Processes are unique, but what’s consistent is the fact that while technology can’t create strategy, it can help implement it, and that’s why tech decisions must move into the boardroom to be evaluated alongside other key business risks. Tech is the how , but
manufacturer ships products across the nation. To get products to customers, employees use computers and scanners that document and track packages as they are loaded on a truck. Then tracking software gets hit with ransomware, and the company is locked out. Business productivity decreases, employees are less efficient or can’t work at all, and valuable customer loyalty is lost because their package never shows up. All that comes down to losing dollars — a lot of them. Similar scenarios can be applied to all businesses. The processes businesses use to accomplish tasks and meet goals are what I call “technology-enabled processes.” Historically, we didn’t have to worry about them because they didn’t exist. In the mid-digital age, nearly every process, start to finish, involves some level of technology. The architect draws their plans for a wall on AutoCAD and sends it to the contractor. The general contractor receives it on an iPad, and they send it to the foreman in the field. The foreman has a wireless setup on-site, and they use the iPad to show the drywall contractor how to do the work. If the iPad stops working or can’t open the AutoCAD file, work halts until the tech is back up and running. This costs time, and we all know that time costs money.
business strategy is the why . ‘IF ONLY WE KNEW’
Oftentimes at TriQuest Technologies, we get new customers who come to us after an attack and say, “If I had understood how important cybersecurity was, of course, I would have spent more money to protect the business.” So, what we try to do is underline the connection between IT solutions and what is likely to happen in a business — i.e., business risk — because that’s effective cybersecurity. When executive teams discuss key business risks, they think about what’s most likely to happen, what the cost or damage will be if it does, and how to go about reducing the likelihood of that occurring. Cybersecurity issues are very likely to happen; that’s the reality. It’s most likely that through an email system, someone is going to compromise employee credentials and use them to implant viruses or impersonate employees and reroute customer payments to themselves, for example. The ultimate expression of what a business values is where they spend their money. If they thought of cybersecurity like protecting against a fire hazard — where purchasing software that blocks malicious emails is like buying an automatic fire-suppression system — they’d be putting value in the right place: protecting against the right risks with reliable solutions. As businesses strategize around how to reduce risk, funding effective cybersecurity practices must be a priority. HOW TO ALIGN BUSINESS EXPECTATIONS AND REALITY At TriQuest, we help business leaders understand the status of their technology processes by interviewing every department head. We ask what’s going well, what can be improved, and how technology impacts their short-term and long-term goals. We ask leadership the following question: If technology stopped, what’s the most damaging thing that would happen to your department? Expectations and reality must match. Then we create a glide path — a three-year budget that includes a business’s most critical data or processes and a pulse of IT performance. At the end of every year, we reevaluate and create an adjusted three-year plan, and so on. This way, we’re accounting for new growth, updated processes, and renewed goals. With a reliable IT plan in place, businesses benefit from interdepartmental cooperation, consistent decision-making, and standardized processes. It’s a digital revolution. Data abounds, everything is connected, and files live in the cloud. Businesses that consider effective cybersecurity practices along with other key business risks can lessen the impact on profit, downtime, and efficiency as well as negative effects on employees and customers. Businesses that have unreliable IT are held back when they try to push the gas pedal. Next quarter, have a conversation with your clients. Help them reduce the risk to their business and customers by demanding reliable IT and keeping up in the digital age. For more information on TriQuest Technologies, please visit TriQuestTech.com. n
Businesses must understand that for them to make a profit, protect employees, satisfy customers — and consequently grow — they need reliable IT. They need processes that work every time, updated software, backup plans, and regular assessments. Efficient IT processes must be a priority at the executive round table. IT IS THE HOW , BUSINESSES ARE THE WHY The tendency is to think that IT is recondite — CFOs don’t think through IT strategy because they “have people for that.” We need
to shift that mindset. Here’s a distinction that helps business executives understand: IT teams are the how ; the whole picture of the business, from customer needs to employee safety, is the why . This gets problematic because tech teams assume that CFOs understand how much they rely on IT. CFOs assume IT people will come to them and say, “If you don’t replace this tech next year, you’ll have a big problem.” However, IT teams aren’t always privy to the innards of business processes outside their department. Because of this misunderstanding about where IT should live, there’s a malinvestment of resources to cybersecurity, putting businesses at much greater risk. What reliable, responsive IT means to each business is as unique as a thumbprint. The general contractor needs wireless mobile devices that work in the field every time. A theater needs scanners that never miss a ticket barcode and get guests through the door and seated for a show in minutes. A manufacturer needs scanners and label printers to send packages out on time.
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