Smart Tech Bets: 4 Areas Startups Shouldn't Overlook

As startups scale and operations become more complex, the technology required to support that growth must evolve as well. This can become a major expense for any company, especially those still finding their footing.

Startups often face pressure to move fast but neglecting IT best practices early on can lead to long-term issues. Misconfigured devices, such as improper setups for Apple Business Manager, can result in time-consuming fixes like re-enrolling devices later.

Similarly, haphazardly managed licensing can lead to overlapping or underutilized software purchases. These mistakes may be trivial for a large enterprise, but for startups, every cent and minute counts.

Startups often have tight financial constraints, making it difficult to invest in cutting-edge tools, infrastructure or skilled IT professionals.

Balancing cost-effectiveness with the need for reliable and scalable technology is a constant challenge, but focusing on the essentials can help enable rapid growth and eliminate technical hurdles further down the road.

By focusing on core needs and prioritizing technology investments that directly impact the product or customer experience, startups can help ensure they are getting the most bang for their buck, especially if they outsource technical work to an expert IT partner.

Here are four areas of technology that CDW believes every startup should prioritize:

1. Infrastructure
   Navigating infrastructure requirements and implementation can be a headache for any organization, even those that have been around for decades. Evaluating workloads, wrangling an ever-increasing amount of data, and constantly maintaining a cloud environment for optimal performance are just some of the tasks associated with infrastructure. Many early-stage startups implement temporary solutions that don’t scale, which causes issues as the company grows and needs more bandwidth.
   
   In addition, startup development teams often experience higher turnover rates than more established organizations, which can make it even more difficult for a startup to effectively manage its infrastructure. Outsourcing infrastructure setup and management to a cloud specialist can help ensure cloud cost optimization, scalability, improved speed and productivity, increased automation and more.
   
   
2. Device Lifecycle Management (DLM)
   Managing and deploying devices is a time-consuming task that many startups can find unnecessary when compared to other priorities. However, inadequate structure around managing devices and a lack of processes can lead to unused and poorly maintained devices, unnecessary purchases, security issues, lapses in warranty coverage and other costly mistakes.
   
   From procurement to a device’s disposal, there are many stages in lifecycle management, and many opportunities for waste to occur. Working with a partner that excels in lifecycle management can help startups save money on tech purchases and ensure devices are configured and deployed seamlessly so that every employee has the tools they need to hit the ground running.
   
   Proper DLM can also result in optimized IT costs by maximizing the value of IT investments and extending the life of assets, improved efficiency by streamlining IT processes and reducing downtime, and enhanced security and compliance by eliminating outdated or unsupported technology.
   
   
3. Network Deployment
   Keeping users, systems, and devices connected at all times is essential for maintaining productivity and avoiding performance bottlenecks for a growing startup. Keeping track of all the components of a network and ensuring the architecture is adequate for a startup is a lot to juggle, especially when their long-term requirements are unpredictable. In addition, security threats are constantly evolving, so simply implementing strong cybersecurity measures once is not enough – firewalls and protective measures should be evaluated often.
   
   Investing in high-quality network infrastructure, hardware, and software can help avoid expensive lessons later when a startup experiences a surge in traffic, increased system integrations and security threats.
   
   
4. Cybersecurity
   When a startup grows fast, cutting corners on security to get a product to market can be tempting — and happens. However, underestimating threats or not fully understanding the risks can result in startups finding themselves at the mercy of attackers who purposely target startups that may be easier to breach vs. larger, more secure enterprises. In addition, many cannot afford a chief information security officer (CISO) let alone in-house cybersecurity experts.
   
   Working with a security services provider can help ensure a startup has scalable security measures that can adapt as the company grows and help prevent data breaches, financial losses, compliance issues, unprotected endpoints and more.  

When it comes to technology, startups should focus on flexible, scalable solutions that can grow with the business while avoiding short-term fixes that can lead to technical debt. However, it is not always easy to identify what a “short-term fix” is until it happens. In hindsight, it can be easy to see what a better solution would have been, but trying to predict the future of a startup’s tech needs is much more difficult.

Working with a trusted third-party advisor such as CDW can help make that future clearer and more predictable. Our experts who specialize in supporting startups can share best practices, identify potential roadblocks and find the tools you need to achieve long-term success.