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Business growth relies on being able to track and measure improvements. If you’re not recording growth or decline in key areas of your business, how will you know where to make improvements? Choosing the right Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for your business and measuring them accurately and consistently can open your eyes to the successes and challenges of your company.
Small businesses tend to overlook how their technology can help improve their KPI performance. However, even small businesses can take advantage and capitalize on technology to set themselves ahead of the competition. With the right expertise on your side, here’s how technology can help your business grow.
How to Measure the Right KPIs For Your Small Business
There are several KPIs that all small businesses should use and track, but some may vary depending on whether you have a brick-and-mortar store versus an online-only store. Your KPIs will also differ depending on whether you are a product-based business or a service-based business.
When choosing which KPIs to use, there are four factors to consider:
- Can you accurately measure the indicator?
- Can you take action with the data?
- Can you get current data from the indicator?
- Does the number impact the bottom line of your business?
If the performance measurement does not satisfy these four factors, it shouldn’t be considered a “key” performance indicator.
How Technology Can Help Your Business Measure and Improve KPIs
Cloud Services
Cloud services cover a lot of ground, from remote servers to cloud applications; how you use cloud services in your business will depend on your needs and budget. Many benefits come with cloud computing, including increased speed for completing tasks, efficient sharing of information between employees or contractors, and improved flexibility for collaboration and mobility. But how can you measure the benefits associated with cloud services? Here are several KPIs to consider:
- Time to market for new products and services.
- Speed and cost of data recovery.
- Average load times for your website and applications.
- Duration and frequency of downtime for your business and customers using your services.
The faster your cloud computing runs and the more reliable your service provider is, the better your KPIs will perform. When looking for the right cloud services provider, we recommend looking for a company that has a secure facility, servers that are protected from physical risks as well as digital ones and have backup systems to keep you running even if the power grid goes down. At Alt-Tech Inc., our world-class data centre in downtown Edmonton checks all those boxes and more.
Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity is important for any sized business with a digital presence which means you should have KPIs to track and measure your cybersecurity performance. Examples of cybersecurity KPIs to track might include:
- Cost per data breach
- Risk management expenses
- Rate of downtime
- Frequency of unexpected service interruptions
Cybersecurity should not be treated as a cost-only column in your business budget but as an investment that can help make growth possible. Customers increasingly demand fast service. Spending money on cybersecurity can help deliver a smooth, seamless experience for your customers, essential for customer retention in 2021.
Virtualization and Mobility
Investing in IT services and infrastructure that allows your team to work remotely can help your business reduce overhead costs and grow in other areas. Having infrastructure and policies in place to allow staff to work securely from home and have protected access to shared data is essential to achieving that growth. Virtualization of time-consuming tasks, such as marketing, emails, contact forms, sales funnels, etc., can also help reduce the workload of your employees and speed up many KPI measures, such as:
- Time to market for new products and services
- Time spent completing tasks
- Customer retention
- Cost per data breach
- Frequency of data breaches
Investing in IT Solutions in Edmonton, Alberta
Do you want to make IT work harder for your business? We can help! Between managed IT services, cloud systems, and network monitoring, we offer technology solutions that will help your business become more efficient, productive, and capable. Contact us to see what we can do for you and how we make investing in IT a great move for growth in your business.
