Opinion: 5 things small businesses underestimate about tech

As a small-business owner, you are pulled in a thousand directions. Days and nights sometimes blur into one continuous rhythm of work, stress and, hopefully, triumph. There always are things to do, and always things that fail to be completed. Technology is often one of the things that fail to get the attention it deserves. Technology can be an asset that propels your business, or it can be a small business’ downfall. Here are five of the most common things I have seen small-business owners underestimate when it comes to technology.

1. Outsourcing technology management can create euphoria
You read that right, the euphoria, the ecstasy, the jubilation and the victory. Small-business owners can be overly obsessive and controlling about things; commanding control of everything to prevent anything from going off kilter. This includes the strategizing, research, purchasing, and implementation of technology.

By offloading technology to an organization that specializes in technology, you allow yourself the freedom to do what you are best at doing. You in turn allow them to do what they are best at, which includes the research, strategizing, budgeting, planning, purchasing, implementation and ongoing support of technology.

2. The ROI of the right systems
Small-business owners tend to look at only the bottom line cost of technology and not the long-term value. If you knew a certain application or system would bring 100 times its value, would you be willing to spend twice as much for that system? Of course, you would.

Small-business owners often try to scrape by with the cheapest tools, applications and systems. A good technology partner can work with you to determine if there are systems, applications or partner organizations that could provide products or services that don’t just make your job easier, but make you, your staff, and your business look and act, like a superstar.

3. The danger and liability of poor network security
Small-business owners have many important things on their mind. Those important things can shroud out the critical things that can damage their business. The mentality is often one of, “I am too small for a hacker to target me.” That is bad thinking. Hackers are targeting every type, and size of business in various ways. You never know when you or one of your employees might open something that could infect the whole network, and seal you off from all your data.

There are basic steps that can be taken, and that is why a technology partner focused on security is a vital asset to any small-business owner, especially if you are under government or industry regulations. Many small-business owners are often surprised to find out they need to comply with some regulation.

4. The impact of data loss
When it happens, you will never look at data and backup the same way. It is not a matter of if, but when data will be lost. Hard drives fail, people delete things, equipment is lost or broken – stuff happens. When it happens, most small-business owners are not prepared for the loss that follows. I have witnessed the distraught faces organizational trauma that resulted from small-business owners who did not feel my data backup recommendation was worth their time or money. It is ugly and not an experience, anyone should go through.

Most businesses do not recover from a major data loss. Small-business owners must treat their data the same way enterprises do, as one of their most valuable assets. Backup and data loss prevention technology is very powerful and affordable for small businesses, especially compared to the cost of restoration or re-creation.

5. The ROI from proper technology planning
Most small-business owners are a bit more inclined to skipping planning and going straight to execution. In some ways that can be a good thing, but when it comes to planning technology that is a tough road to travel.

Technology planning is about making sure that your systems keep the company running. It is about making sure you budget for growth. It is about identifying the technology weaknesses and threats that could affect your business one year, three years, even five years down the road. You can do this yourself, but a technology partner that understands this process can perform long-range forecasts based on expected growth that can ease that burden for you and bring you data and plans that you didn’t know you needed.

My intention is not to add more to the overworked mind of small-business owners. Small business is the backbone of our country. Paying attention to these five things that are all too commonly underestimated, will bring dividends to keep your business strong and health.

Todd Nielsen is chief strategy officer for JMark Business Solutions Inc. He can be reached at tnielsen@Jmark.com.