Businesses spend a lot of time planning for what comes next.
They develop budgets, set growth goals, hire employees, open locations, introduce new services, improve customer experiences, and look for ways to operate more efficiently.
And nearly every one of those decisions has a technology component.
Adding employees may require new devices, software licenses, communications tools, and security controls. Opening another location can affect connectivity, printing, physical security, and access to information. Changing how employees work may create new requirements for collaboration, document workflows, and cybersecurity.
But technology is often considered after the business decision has already been made.
That can lead to rushed purchases, overlapping systems, unexpected costs, and technology that solves an immediate need without necessarily supporting where the business is headed.
Technology planning should not happen separately from business planning. It should be part of the same conversation.
Business Decisions Create Technology Requirements
Consider what happens when a business decides to grow its workforce.
The business plan may account for salaries, benefits, office space, and training. But every new employee also creates technology requirements.
Will they need a laptop or workstation? Which Microsoft 365 licenses will they require? How will they communicate with customers and coworkers? What information should they be able to access? What security controls need to be in place? Will existing printers, networks, and other workplace technology support a larger team?
The same applies to many other business decisions.
A new location may require network infrastructure, business communications, printers and multifunction devices, cameras, access control, and secure connections to company information.
A move toward hybrid work can affect cybersecurity, cloud applications, communications, and document access.
A plan to improve operational efficiency may reveal opportunities for business process automation or better document workflows.
The business decision and the technology decision are connected. Planning for them together makes it easier to see the full picture.
Reactive Technology Decisions Can Create Bigger Problems
Technology purchases are often triggered by an immediate need.
A system reaches end of life. A department needs another application. Employees need a better way to communicate. A printer can no longer keep up. A manual process becomes too cumbersome.
Solving those problems individually may make sense in the moment.
But over time, one-off technology decisions can create an environment that is more complicated and expensive than it needs to be.
Businesses can end up with overlapping software, underused licenses, disconnected systems, aging equipment, inconsistent security controls, or multiple vendors managing different pieces of the environment.
We recently explored this in Are You Paying for Technology Your Business No Longer Needs?. Reviewing what you already have can uncover unnecessary costs and complexity.
Technology planning takes that idea one step further. Instead of only asking whether today’s technology still makes sense, it asks whether your technology strategy supports what the business plans to do next.
Start With Business Goals, Not Technology
Effective technology planning does not begin with a product.
It begins with questions about the business.
Where are you trying to grow? Are you adding employees or locations? Are customers expecting faster or different ways to communicate? Are employees spending too much time on manual processes? Are security or compliance requirements changing? Are there areas of the business where technology is creating frustration instead of making work easier?
Once those priorities are clear, technology decisions can be evaluated against them.
That is a much different approach than replacing systems simply because they are old or adopting new technology because it is available.
The question becomes:
What technology will best support what the business is trying to accomplish?
Look Across the Entire Technology Environment
Technology planning also works best when organizations look beyond individual systems.
Today’s workplace relies on an interconnected environment that can include Managed IT and cybersecurity, Microsoft 365, business communications, printers and multifunction devices, managed print services, document management, print security, and physical security.
A decision in one area can affect another.
For example, changing how employees work may affect network security and communications. Moving from paper-based processes to digital workflows may change how documents are captured, stored, secured, and accessed. Opening another office may affect IT infrastructure, print requirements, communications, and physical security simultaneously.
Looking at the environment as a whole can help prevent one solution from creating a new problem somewhere else.
Technology Planning Can Help You Budget More Predictably
Planning ahead also gives businesses more control over technology spending.
When organizations understand the age, condition, contracts, licenses, capacity, and future requirements of their technology environment, they can make more deliberate decisions about what should be maintained, upgraded, replaced, consolidated, or eliminated.
That can help distinguish between an immediate need and an investment that can be planned for next quarter or next year.
It can also help businesses avoid discovering several major technology needs at the same time.
Technology will always require investment. The goal is not simply to spend less. It is to make sure those investments are intentional and aligned with business priorities.
Security Should Be Part of the Planning Conversation
Growth and change can also introduce risk.
New employees need appropriate access to systems and information. New locations may require cameras, access control, network security, and secure print environments. New cloud applications can expand the number of systems containing company information. New printers and multifunction devices can introduce additional endpoints and document security considerations. New workflows may change how sensitive information moves through the organization.
Therefore, cybersecurity, print security, and physical security should all be considered as part of technology planning when they apply, rather than addressed separately after other decisions have already been made.
A technology plan can help organizations consider security, access, data protection, business continuity, and physical protection alongside productivity, operations, and cost.
Build Technology Reviews Into Your Planning Cycle
Technology planning does not have to mean creating a complicated multi-year roadmap.
For many organizations, a good starting point is simply making technology part of regular business planning.
When leadership discusses budgets, staffing, expansion, operational improvements, or strategic goals, technology should be part of the discussion.
Questions might include:
- What business changes are we expecting over the next 12 to 24 months?
- What technology will those changes require?
- What systems are approaching end of life or renewal?
- Where are employees working around inefficient processes?
- Are we paying for tools or services we no longer need?
- Are there security or compliance risks that should be addressed?
- Can existing technology support our growth, or will we outgrow it?
These conversations can help businesses move from reacting to technology needs to planning for them.
Technology Should Follow the Business Plan
The goal of technology planning is not to add more technology.
It is to make better decisions about the technology your organization actually needs.
Your business has goals. Your technology should help you reach them.
When technology planning happens alongside business planning, organizations can make more informed investments, anticipate future requirements, reduce unnecessary complexity, and build an environment that can adapt as the business changes.
If you are not sure where to begin, understanding your current technology environment is a good first step. KDI’s Technology Assessments can help you evaluate how areas such as IT and security, office technology, managed print, document workflows, business communications, and physical security support your current needs and future plans.
Find the Right Technology Assessment →
Frequently Asked Questions
What is technology planning?
Technology planning is the process of evaluating how technology supports an organization’s current operations and future business goals. It can include planning for IT infrastructure, cybersecurity, software, communications, printing, document workflows, physical security, and other workplace technology.
Why should technology planning be part of business planning?
Many business decisions create technology requirements. Hiring employees, opening locations, supporting hybrid work, changing business processes, or introducing new services can affect infrastructure, software, security, communications, and other systems. Considering technology earlier can help businesses anticipate those needs rather than reacting to them later.
How often should a business review its technology plan?
Technology should be reviewed as part of the organization’s regular business planning and budgeting process. It is also worth revisiting when the business experiences significant changes such as growth, new locations, staffing changes, acquisitions, new compliance requirements, or major changes in how employees work.
Does technology planning mean replacing existing systems?
No. In some cases, the best decision may be to keep existing technology. Planning can also identify opportunities to consolidate systems, eliminate unnecessary licenses, improve configurations, automate processes, integrate existing tools, or plan future replacements more strategically.
What areas should be included in a technology plan?
The scope will depend on the organization, but it may include IT infrastructure, cybersecurity, cloud applications, business communications, Microsoft 365, printers and multifunction devices, document management, workflow automation, physical security, and the processes that connect those systems.
How do you start developing a technology plan?
Start with the business rather than the technology. Identify your organization’s goals, expected changes, operational challenges, risks, and priorities. Then evaluate whether your current technology environment can support those plans and where gaps may exist.
Related Reading
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