When Susan called, the server was in a closet with a fan blowing on it to keep it cool, employees were using their own equipment to work on, nothing was secure, and the network was unreliable at best.

She was brand new to the company and she already had her hands full. The CFO before her had just left and they had an audit at the end of the week. She didn’t have time to chase down her IT company to fix all the issues, and their shoddy work and complicated invoicing engendered an immediate feeling of distrust.

“My job is to make sure the company is compliant and profitable, not worry about IT issues.”

She called a colleague who was also a CFO and asked what company they used for managed services, that’s how she found us here at Consilien.

But we did more than just replace the company’s servers. Over the course of six months we recreated the IT infrastructure around their needs, increasing efficiency, all while maintaining costs and helping her reach her goals of staying compliant and profitable.

Fast forward ten years, and the company is now valued at around $90 million and we’re still their IT Service Provider.

Here are 3 ways IT Can Give Your Company a Competitive Edge

1. Plan your growth with your IT department. Most company’s use their IT company reactively instead of proactively. This is usually due to a mentally where the CEO and CFO aren’t involved with the technology decisions.Issues such as, getting a new security system, phone system, or planning an office expansion should be made with your IT department, versus having them getting involved afterwards. Introducing IT to growth decisions after-the-fact always costs more.

2. Think Partnership and Project Management. At the very least your IT department should make sure that your infrastructure is secure and working efficiently. However, if you’re planning 25% growth over the next several years then you will need to partner with an IT infrastructure specialist who understands your business needs and will implement strategies to meet your companies objectives. Again, investing in your company’s growth without involving your IT infrastructure specialist from the beginning will always cost you more in the end.

3. Invest in Innovation. Think of IT beyond just a “lights on” service. Instead ask yourself, “How can our IT department give us an edge over the competition?” “How can it help us to be more profitable?” Think, order processing, billing, even giving your employees more flexibility by putting your IT infrastructure in the cloud.

Your IT department could be the secret weapon to increased profits and an edge over the competition.