How an IT Audit Improves Your IT Infrastructure
The IT department no longer plays a backstage role in modern business. Instead, the team and its leaders sit front and center in shaping strategic initiatives, driving efficiency, empowering great customer experiences, and enhancing overall business growth. But whatever hat the IT pros wear on a given day, they’re always focused on running an efficient IT infrastructure — the foundation for every process and workflow the business ultimately profits from.
In this blog, we’ll break down the traits of an effective, efficient IT infrastructure. We’ll also talk about the importance of routine IT audits as your business searches for ways to improve its technology without bloating its spending.
Traits of an Effective IT Infrastructure
In the context of IT infrastructure, “efficiency” means optimal use of IT resources — including hardware, software, networks, and data. To deliver maximum value at the lowest cost, an efficient IT infrastructure minimizes downtime, reduces waste, and boosts productivity — all while ensuring various IT components work together seamlessly.
1. Streamlined Processes
Efficient IT systems eliminate unnecessary steps and reduce the time needed to complete tasks. This translates into higher productivity and lower operational costs. In addition, automating repetitive tasks can free up staff time for activities better suited to human attention.
A process can only be streamlined once the right stakeholders have a deep understanding of its components and overall business impact. To make sure you’ve got the right information, consider working with a consultant that provides recurring telecom, technical, and IT audit services.
2. Reduced Downtime
IT downtime can be incredibly costly — leading to lost sales, decreased productivity, and reputation damage that is extremely difficult to recover from. An efficient IT infrastructure minimizes downtime through robust, redundant systems, regular maintenance, and quick problem resolution. For companies with a mix of new and legacy systems, achieving a consistent level of uptime can be more challenging; routine IT audits help by pointing to inefficiencies and missed upgrade opportunities.
3. Lower Energy Costs
Energy-efficient hardware, virtualization, and effective power management can all significantly reduce the energy costs of running your IT infrastructure. For example, switching to energy-efficient servers or implementing a cloud-based system can lead to considerable savings in energy costs. So can partnering with data centers and associated technical services that have committed to reducing or mitigating their carbon impact.
4. Better Asset Utilization
By regularly assessing your IT assets via telecom and IT audits, you can identify underused resources and repurpose or retire them — reducing maintenance and upgrade costs. Routine IT audits can also help your team zero in on opportunities for vendor consolidation and instances where you aren’t utilizing contracts you pay for to the fullest.
5. Scalability
A flexible, scalable IT infrastructure allows you to quickly and cost-effectively adapt to changing business needs. Rather than making large, upfront investments in capacity that may not be needed, you can scale up or down as required.
Adopting more cloud technology is one fast, proven way to build flexibility into your infrastructure. With the help of a trustworthy advisor like your IT audit provider, it’s often possible to modernize your technology and improve your employee- or customer-facing capabilities, yet still save substantially on overall IT spend.
6. Improved Security
Security breaches have significant financial implications — from the direct costs of addressing the breach to regulatory fines and loss of customer trust. An efficient IT infrastructure incorporates robust security measures, reducing the risk and potential costs of security incidents.
Turning again to legacy technology, the older tools in your estate are probably a disproportionate presence in terms of what they cost your business and the security risks they represent. If it’s been a while since you considered the security implications of your legacy tools, paying an expert to review possible configuration problems and unpatched systems can be worth its weight in gold.
What Can an IT Audit From PAG Do for Your Company?
Whatever your technology roadmap looks like now, IT audits are a powerful tool for enhancing IT infrastructure efficiency while simultaneously reducing your tech budget. Our expert team of IT auditors provides your business with an in-depth assessment of its current IT systems, identifies areas of inefficiency or risk, and recommends actions for improvement. By implementing the findings of an IT audit, you can significantly enhance the efficiency of your IT infrastructure and pave the way for more technologies.
At Profit Advisory Group (PAG), comprehensive, risk-free IT audits are our specialty. Our services provide actionable insights and significant cost savings for our clients. Get in touch with us today to learn more.