SMBs must identify their IT challenges and priorities in order to achieve their goals and limit their risks. With an often limited flexibility, SMBs can’t afford to follow a trial and error approach, in IT or other departments.

Techaisle identified the top challenges and priorities for SMBs in 2016, and at the very least, it can be said how surprising many aspects are. Do you see the reality of your business reflected in these IT priorities and challenges or do you see things differently?

I invite you to share your views on this subject at the“Stratégie PME 2016” conference at kiosk 116.

Below is my analysis of the challenges and priorities in the IT field for SMBs in Quebec.

1. Inconsistency between IT challenges and priorities

Logically, the challenges and priorities should be aligned. If we look at this chart, however, this is far from being the case.

The first disturbing thing about this chart is that the number one SMB challenge is mobility security and the number one priority is Cloud computing.

Although Cloud management can in fact solve security problems and greatly help in daily system management, it is not an option that solves everything.

It is also necessary to consider computer infrastructure, whether it be traditional or virtual (IaaS).

2. Although security is the #1 concern, its importance is but little understood

In the day to day, we see business managers aware that security is a challenge. In fact, at the time of writing this article, the Canadian Armed Forces website had just been hacked. So although computer security is a recurring theme in the media and the latest news, actions are few, especially in SMBs.

In reality, only a few are fully aware of the potential risks and their consequences. Too often, we tend to think that this sort of thing only happens to others. Another important fact is that in SMBs, IT teams are usually made up of a few generalists who have a lot to do and don’t necessarily have all the tools and knowledge to deal with security issues.

3. Business continuity is underestimated

Data protection and recovery for business continuity is ranked 10th in the challenges category. Logically, this should have been one of the first three challenges, unless of course the SMBs who participated in the survey are exceptions and all have formal, efficient, and tested disaster recovery plans. 

In my opinion, however, this is not the most probable explanation. In fact, in most companies, business continuity is a touchy issue that nobody really addresses. Just ask yourself this question: how much time before a shutdown results in severe consequences? If the answer is several days or weeks, you probably don’t have too many worries even if you don’t have a plan. However, if the answer is in hours, you should think twice about it.

Conclusion

What stands out in these rankings is that the priorities seem to be more the product of popularity rather than the real challenges in SMBs. To make sure you’re investing in the right solutions for your company’s critical challenges, you can refer to specialists in business solutions.

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