Understand the categories of infrastructure projects
Today, the success of most business operations hinges on technology. After the initial execution of your IT systems, your business has roughly five to seven years before a major infrastructure project is needed.
While it’s true that overhauling and updating your hardware, software, servers, and systems is a bit like working through an office renovation, IT infrastructure projects are a necessary (and profitable) part of long-term growth. With technology constantly evolving, business owners must ensure that their existing IT services and systems don’t hinder a company’s potential.
What is an IT Infrastructure Project?
An IT infrastructure project optimizes a business’s technology systems. Projects are varied and can include large-scale updates or changes to a company’s website, data center hardware, business software, or computer network. Because changing live systems is delicate, a project manager is recommended for any existing business IT infrastructure projects, to ensure a positive result.
What Are The 4 Types of IT Infrastructure Projects?
The first step of any technology infrastructure project is determining which upgrades or maintenance projects are needed. After determining needed skills, expertise, and costs, businesses often work with consultants to make a detailed plan outlining areas of significant impact to produce a favorable ROI.
Some of the components that IT infrastructure projects might address are:
- Hardware
- Software
- Web Development
- Network
- Maintenance/Upgrades
- Migrations
Here are four main types of IT infrastructure projects.
1. Improvement
Enhancement projects are often essential to your team’s success. Many IT infrastructure projects are focused on improving business operations with better software, more efficiency, or newer equipment.
During an improvement project, organizations will take steps to enhance their long-term business operations while maintaining normal routines. Improvement can cover any IT system, and some projects are more complicated than others. Projects like installing new technology, and boosting proactive cybersecurity measures may require third-party consultants.
Tip: A good way to keep your organization free of technical debt is to avoid quick solutions that seem easier now, but are ultimately inefficient or unsustainable. Better solutions are often complex and difficult to implement, yet payoff immensely for your organization.
2. Replacement
Whether one of your systems or services has gone awry, or technological advancements call for upgrading your equipment, replacements are a large part of IT infrastructure projects. A replacement project often deals with hardware, such as shifting from obsolete pieces of equipment, installing new servers, or assigning new computers.
Although software, networks, and websites may need replacing, those projects typically fall under an upgrade or improvement. If your business needs to modernize IT with tangible resources, you might be looking at a replacement project.
3. Strategic
Strategic IT infrastructure projects are centered around things that will enhance productivity, improve user experience, and drive overall success. They address immediate IT needs while also taking a proactive approach to be more competitive,
respond to future challenges, and capitalize on emerging opportunities.
Strategic projects, in particular, can be a significant investment. Examples of a strategic IT infrastructure project might be cloud migration, adopting new infrastructure technologies, deploying new platforms (internal or external) or making a disaster recovery plan.
4. Compliance
Compliance IT infrastructure projects are focused on making sure that all technology systems adhere to government regulations, standards, and internal policies. These projects are an important component of preventing problems, maintaining regulatory compliance, avoiding legal fees and ensuring data security.
Decision makers in a business might consider a compliance infrastructure project to ensure data is secured, privacy is protected over wireless networks, access is managed and more. Compliance projects can relate to internal systems as well as making sure third-party vendors are compliant with all business elements and external laws.
Benefits of IT Infrastructure Projects
There are multiple key benefits of updating and modernizing all relevant IT systems, each of which is addressed via infrastructure projects. Some of the top benefits are:
- Maximizing ROI with more efficiency
- Mitigating potential risks or problems with better solutions
- Meeting business goals through efficiency and modern technology
- Ensuring long-term growth for your business
- Assuring quality for customers
- Maintaining your business edge by keeping up to date
Evaluating IT Infrastructure Projects
General advice says to take a close look at any network systems, hardware, software or other IT services every five to seven years. Still, every business is unique. It’s a good idea to work with consultants or other IT infrastructure experts to determine the what and when of your projects.
During an evaluation, make a detailed plan of any essential steps to meet your business goals surrounding IT. Topics within your plan should include budget for the project, any potential unforeseen costs, the expected ROI of executing your project, as well as what internal resources you’ll pull from to get it done.
Need Help With Your Next IT Infrastructure Project?
Information technology infrastructure is a complex and delicate topic that is best handled by an expert project manager. If your team needs resources to execute an improvement, replacement, strategic or compliance IT infrastructure project, reach out to Techmate to learn how we can help support you.
Frequently asked questions
What is an infrastructure IT project?
An IT infrastructure project is an upgrade or change to a core technology system within a business.
What are examples of IT infrastructure projects?
IT infrastructure projects can vary significantly, but a few examples would be changing an organization over to a different software, updating or changing the back-end of a business website, or upgrading servers in a data center.
Who is responsible for IT infrastructure projects?
Because potential risks involved in an IT infrastructure project can have a significant impact on a business, many organizations work with third-party consultants or project managers to execute the job.
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