Specifying and Purchasing IT

1. The Business Solution

You cannot choose the right IT system without knowing what you want it to do for you.

1.1 Focus first on your business aims. For example, you might want to improve customer service.

1.2 Use these aims to define what functionality the solution must have.

• Look at what your existing (manual or computerised) systems do.
• Ask employees what they would like to be able to do but find difficult or impossible with current systems.

1.3 Consider what existing systems the solution should be compatible with.

• This might include connecting new hardware to your existing network or sharing data with existing software applications so you don't have to input the same data twice.

1.4 Reduce costs and disruption by anticipating how future needs may change.