The widespread surge in remote labor brought on by COVID-19 seems here to stay. But the sudden shift to home offices presented significant operational challenges during the pandemic’s initial onset, as many companies’ digital systems weren’t sophisticated enough to effectively connect remote workers. However, during the intervening years, many have implemented targeted techniques like application assessments to invest in IT infrastructure upgrades effectively.
Statistics show businesses across all sectors are prioritizing digital transformation. The total spent on digitalization reached $1.59 trillion in 2021, which amounts to a 20% increase in just one year. Most businesses are adopting cloud solutions — experts estimate the global public cloud market hit $490 billion in 2022. Moreover, nearly 90% of companies were utilizing cloud technology as of 2022.
The cloud is quickly fixing its position as a standard across industries. However, as with any new technology, it can be challenging to know where to start. So, let’s begin by examining application assessments. These are one of the most effective ways to determine the technological compatibility of digital features with individual needs.
What Are Technology Application Assessments?
Application assessments are exploratory methodology/technique used to ensure planned technological upgrades are efficient and compatible with the company’s digital tools. It’s a rigorous evaluation of many critical factors, including the technology’s application, performance, maintenance costs, risks, code integration and compatibility with company use cases.
For the best return on IT infrastructure investments, companies often use data science as a service (DSaaS) provider. These companies have the expertise to objectively determine the most effective course of action based on organizational needs. Their assessment will ultimately detail two things:
- How systems are helping or hindering overall business outcomes
- How proposed upgrades could streamline processes or otherwise aid in the pursuit of operational goals
Leaders often conduct application assessments when they believe the company could benefit from a system upgrade. For instance, assessments are particularly valuable if operations are scaling up, as a cost-saving measure for infrastructure investments or to keep up with the system improvements of competitors.
Ultimately, a thorough technology assessment can significantly save companies money down the line. After all, an incompatible digital transformation could result in increased maintenance expenses and degraded operational performance. But companies that run an IT infrastructure assessment can expect an upfront understanding of the costs associated with acquiring the technology and maintaining the system, along with the benefits in terms of productivity.
Why Does Your IT Application Infrastructure Need an Assessment?
Advancements in IT infrastructure can bring many benefits to small businesses. But without access to the expertise necessary to understand the complexities of the technology, it can be hard to determine the value of an upgrade. This is why regular IT assessments are critical for keeping systems up to date with current infrastructure standards.
Frankly, it’s hard to overstate the benefits of frequent application assessments. To understand why, let’s break down the most widespread advantages a potential DSaaS provider could bring.
- Discovering Security Vulnerabilities: The digital threats businesses face continuously adapt to cybersecurity measures. So, regular risk assessments are necessary to stay ahead of bad actors.
- Improving Productivity: Application assessments can help companies pinpoint where their current infrastructure is lacking, and find solutions that better serve the purposes of their workforce.
- Reducing the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO): Technology inevitably becomes obsolete as advancements occur. Outdated systems can cost businesses significantly. Frequent application audits can reduce TCO by reviewing the performance of a company’s setup and the system’s cost to find improvement areas.
- Maintaining Compliance: Regulatory agencies often have strict standards for digital business operations. Falling out of compliance is all too easy in the ever-shifting legal and digital landscape. The consequences of non-compliance are often extremely costly, but regular application assessments can prevent this through frequent reviews.
- Developing an IT Strategy: Application assessments can help a company align operational goals and its planned digital transformation to create a cohesive strategy for its upgrades.
What Are the Key Steps in Technology Application Assessments?
Several different phases take place during application assessments. Each step ensures every part of a company’s operations is being measured against the efficacy of the potential application.
Determining which technology will best serve the needs of an organization requires analyzing all aspects of the organization’s scenario. To do this, expert DSaaS providers break their audit down into targeted evaluative steps. Let’s review some of these critical phases:
- Determine where current systems are lacking and what available solutions could alleviate the issues. This can mean reviewing tech stack integrations, checking for digital blockages in workflows that could be streamlined through automation, contrasting operational goals with current digital capabilities, or examining user experiences to determine if there are interruptions to sales funnels.
- Analyze current digital infrastructure against potential improvements for the issues discovered during the first phase. This step requires a detailed technical evaluation of digital architecture to determine the upgrade’s projected return on investment (ROI).
- Develop and document a detailed improvement plan that aligns infrastructure updates with overall operational goals. Then, take this plan to stakeholders so everyone is on the same page.
Of course, choosing a strategic technology solutions to partner with the necessary expertise is essential to get the most out of this process. Trusted advisors like Growth Acceleration Partners can offer detailed information on the individual components of digital technology for a comprehensive overview.
Running Application Assessments with Data Migration Experts
When done correctly, application assessments are a highly detailed evaluation of complicated and advanced technology. Many businesses don’t have the internal expertise to conduct an IT architecture audit on this scale. Despite this, the operational benefits can be profound. Therefore, you might need a team of experts to manage the process for your company.
Growth Acceleration Partners is the industry-leading deliverer of software and data solutions. Our expert engineers and consultants can conduct a rigorous application assessment to generate positive improvements to help you scale smarter, cut unnecessary costs and increase system efficiency.
In the modern business world, you need digital experts on your side. Growth Acceleration Partners is here to help. Reach out today to speak to one of our engineers.
