Hopefully, your idea of a technology plan is not to react to “I need it now" requests, and "I shopped the internet for the best-deal-around” as the defining decision criteria. While the lack of planning and reactionary approach may work for a “home office” business, it doesn’t serve a commercial office business very well. Here's what you should expect from a small business technology plan:

Alignment with Business Objectives

Achieving your business objectives should be supported by your technology. Why invest in technology if it doesn't contribute to your business goals?

By defining your business goals and matching how existing technology can help fulfill your vision, you are at the start of the design process. By identifying the gaps in your current technology with the technology required to meet your goals, the foundation of your technology plan begins to take shape.

Process and Policy Documentation

A technology plan should place a focus on processes and policies to create a consistent and repeatable framework. When properly documented, everyone knows what to expect and the expected is consistently the outcome. Enterprises routinely document policies and procedures for compliance to Sarbanes Oxley, HIPAA, ISO 9000, and other regulatory requirements. A smaller business can realize similar benefits to avoid or minimize surprises, crisis, outages, or failures to key business operations.

A Road Map of Projects

More than one project may be identified in the gap analysis. Projects can be prioritized, with everyone understanding where and when the projects will be implemented and the expected results.