Building a business that leverages Information Technology (IT) successfully is not a checklist, it’s a process – at its core a surprisingly creative process that relies on experience and knowledge supported by a well honed set of values and principles.

Its NOT “just buy this app” or “get in the cloud” and all your business problems will disappear. It’s the process by which we uncover and articulate what is needed to enable business success. Only then can we choose solutions that really enable that success.

The first step in determining the type of IT you require is asking the right questions. What are the bottlenecks and pain points in your daily business routines? What information is needed to effectively improve your existing business systems? What strategies will streamline and expand delivery of your products and services?

It turns out that successful IT is more about how the technology aligns with the people and processes already involved in your business. If you don’t understand the nuances of how those people and processes are interacting, how can you be sure that adding a layer of IT is going to successfully enable business growth?

And the best solution may not be hi-tech, sometimes a low-tech solution will work better. The IT industry is famous for practicing solutioneering by assuming the solution is the absence of technology. “The problem is we haven’t invested sufficiently in information technology” (source http://www.squawkpoint.com/2015/12/solutioneering/). As the old proverb goes: “If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail”.

Treat IT like any other investment you make in your business. Ask yourself these important questions, “Will this IT investment deliver me business value?” and “What is my return on this IT investment?”.