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The primary goal of almost any company is to successfully grow – and it is no exaggeration to say

that in the vast majority of cases a business must face and overcome a number of challenges to

do so. One notable challenge facing companies seeking to expand their business is likely to be

managing the growth of their IT infrastructure.

This executive summary version of our longer “5 Tips to Managing Growth” guide describes how

to handle 5 major issues your company is likely to encounter when adding IT capacity to support

its growth.

1) Using the right team/people to implement the changesThe complexity of IT has increased substantially in just the past decade. As a result of this increased

complexity, scaling up IT infrastructure to support your company’s growth requires extensive

experience in the field as well as access to the technology appropriate for a particular installation.

When selecting a firm or team to help implement IT changes, look for the following:

• A track record of successful implementations

• The ability to provide a wide variety of technical solutions to ensure the system selected is best

suited to the intended application

• Personnel with expertise in both technical and support issues

• Excellent communication abilities

2) Software: Open Source vs. LicensedSome firms have turned to open source software, in which the developer publishes the source code

for public scrutiny and modification, as a means of reducing software costs while still gaining access

to the functionality necessary to support their growth.

5 TIPS TO MANAGING GROWTH – EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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Selecting between licensed and open source software

Pros and cons of licensed and open source software include:

Licensed software

Pros:

• Steady income stream often allows for a more predictable progression of system upgrades and

feature set development

• Support typically provided by the software developer

• Enables niche application solutions

Cons:

• Higher licensing fees than open source solutions

• Feature set development in some cases may lag that of crowdsourced open source software

• The software developer may not support customisation options

Open Source software

Pros:

• Can offer significant cost savings

• Crowdsourced development opportunities can promote a robust feature set

• Openness of code increases customisation opportunities

Cons:

• Less predictable upgrade and functionality improvement cycles

• Potential for additional expense if upgrading to another solution becomes necessary

• Lack of developer provided support

• Lack of niche application solutions

3) Hardware vs. the CloudAs a company grows, it often finds that its demand for data storage grows proportionately. While

each company’s circumstances are different with regards to the cloud vs. hardware debate, the

potential benefits to be derived from moving to the cloud can, in many cases, be substantial. They

include:

• Cost savings: The potential for significant reduction in expense from a technology and a

personnel standpoint.

• Software solutions: The ability to utilise a variety of business software solutions on a SaaS

(software as a service), pay-as-you-go basis.

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• Efficiency: Greater employee efficiency due to the cloud’s ability to allow them to work from any

location with an Internet connection at anytime.

• Scalability: Cloud-based software and storage services can be increased or decreased in scope

much more easily than the hardware systems your company controls or owns.

• Enhanced company focus: By outsourcing IT-related functions your company can focus on its

core competencies rather than devoting staff time and effort to IT management issues.

• Security: Rather than having to secure your own hardware systems and all related equipment

this function is outsourced to your cloud provider.

• Collaboration: Cloud services such as Google Docs, Dropbox and other remote sharing services

make it easier for your employees and partner organisations to collaborate over the web.

The following factors should be considered when contemplating a move to the cloud:

• The cost of maintaining your own hardware

• Personnel costs

• Remote access costs

• Anticipated equipment purchase costs

• Cloud storage costs

• Migration expense and effort

• Connection (network access) risks

• Security risks

• Bandwidth capacity

Customisation and the cloud

The necessity for greater levels of customisation typically reduces the efficiency of locating

operating software in the cloud, although the development of services such as IaaS and PaaS

provides a means of addressing this issue in some cases.

Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS): This service allows a cloud provider to offer computer resources

along with storage and networking capability to a customer on-demand. Customers can provision

the service themselves using web-based interfaces.

Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS): Under this service, users can operate and develop applications

without needing to build and maintain the systems generally needed to design and deploy an app.

PaaS services can be provided via the public cloud or on a company’s internal server network or a

data center managed by the company.

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Virtualisation

Another alternative is to use virtualisation to accomplish a similar objective. Virtualisation involves

using your company’s hardware assets to enable multiple “virtual” users of a particular computer or

server, establishing what might be called an internal cloud or intranet for authorised users.

4) Making the most of mobileMaking the most of mobile involves enabling your employees to use mobile devices to increase the

productivity of the company’s operations via methods such as:

• Linking: Link your CRM (customer relationship manager) system or other relevant software

systems to employee mobile devices.

• Subsidise: Provide employees with mobile devices.

• Use an external or internal cloud: Utilise cloud-based or virtualisation solutions to make it

easier for employees to access data remotely.

The tremendous increase in the popularity of devices such as smart phones and tablets has led to

a dramatic upsurge in business conducted over mobile devices. To stoke its growth, your business

should do everything possible to appeal to this massive market, including:

• Design your website so that it is easy for consumers on mobile devices to access in either of the

following ways:

• Use responsive web design

• Design a separate website for mobile users if the amount of traffic justifies the added cost

• Add a click-to-call box so that mobile device users can immediately be connected with your

company to learn more about its products or services.

• Add social media integration. Use buttons to enable visitors to engage with your firm via social

media services such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.

Designing your mobile site

Generally speaking, most small and medium sized businesses will want to farm out the process of

designing or optimising their website for mobile use. A number of web hosting firms offer relatively

inexpensive options that include mobile optimisation or a specialist firm can be hired for more

elaborate functionality.

Contact your Bright representive today for more information:

333 Latimer Rd, London W10 6RA | 020 3031 9500 | sales@bright.co

5) Putting it all together into a stable, inexpensive, easy to maintain systemA malfunctioning or inefficient IT system can pose a significant hurdle to a company’s growth.

Designing a system that can withstand increased utilisation and data storage needs as your business

grows is essential to maximising your firm’s growth potential and avoiding undue expense in the

process.

A robust IT system should accomplish the following:

• Increase productivity

• Increase capacity

• Rapidly transmit information

Successful IT implementation relies upon a mix of the following factors:

• Processes

• Technology

• Personnel

• Content

To maximise its utility, the following principles should be kept in mind when creating and operating

your IT infrastructure:

• Manage complexity

• Stress usability

• Identify system priorities

• Perform risk management

• Aim for a seamless solution