Challenges
Giving the board a technology plan
Leadership wants to know what your technology needs, in what order, what it costs and why. A whole-estate review ranked by risk, explained in person, turned into a plan the board can budget against.
The challenge
The business has grown to a few hundred people and the board now asks about technology at every meeting. What reaches them is a list of tickets and one-off requests for spending. They want to know where the real risks are, what to fix first and what is coming, so they can plan for it rather than react to it.
If it is left
Spending stays reactive: the server is replaced when it fails, the firewall when the insurer asks, the laptops when Windows 10 stopped being supported and the staff complained. Each request arrives as an emergency, so each one is approved without comparison, and the board's view of IT is of a cost centre that surprises them. Meanwhile the risks nobody has listed, the untested backup and the out-of-support mail server, wait for their turn to become the next emergency.
What good looks like
A written plan the board can read: the estate as it is, the risks ranked and explained, what to fix first and why, what is reaching end of life over the next two years and when it should be budgeted, and the larger pieces of work, a network redesign or a move to Azure, scoped with a cost. Reviewed with the board in person, then updated each year from the monthly reports rather than rebuilt from scratch.
What to do first
Before you call anyone
Collect what the board has already been asked for
The last two years of IT spending requests and the tickets that caused them. Grouped, they show the pattern the board has been feeling: the same failures, the same suppliers, the same age of kit.
Ask three questions of every system
What happens if it fails for a day, when does its support end, and who knows how it works. The answers rank the estate before anyone technical is involved.
Separate running costs from investment
Boards budget well when they can see what it costs to keep the lights on and, separately, what each improvement buys. A list that mixes the two gets deferred.
Write down what the business is trying to do
A new site, an acquisition, a move to hybrid working, a tender that needs Cyber Essentials. The technology plan should serve those, and the review should know them before it starts.
What we would do first
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Review the whole estate
An IT wellness assessment of hardware, software, networks and applications, security risks, resource use, and disaster recovery and backup readiness.
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Rank what matters most
A written report in plain language, with recommendations ranked by risk against your goals.
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Walk through the results in person
The findings explained to you in person: the risks we found and the plan for what to do first.
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Design the larger pieces of work
Where the plan calls for it, a network architecture designed for your sites and growth, or a roadmap for adopting Azure that fits your goals.
How we approach it
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Agree the goals and the audience
What the business is trying to do over the next year or two, what the board wants to decide, and who will be in the room when the plan is presented.
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Review the whole estate
Hardware, software, networks and applications, Microsoft 365, security, backup readiness and how servers, storage, bandwidth and licences are used, on site and remotely, with end-of-life dates for everything.
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Rank and cost
Findings grouped and ranked by risk, cost and effort against the goals, running costs separated from investment, and the replacements spread across budget periods so the plan is fundable rather than a wish list.
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Present to the board
The plan walked through in person with the reasoning and the trade-offs, in the board's language rather than the service desk's.
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Scope the larger pieces and keep the plan alive
Where the plan calls for it, a network architecture for your sites or a roadmap for Azure, each priced as a project; and for clients on a retainer, the monthly report of where the hours went and what drives the demand, which is what next year's plan is updated from.
The services that apply
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IT health check
The whole-estate review, the ranked plan and the walk-through in person are this service, and the plan is yours whether or not we deliver any of it.
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Microsoft Azure consultancy
Where the plan says the servers should leave the building, the Azure roadmap and cost estimate is the piece the board can budget against.
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Network infrastructure design
Where the plan says the network has grown piecemeal or a new site is coming, the documented architecture and equipment list is the next piece of work.
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Complete Managed IT
The monthly report under a retainer is what keeps the plan alive: where the hours went, what drives the demand, and what to fix or replace next.
How you would buy it
Every hour we work falls under one of four engagement models. These are the ones that fit this situation; How we work compares all four.
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Fixed price
A defined piece of work or project
The review and the plan are a fixed fee set by the size of the estate, agreed before we start, so the review has no incentive to find work; each larger piece the plan identifies is priced as its own fixed sum.
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03
Retainer
The way most of our clients work with us
Clients on a retainer repeat the review annually from their hours and update the plan from the monthly reports, so it becomes the yearly budget conversation rather than a one-off.
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04
Fractional
Scheduled on-site days, added to a retainer
A fractional IT director: agreed days each month at a day rate, added to a retainer, for a business that wants someone to own the plan, attend the board and manage the suppliers without hiring a full-time IT director.
Who you would work with
A tech consultant
Runs the review, writes the plan and presents it to the board with the reasoning and the trade-offs.
A fractional IT director, if you want one
Owns the plan between reviews, attends the board on agreed days and manages the suppliers, at a day rate added to a retainer.
A director
Available for the board presentation and the questions a board asks a supplier directly, including about us.
An account manager
Owns the plan afterwards: the annual update, the budget conversation and the monthly report.
Further reading
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Guide
Understanding EOL IT services: a guide
End of life: when a manufacturer stops supporting hardware or software. What it means for your firewalls and servers.
Read the guide →
Questions people ask
What do we get at the end?
A written report in plain language with the estate as it is, the risks ranked by what matters most, the end-of-life dates and the replacements spread across budget periods, explained to you and your board in person. The plan is yours to keep.
Do we have to use Odyssey to act on the plan?
No. The plan is yours to act on however you choose, with us, with your own team or with another supplier, and the fee is fixed before we start so the review has no reason to find work.
What does the review cover?
Hardware, software, networks and applications, Microsoft 365, security risks, how well servers, storage, bandwidth and licences are used, and disaster recovery and backup readiness, with support status and end-of-life dates for everything.
Will you present it to the board?
Yes. The plan is walked through in person with the people who will decide on it, in the board's language, with the trade-offs explained and a director available for the questions a board asks a supplier.
Will the plan help us budget for replacements?
Yes. Knowing which hardware and software is reaching end of life lets you forecast replacements and spread them across budget periods, rather than paying for emergency replacements after a failure, and running costs are shown separately from investment.
Can you help with the larger projects the plan identifies?
Yes. Where the plan calls for it, we design a network architecture for your sites and growth or a roadmap for adopting Azure that fits your goals, each priced as its own project.
How often should the plan be updated?
Once a year, in time for the budget. Clients on a retainer update it from the monthly reports rather than rebuilding it, so the review gets shorter each year and the board sees a trend rather than a snapshot.
Talk to a human about a technology plan for your board
Call and we answer within three rings. Or tell us what you need and we will call you back at any time.