Productivity can be a fickle thing to manage, especially within a large enterprise with countless interconnecting parts and operations. This makes it rather difficult to identify problems, as productivity issues can have widespread effects around the office. One of the easiest ways your enterprise can keep issues to a minimum is by optimizing your IT department’s productivity.

Here are five simple ways that your enterprise can eliminate inefficiencies within your IT department.

Create Productivity Maps

In many phases of your business, efficient IT results in efficient production. Productivity maps allow your organization to see, at a glance, exactly how IT affects other parts of your enterprise. Start by identifying the various parts of your infrastructure that influences other departments or operations. This includes identifying the pros and cons. How does employing a powerful cloud platform improve or diminish your operational efficiency and overall productivity? How much revenue is lost due to IT downtime (including workstation issues, unresponsive IT support, and trouble locating important files or assets)?

It’s reasonable to assume that the rest of your employees rely on a functional and reliable IT infrastructure. As a result, any problems you have with your network or infrastructure can directly influence how productive your other employees can be. By creating productivity maps that show you exactly how independent jobs interact with your company’s IT, you can quickly ascertain how best to react and resolve the problems that stymie efficient production.

Eliminate Legacy Technology

If your business relies on an ample amount of legacy technology, it’s time to upgrade. There have been many impressive innovations in IT that can take your business to the next level; and, many of them don’t come with enormous capital considerations. The perfect example of this is the continued use of an outdated application (or series of applications) that are compatible with both your new and antiquated hardware. If you are looking to take control of your business’ productivity, investing in new solutions is a must.. The sooner you ditch your legacy technology, the more quickly you can replace it with better, more efficient tools that will pay for itself with the strides it can make for your company’s productivity.

Consider Automation Solutions

There are some repetitive tasks your T department has to deal with that are undeniably business-critical.These tasks are generally time-consuming and, consequently, require a significant labor investment. As a result, it’s prudent to seek out a solution that requires less time and effort. The answer for many of these tasks is automation.

When looking to cut costs, and maintain productivity, wisdom suggests enacting a strategy that centers around automation. You can look for solutions that offer you real-time analytics regarding how your technology infrastructure is functioning, as well as programs that can offer valuable insights into how much time is being invested into particular tasks. What you can’t automate (if you want to further cut operational costs) can be accomplished using outsourced IT management services. Managed IT Services is a flexible alternative to augment your IT management deficits, rather than assume the substantial fixed costs that come with onboarding and employing more IT technicians.

Outsource as Much IT As Possible

In order to get a good idea about the benefits of outsourcing your IT management to an MSP, ask yourself, “What would you do with an extran hourof your workday?” What if it were two or three hours? One of the best ways to free up time within your organization is to outsource as much of your IT management and maintenance as possible. Doing so allows your IT department to focus on improving operations to enhance operational efficiency; which, in turn, increases productivity. Furthermore, even though your enterprise already has an IT department, working with an outsourced provider allows them gain the flexibility to make the kind of decisions that every modern business is looking to make.

If you are searching for a way to improve your IT, your IT management, and the security of your IT, look no further than the outsourced IT provider. Your in-house IT staff can take the lead on new and productivity-building projects, while the outsourced provider, who employs knowledgeable technicians of their own manages and maintains your network and infrastructure. If you are searching for a way to build a more collaborative, more productive business, Managed IT can get you there faster and more affordably.

Expand Your Training and Educational Opportunities

By investing in your employees; ensuring that they have real, transferable skills that can be used in multiple parts of their career with your organization, you are making an investment in building a more productive workplace. Simply put: if you provide them with training and opportunity, they will be more willing to invest their time and energy into your enterprise. If you notice that a particular employee has spare time on their hands, suggest that they look into cross-training with other members of your workforce. This will make them more knowledgeable, and thus more valuable throughout their tenure at your organization.

Ultimately, the best way to help your organization increase productivity is to get your staff on the same page as management. One way to do this is to improve the way that your IT department manages its workflow. By delivering reliable and well-maintained IT, you know you are creating an environment where your staff can be as productive as possible. If you need assistance, we’re always happy to help. Subscribe to our blog for more great enterprise technology content, and give us a call to see what IronEdge can do for you.