Systems and infrastructure

The infrastructure is the glue that holds the operational core of a business together. When the technology you rely on stops working, so does the business. It’s that simple.

People who really understand technology, how to best utilise it and who can communicate clearly are essential to the survival and growth of the business. The systems and infrastructure have to be well designed, resilient, easy to maintain and well protected.

It's best to mentor, educate and develop your own people to fully understand what your systems do, how they do it, and why they behave as they do. The trick is finding those people and developing them.

Having the necessary level of knowledge in-house minimises risk and cost by enabling you to respond quickly without relying on scarce external assistance.

The value of external advice

Having someone help you requires a willingness to learn, get involved and take responsibility, not simply have someone do something for you without your active participation.

External advisors have skills and experience that can complement your own, often identifying practical solutions to problems that you encounter.

Don't focus on the cost of help, instead focus on the risk and cost of failure. Balance that against the likely costs and timescales, then plan ahead and involve them accordingly.

Bring them in early and discuss your ideas with them. It's usually far cheaper to make mistakes early on paper rather than later in a project, especially when you've started to invest in software and technology.