IT's All About Timing

You know when the best time to buy something is? 

You may not have guessed but it is when you are not trying to buy something.

Think of George walking into a car dealership telling them his car just died, it’s like taking candy from a baby.  George may not buy the car from that dealership, but they sure know he is buying a car and they position the sale how they want to.  He will not buy a car on his terms, but theirs, and he may get stuck with too much or not enough.  George may not have had time to think about what he really needs for him and his family, compare differences in cars or dealerships and certainly will find it hard to walk away.  George is buying a car from someone.

As a CFO tasked with maintaining the financial health of the organization, and being a part of where we spend our IT dollars, I try to do just the opposite from George.  Does it always work, certainly not, but being able to sit back, perform a needs assessment, select the process and vendors we choose and roll out new equipment or software on our time table, allows for a much smoother transition than driving out of the dealership with someone else’s car.

Do you think executives at Equifax are kicking themselves now?  It was reported that hackers had access to information for up to three months between May and July 29 until Equifax realized the hack.  I can’t imagine how many meetings management must have had where penetration testing, IT health, compliance, Cyber Insurance and preventing data loss were discussed.  I get the feeling management at Equifax feels a lot like George at this point.

As a CFO, or even a CIO, when it comes to your network, your applications and your DR/BCP, don’t wait until it’s too late and your company is producing the wrong kind of headlines on the front page of the Wall Street Journal.

Our main role at Focus Technology Solutions is to be your eyes and ears.  You don’t have to know all the technology out there, that’s what we do as a leading technology agnostic partner.  Let’s talk needs, current equipment & applications and your uses of these.  It may be that you have the right network and set-up or maybe you need to change your philosophy all together to meet your needs.  Not when the wave is crashing down, but now, when you are in the calm and not the storm.  Don’t react on their terms, be proactive on yours, with Focus.