Key Steps of Building an IT Strategy
Kalamazoo, MI | January 23, 2026
Key Takeaways:
- An IT strategy is a roadmap for using technology to achieve business objectives.
- IT strategies shouldn’t just support operations, but drive growth
- You should always develop an IT strategy with an IT professional
An IT strategy is make-or-break for any growing organization. With a well-planned IT strategy, companies stand to gain huge advantages, such as:
Reduced tech spending
Protection from cybersecurity threats
Increased productivity by automating tasks
Competitive advantage through superior customer experience
So, why doesn’t every organization have an IT strategy? Well, because many people view their IT team as a necessary cost instead of what it really is: a strategic partner.
And like any good business partner, your IT team can open up new opportunities that seemed impossible before. All it takes is an IT strategy.
1. Define Business Goals (as Simply as Possible)
The beating heart of any IT strategy is your business goals. Likewise, everything your IT team does should support those business goals.
You probably know your goals already (or at least have an idea). But to condense them into an IT strategy, you need to communicate them to your tech team in an accessible way.
If you’ve already clearly defined your goals, then move on to the next section. If not, then here are some ideas to help you pinpoint your priorities:
Financial (revenue and profit)
Growth (market share, expansion)
Customer (satisfaction, acquisition, retention)
Operational (efficiency, process improvement)
Employee (development and engagement)
Innovation (New products, services, or systems)
From here, create SMART goals for your focus. Here are a couple examples of what your goals might look like:
“By September 15th, create and email out 50 client satisfaction surveys that ask a randomized pool of clients how they feel about our service. That way, we can gather information for increasing client retention.”
“By the end of Q4, implement an automatic system for creating daily backups of our digital files in order to enhance our cybersecurity operations.”
It might seem simple, but simplicity is the point. Having a simple, clear goal to reference will keep you (and your team) on track when things get complicated down the line.
- Create or review your business goals
- Use the SMART goal model to make your goals actionable
- Make your goals as simple and clear as possible (it’ll help you later!)
2. Assess Your Current IT Setup
With your goals clearly defined, it’s time to review your current IT setup. First, start by taking inventory of your existing infrastructure. You can break this up into 5 categories:
Hardware (Desktops, servers, networking equipment)
Software (Operating systems, applications, subscriptions)
Cloud Services (Microsoft 365, Google Workspace)
Vendors (Internet service providers, managed service providers)
Users (employees, roles, access levels)
I recommend sending out a survey to staff, asking them about their equipment and the services they use. In the survey, also include some open-ended questions about their IT frustrations and any ideas for what would make their jobs easier.
Next, review all of the IT processes currently in place. Take note of what the processes ought to be and what they actually are. Some protocols look great on paper, but sloppy in practice.
Finally, bring your findings together in a SWOT analysis. By the end of this process, you should be able to answer each of these questions:
What is our current setup?
How is our current IT setup helping us achieve our business goals?
What are the shortfalls of our IT setup?
How do we want our IT setup to further support our business goals?
- Audit IT infrastructure (hardware, software, cloud services, vendors, and personnel)
- Survey your team for their equipment, frustrations, and ideas
- Synthesize your findings into a SWOT analysis
3. Create a Roadmap
With your SWOT analysis complete, you should be able to see where your IT supports and undermines your business goals. At last, it’s time to plan your IT strategy.
Set Your Priorities
This is where you figure out what actually fits into your strategy—and in what order.
Write out every priority for your IT strategy. Then, organize them into low effort vs. high effort and low impact vs. high impact. Then, set your priorities in this order:
High Impact / Low Effort. Quick victories with material benefits.
High Impact / High Effort. Long-term projects that need investment.
Low Impact / Low Effort. Small wins for when the opportunity presents itself.
Low Impact / High Effort. Best choices for delaying or eliminating.
It’s essential to keep the order of these priorities in mind when goal-setting. Since technology is constantly evolving, getting bogged down with low priorities usually creates more problems than solutions.
Align Priorities to Your Roadmap
Start by setting a realistic timeline for your priorities. Make sure to factor in stressors like busy seasons, business cycles, and holidays; you’re going to run into obstacles anyway, so a little prevention will keep chaos to a minimum. If you’re handling your IT, I recommend working closely with your IT personnel and having an honest conversation about timelines.
It can be helpful to break your priorities into chunks. Here’s an example of a 2-year road map, and which priorities to tackle:
Short Term (0 – 6 Months). High Impact / Low Effort.
Mid-Term (6 – 12 Months). High Impact / High Effort.
Long-Term (12 – 24 Months). High Impact / High Effort & Low Impact / Low Effort.
Create a Budget
Now that you know the ideal roadmap for your IT strategy, it’s time to figure out what you can afford.
When budgeting for an IT strategy, keep a few things in mind:
Inflation. Employee wages, subscription fees, and equipment prices will raise.
New Purchases. You’ll likely need new subscription services and equipment.
Saved Costs. Cancelling useless subscriptions and streamlining will save money.
Training Time. Training all employees (not just IT) on new tech takes labor hours.
If you don’t have the money on-hand to hit all of your goals, try spreading them out across a longer term. Then, re-evaluate based on revenue.
Now, you should have a solid IT roadmap that targets ideal priorities with a reasonable budget!
- Prioritize changes by low impact/high impact and low effort/high effort
- Create a timeline that tackles each priority by order of importance
- Set a budget based on your timeline’s needs, shifting priorities around if necessary
4. Launch Your IT Strategy
Now that it’s time to launch your strategy, your job will shift from technical to interpersonal. A successful launch always boils down to communication, clear expectations, and support.
Communicate Your Plans to Stakeholders
Communication is the greatest key to success in an IT strategy. Not only is IT essential to any stakeholder’s day-to-day operations, it can also feel confusing for non-techy people.
Here are some tips for communicating with your stakeholders:
Know Your Audience. Your staff, customers, and vendors will respond to different communication styles. Prepare a different communication for each, instead of relying on a one-size-fits-all solution.
Forecast Impacts. Some stakeholders will care why you’re making changes, but every stakeholder cares about how it impacts them. Make sure to forecast any IT issues that will come up during this process, and clarify that it’s part of the plan.
Revisit Mid-Process. When it’s time to roll out a change, announce it to stakeholders and gently remind them of when you told them before. That way, everyone remembers being told, and no one feels blindsided.
Keep Everyone Accountable
If you haven’t already set KPIs with your IT team, now’s the time to do it. KPIs will empower each person to hit a tangible target, which keeps them on track.
If you’re not sure which KPIs to use, here are some ideas:
Business: Customer satisfaction, project success rate, new systems created
Finance: Return on investment, cost savings,
Security: Compliance score, incident rate, patching compliance.
If none of these KPIs feel right, try breaking projects down by milestones. Then, assign each milestone with due dates.
Create Advocates, Not Enemies
Here’s the truth: anyone who isn’t an advocate of your IT strategy will become its enemy.
At first, most stakeholders will resist change. To them, new IT processes mean a new learning curve, when they’d rather work or use your IT system “like normal.” Unless they feel empowered by the change, they’ll drag their heels or even find workarounds. Either way, it undermines your IT strategy.
So how do you make stakeholders feel empowered by your IT strategy? Well, there are two ways: feedback and training.
Feedback: Encourage your stakeholders to give feedback on changes. For employees, encourage an open-door policy. That way, you can hear you can make your staff feel heard and receive valuable feedback for improving your strategy.
Training: Training will empower your stakeholders to use your IT systems and understand their benefits. When people know how to engage with your IT systems, they’re much more likely to become advocates for change.
- Communicate coming changes to stakeholders (staff, customers, vendors)
- Uphold accountability through KPIs, policies, and procedures
- Encourage feedback and provide training; create advocates or prepare for enemies
Free IT Audit: IT Strategy Consulting with Omega
If you need an IT strategy but don’t know where to start, then it’s time to work with a professional. For a free IT audit, click the button below to contact us today. Or, just pick up the phone and give us a call at (269) 216-7017. We look forward to hearing from you!
