Need help figuring out where even to start when it comes to assessing your business' network vulnerabilities?
Good news, Usherwood offers an Odyssey Discovery with a technology roadmap to assess what's going on in your network and make a plan for what needs improvements. Our Odyssey Discovery is an IT, step-by-step process architecture plan to help improve network stability. The plan involves a technology roadmap to detail every aspect of the journey to our clients.
Need to know what a technology roadmap entails? No worries, in this article, we'll break it all down for you to ensure you have a proper understanding of how Usherwood strives to be completely transparent and constructive to our clients.
What is Involved in a Technology Road Map?
A technology roadmap is a step-by-step plan, a living document spelling out every part of the network assessment and improvement process. From what has already been done with the network, what needs to be done, what you want to be done, how it will be done, how much certain aspects will cost, etc., it all starts with the Odyssey Discovery process. With this, engineers go to your site, look at everything, and then collect all the necessary data in the network. The data gathered usually includes
- Vulnerability reports
- Asset reports
- Patch assessments
- Microsoft licensing information
- IT invoicing for support and third-party software
- Supporting information regarding the layout and design of the network
Our team interviews you and other key users to understand how you interact with technology and how technology plays a role in your work environment. From this assessment, you find out how your users utilize their technology if it’s liked, if it is too slow, if there are recurring issues, etc... Because this can differ from department to department, interviewing key users is imperative. All this info is gathered to get a sense of what needs improvement and what goals you have for your network, so a plan can be made for how to get you where you need/want to be.
Most Common Issues Found During an Evaluation
Our engineers keep you involved throughout the entire process. After assessing the network, our engineers will next discuss the items they noticed during the evaluation with you.
Most frequently noticed issues include when patching is overdue, default passwords are being used on network equipment, and spending too much on unnecessary Microsoft licensing. However, some of the critical common issues found are when there’s a lack of multifactor authentication, or when there are various vulnerabilities needing to be addressed as soon as possible. Aging hardware long past its prime and in the need of upgrades is also often a problematic finding.
Bringing in the Navigator
Everything described above is what the team then assembles into what we called the Navigator- this is Usherwood’s unique approach to the technology roadmap. The Navigator identifies possible security threats, your capabilities in platforms such as servers and surveillance systems, and summarizes your infrastructures. After assembling their noted information into the Navigator, our engineers build a plan.
Whether you need a new network server is decided after studying characteristics such as age, operating system, and if it is under warranty. Vulnerabilities, patching, performance, and storage are also evaluated. You are then walked through our engineers’ plan to get your perspective and opinion to see if partnering with Usherwood is something you would like to do.
The Breakdown of the Road Map
There are typically a few specified parts to a technology roadmap to break down each part of the process. This helps you to fully understand everything planned from a high-level perspective. Sections of the roadmap would include:
- Server
- Workstations
- Switches
- Firewalls
- Power
- Wifi
- Cabling
- Internet Service
- Add-ons such as cameras, phones, surveillance systems, etc.
The budgets for all of these sections are also organized and priced out. The budget is well-considered when it comes to the construction of the roadmap. Discussions over price and what cost-saving routes are available are made. This allows the roadmap to be detailed and organized specifically for your business and what investments you are able to make.
How Does the Roadmap Help You?
The roadmap is designed simply for your benefit. We want our clients to feel comfortable and fully engaged in the process. We aim to help you feel supported and know how to improve your network.
The technology roadmap is a way to have all plans organized and spelled out. This could mean details on what order to complete all IT infrastructure and business goals, and the price and benefits of each step. It's a plan that allows complete transparency. It's a plan showcasing to you what is going on with your network and how you will reach your primary goal.
The process can be uncomfortable in the beginning. You’re trying to correct what is wrong. Sometimes that means breaking what is already established to set it back, almost like resetting a broken arm. This could be daunting to anyone, but it's the only way it will improve properly. Our goal is to assist you with getting to a good spot for future growth. We want to inspire questions such as, where can you be five years from now? Where do you want to be?
Everyone likes to have choices and structure in anything they do, especially when helping their business grow. The technology roadmap is designed for precisely that. It shows how we will be part of your team and help you. We will be able to see what's going on in your IT environment and also be able to strategically focus on what matters most to you and your business. This gives you the ability to focus on your business while we focus on the productivity of your IT infrastructure.
We want you to be prepared for potential IT challenges that may arise. Reviewing the roadmap quarterly with your vCIO will allow you to track meaningful progress towards your business IT objectives, and inform you of where you are now and where you will need to be in the future to successfully address your IT and security needs. For more information regarding vCIOs, visit our “What is a vCIO?” article.
Usherwood Can Help
Usherwood has been around for forty-seven years and has a lot of reliable experts on our team. Coming together as a team and collaborating amongst ourselves and you is crucial. It's an entire team focus. We have been involved in a lot of different projects throughout the years. Thanks to our many experiences, we know who to involve in many different situations.
We understand you can feel overwhelmed and have different perspectives on the right move for your network. Usherwood wants to advocate for you and make you feel heard. Some companies are looking for a better sense of their assets, what they need to replace, or what replacements they should get for their server. Is their server environment good? Will everything still be running in top quality in a few years?
This can be stressful to ponder on your own. A technology roadmap can help organize when to make strategic moves and replacements, and make suitable recommendations to help your network into a stable and more secure position. Luckily, Usherwood firmly believes in technology roadmaps and works closely with our clients to ensure everything is entirely obtainable and transparent for business technology needs.
