I have noticed that there is a phrase that strike fear through the hearts of most not-for-profits and social enterprises – that phrase is ‘IT strategy’. Both ‘IT’ and ‘strategy’ in themselves make most of these sectors nervous – as if everyone is talking in Russian suddenly, eyes start to glaze and there is distinct panic in the voices of senior leaders.
But let’s just break it down simply for a minute – in simple terms an IT Strategy is a plan of what systems you are going to consider using, that help guide your organisation to be more efficient, safer, easier to run and even enjoyable to work within. It’s thinking about systems, process, infrastructure, integration and training and as ever, keeping an eye on how things run and that it’s achieving for you what you set out to achieve in the first place. And think about who you want to benefit from this strategy – your customers, your team, stakeholders, funders, who else? And where do they function – in an office, at home, on the road or if you are in the sporting world, on a pitch, in the air or by a riverbank?
It’s not rocket science really and doesn’t even have to be necessarily innovative – but it does require working methodically and with a sense of purpose. If you can find trusted advisors, partners or contractors that can help you with it, then do it. But at some point you have to make that decision to jump in and make that start.
So if you haven’t already, start planning your tech stuff now.
