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What kind of planning do you do? Do you take some time to think about your business and set goals for the coming months? A lot of us do this at the end of the year for the coming year but of course it can be done at any time and should be done regularly. Without some sort of planning your business has no direction. Your strategy or plan tells others (and yourself!) where you want to go. If you think this is only for big businesses you’re making a big mistake. This planning doesn’t have to be fancy; you’re the audience so write it down however you like. (I do recommend writing it down though, if you don’t does it really exist?)

A technology plan is an extension of your business plan that addresses how you will use technology in your business to support the business goals you set. Simple as that.

Ok, saying it is simple, putting it together is a little more involved but not complicated. Here is how it goes:

• First, review your business goals and objectives. Even though you are putting together a technology plan, it is really about your business and any investments you make have to support your goals and objectives.

• At a high level, outline your current environment. Who are you customers? What technology do you currently have in place? How do your employees and customers use the technology you have? Are there any risks or vulnerabilities in your current environment? For example, can your systems and processes handle more business? Are they outdated or out of support? Are you covered in the event of unavoidable outages? Are you covered in the case a key employee leaves or is unable to work?

• Determine if there are opportunities to further your business goals and objectives by adding or removing technologies. Can you save time or money but using an email service instead of sending your newsletter manually? Do you have a good way to keep track of your customers? Are your  employees able to fully serve your customers’ needs when they are out of the office?

• Look at your current state and the opportunities and determine a strategy or set of strategies to tie them together. Think about what might have to change operationally if you make these changes. Will you have hire more people or can you do with fewer? Who will be responsible for maintaining and using the new system?

• Determine the cost and benefits of executing on a specific strategy and make sure you know how you will measure success. Are you expecting your sales people to be more effective and make more sales if they have the ability to produce quotes at your customer site? How many more?

• Define a list of activities, including how long they will take, how much they will cost and whether there are any dependencies. Take small bites; make one change and see how it does before making another one. You don’t want your business to implode or your customers to be confused as you work through your technology plan. You also won’t want to make a lot of big investments at once.

The result of this is your technology plan. It is a road map to how you will move forward with technology to accelerate your business. It might look intimidating; it doesn’t have to be, though you may need help. An experienced technology adviser or consultant can lead you thru the process, especially where you are evaluating new technologies. New applications and tools spring up almost daily; an expert will keep up with what is going on and help you identify possibilities.

For an example of technology planning go to http://clearlysimplesolutions.com/what_we_do_tech.php.

Most of the small businesses I talk to, even the tiniest of them, know that when they need legal advice, they need to see their attorney.  Beyond that, they will proactively seek the counsel of their attorney on a regular basis as things change with their business and as they have to make decisions that affect it.

The same goes for their financial needs; most of them have a CPA that they see at least once a year at tax time.  Most accountants would recommend more regular visits at key times in the business cycle to help with future planning.  For example, if you need a new vehicle for your business you should consult with your accountant BEFORE you purchase to make sure the type of vehicle you choose will maximize your tax benefits.

Yet, when it comes to the technology businesses use, they are often left adrift with no help.  Some businesses have a simple website set up by their cousin along with some boxed software they use for billing and accounting.  Others have had consultants build fancy websites and other solution providers in to set up networks and more complicated systems.  In both cases though, these businesses have set no overall technology vision that supports their business plan.  They don’t know if the “pieces” they have fit together, if they are paying too much for overlapping technology, or how much they are wasting on “shelf-ware” they never use.   It is like they are standing way to close to an impressionist painting.  All they see are the dots, not how they combine to create a beautiful flower.

Worse than that though, they don’t have anyone helping them identify opportunities where technology could accelerate their business.   Often there are ways to leverage technology to increase revenue or reduce costs…if businesses only knew what was available.

Today, every kind of business is more and more dependent on technology (like it or not!).  This dependency will only grow.  As a small business owner it makes sense to seek out the advice and counsel of an overall technology advisor.  Someone that can help you see the painting for the dots.  You have a business plan, and maybe marketing plan and a sales plan.  You also need a technology plan that ties these all together.

For an example of what a technology plan is and how it works you can go to http://clearlysimplesolutions.com/what_we_do_tech.php.

It is almost the beginning of 2010 – do you have your technology plan in place?