Self Analysis

1) Needs Assessment

• Is someone in your company knowledgeable enough to make informed decisions about your organization’s IT needs?
• Can this person effectively discern the direction of the industry? IT is moving so fast that it is important to be able to distinguish a trend from a flash in the pan. Bad decisions cost a lot.
• Can the person evaluating technology purchases determine how easy a system will be to upgrade? The initial purchase price of a computer
  is only a portion of the “lifecycle cost”. Some IT configurations are designed to be upgraded, others are not. The difference between receiving three versus four years of use from a system becomes significant.
• Is the person doing the needs analysis capable of knowing how well the new IT purchases will
  fit and work within the existing infrastructure?
• Does the person doing the needs assessment understand how the technology will be used by the business now and in the future?

If any of these answers are NO, then you should make sure you receive outside professional help in determining which IT products to buy.

2) Installation, Training, Troubleshooting and Support

• Is my company staffed to do hands-on installation and repair complex IT systems?
• Can we handle IT training needs with our current staff?
• Are we staffed to troubleshoot and fix IT systems?
• Are we staffed to respond to IT crises without taking away from other critical responsibilities?

If any of these answers are NO, then you should strongly consider buying your information technology from a company that also provides these services.