control, staff management, and customer relationship management (CRM) capabilities.
- Retail. Software suites from vendors like Lightspeed and ShopKeep offer POS, inventory control, purchasing, merchandising, accounting, and analytics functionality tailored to retailers.
Vertical software with niche feature sets allows small businesses to replace disjointed and paper-based processes with fully integrated digital systems attuned to their unique workflows.
Key Steps for Successful Execution
While strategic IT modernization planning lays the vital groundwork, realizing the hoped-for benefits requires meticulous execution across three key phases:
1. Prepare Current Environment
Before deploying new infrastructure/applications, small businesses should configure existing setups to ease integration efforts. Useful preparatory steps involve:
- Cleaning up networks by removing outdated hardware and strengthening WiFi connectivity
- Organizing messy document/file storage systems
- Setting up device management systems to track inventory
- Ensuring current software is up-to-date and compliant
- Identifying/resolving lingering IT issues before they compound
Taking stock of current technology while organizing infrastructure streamlines integration with modern systems and minimizes disruptions from unexpected legacy snags.
2. Run Pilot Implementations
The problem is that modern solutions are rolled out immediately to the whole company, which means major disruptions of the operations. Gradual deployment serves organizations better as they initially test a new capability, either in a pilot test or within a subset of applications, users, and/or office locations.
Pilot runs involve:
- Selecting pilot participants representing typical usage scenarios
- Developing testing plans/success metrics for controlled rollouts
- Delivering specialized end-user training/change management
- Gathering user feedback to fine-tune systems
- Tracking results against use case requirements
Successful small-scale pilot tests build internal advocates for modern solutions while uncovering integration/adoption challenges. They also provide templates for wider deployments.
3. Manage Ongoing Change
An IT modernization initiative doesn’t end once new solutions are implemented. Small businesses need to track technology performance against business objectives continually. They also must budget for ongoing user training assistance and system upgrades to extract maximum value from investments.
Post-implementation management best practices include:
- Designating IT modernization owners to coordinate enhancements
- Creating schedules for upgrades and patches
- Setting up progress monitoring mechanisms tied to core metrics
- Reinforcing change management through training refreshers
- Soliciting and acting on user feedback
Modern IT investments are made in a way that allows for careful change management, which means that staff are aligned and engaged while IT investments evolve smoothly with changing business needs.
Final Considerations
Moving aging IT infrastructure to the cloud gives small companies substantial performance, cost and competitive advantage. The good news is that modernizing legacy systems without a modernization process can be overwhelming.
Small businesses can achieve IT modernization success by taking purposeful steps like auditing current setups, establishing ties between their roadmaps for technology adoption and business goals, implementing incremental changes, and actively managing the solution. The process demands upfront investments of time, money, and effort. However, following the guidelines above makes the payoffs over the long haul worthwhile.
