What is IT procurement? IT procurement is the process of buying software, hardware, and services that will augment your existing IT environment, resulting in higher productivity and profitability.
The objective of your IT procurement process is to enhance your IT stack so that your day-to-day operations are faster, more efficient, less prone to stoppages, more scalable, and otherwise better oriented to help drive growth at your business – all while saving on costs.
With global IT spending set to crest $4.0 trillion this year, saving on costs where you can becomes ever more crucial to sustaining and improving your business’s revenue and margins.
So what is the IT procurement process? The process and IT procurement strategy consists of five parts:
- Assessing your IT environment to determine strengths, weaknesses, and next steps
- Developing, reviewing, and submitting a requisition order
- Evaluating offers from competing vendors
- Implementing the hardware and software
- Ongoing management of hardware and software
When done right, the IT procurement cycle will make IT procurement, purchasing and implementation simple and seamless.
With an experienced managed services provider (MSP), your IT procurement:
- Reduces costs
- Reduces barriers to scaling
- Automates workflows
- Eliminates redundancies in your IT environment
- Increases productivity
Let’s dive deeper into how IT procurement is able to accomplish all these benefits for your business.
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How the IT Procurement Process Works
Now that we can answer – in a generalized way – ‘what is IT procurement process?’ let’s dive deeper into the five-step process and what exactly IT procurement involves.
1. Assessment
Much in the same way you wouldn’t trust a doctor’s prescription without an examination first, your IT team needs to thoroughly assess your IT environment before beginning the procurement process. During this assessment, they will be able to identify your exact needs, vulnerabilities, areas of concern, outdated technologies, outdated systems, etc.
Once the assessment is complete, a strategy can be built that will inform your MSP’s procurement efforts, ensuring that your business is getting the maximal possible benefit.
2. Purchase Requisition
Once the roadmap and strategy are built, your IT partner can now begin submitting purchase requests to the appropriate vendors.
Whether it’s the procurement of software, hardware, or specialized services, one of the major benefits of working with an MSP is that they are able to leverage their deep industry partnerships to acquire your business the leading technology for better-than-market prices.
In this stage of the procurement process, your IT partner will draft and submit purchase orders – but only after your team has had a chance to review them to ensure they’re in alignment with business strategy and budget. The strategic sourcing of industry partners, however, will facilitate meeting both your tech needs and financial constraints – a boon to your bottom line.
3. Evaluate
With the proposals sent out, your business can then evaluate (with the help of your MSP – or have your MSP manage the entire process, entirely up to you) which offer is most ideal for you.
This involves evaluating the proposals based on price, how the technology meets your needs, is it scalable or will it need to be replaced after a few years (lifecycle planning), how much specialized maintenance and management does it require, ease of implementation, integration possibilities with existing systems, etc.
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You can also leverage offers against each other in order to drive prices down further.
After the evaluation stage is complete, you’re finally ready to begin purchasing goods that will help your business thrive.
4. Implement
With the correct technology identified and ordered, the next step is implementing these solutions into your current IT environment.
This can be a very simple, easy process or a very arduous one depending on the type of technology you’ve recently acquired. In either case, your IT partner will be sure to manage this entire process on your behalf, so you won’t have to trouble yourself with technical details, issues, and roadblocks.
5. Manage
Your technology is implemented and your business is experiencing the benefit – great! But that’s not where IT procurement has to end.
Top MSPs will offer full management and maintenance of all implemented technology. That means that they will be there to handle any issue with your new software or hardware whenever it first appears.
Moreover, they’ll be able to supply around-the-clock monitoring and troubleshooting to ensure that your technologies are always operating at optimal capacities.
Let Sunco Manage Your Entire IT Procurement Process
Source: Freepik
With the right MSP on your side, IT procurement can help you achieve more for less – that means faster and more efficient workflows, fewer IT disruptions, and overall process improvement company-wide.
Sunco Communication and Installation Ltd. is an experienced IT support provider that can handle all your technology needs – including the IT procurement process.
We are ready to manage all your IT demands, ensuring your business’s workflow is faster, more efficient, more productive, free from slowdowns and interruptions, and otherwise superior to your workflow before we assumed ownership of your IT management duties.
Contact Sunco today and learn more about reducing IT burdens while speeding up your business processes.
Featured Photo Source: Freepik
