The Importance of I.T.
/by Victor Avalos
Modern companies in the information economy rely on actively engaged Information Technology departments. Superior design and execution of information systems can confer significant competitive advantage. IT teams should be able to listen and adapt to deliver the right tools at the right time to do the right work. For example, today, everyone is focused on mobility. Technology can effectively make the resources of an entire office available for use by remote employees at any time. The significance of having an IT team that recognizes the business potential of providing sales reps with the right tools to best adapt to their environment is undeniable, just as it is vital to keep confidential corporate information secure.
In ad sales, a new client can be met anywhere: ad salespeople cannot afford to miss an opportunity to present their case. Given the current state of technology, ad buyers and publishers expect their salespeople to have access to volumes of accurate information instantly. The Elliott Co. offers mobility by default, with systems in place to manage relationships, data, and documents, to ensure that these resources will be accessible at all times.
Most companies underperform when their IT departments are not completely engrained into every facet of their business. However, the most competitive companies keep IT completely synched to move their business function forward. They have figured out how to leverage the IT investment to help them sell better, market better, and improve production.
We have reached the tipping point where it doesn’t matter much whether workers use Mac or PC, iPhone, or Android hardware and services. This goes far beyond the concept of employees bringing their own devices to work. The platform war is over: the new flexibility of cloud computing and special tools recently developed to capitalize on it allows collaboration to occur easily across different time zones, with different hardware, without any need to worry about shifting paper or people! All that matters is accessibility.
A company must keep up-to-date with industry trends, while staying open to new tools and services. As technology moves forward, consistent investing in technology and infrastructure becomes less of a concern. The tide of importance has shifted from infrastructure (windows, servers, desktops) to the value of Internet delivered services (CRM, Secure File Sharing, Collaboration Tools, etc.) When looking for new tools and business services, remember: “Don’t buy IT—subscribe to it!” n
Victor Avalos (v.avalos@jamesgelliott.com) is the Director of Information Services for James G. Elliott Co., Inc.