IT procurement services are a key component of the business strategy for any company operating out of London.
IT procurement seeks to identify the needs of the business in terms of IT capability, select the right solutions, understand the market in terms of the potential vendors and their backgrounds, conduct analysis of the available options, and then make the purchase.
This would normally be followed up by further analysis, a review of the infrastructure or assets delivered, and ongoing monitoring and feedback.
Is it not easier to just go ahead and buy the thing—can businesses operating out of London afford to have no clear IT procurement strategy and simply make purchases when necessary?
Are IT procurement services important to businesses in London and are there any alternatives to the traditional model of purchasing infrastructure and equipment for your business?
Creating an IT Procurement Strategy
When setting out an IT procurement strategy, there are several things to consider. What type of technology will you invest in? How will you choose which provider you go with and what will be the process for doing so? Will the assets require maintenance or ongoing services that would need to be budgeted for?
These are all the sorts of questions that would need to be considered when setting out an effective IT procurement strategy.
What is the Process for IT Procurement?
Of course, each individual’s needs would be different, but the basic approach for IT procurement in business is as follows:
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Define the needs of the business
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Authorise the request for purchase
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Do your homework—research providers and weigh up the pros and cons
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Negotiate contracts
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Sign the deal
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Receive the goods
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Analyse the purchase
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Ongoing management
Why is IT Procurement Important in Business?
There are several key reasons why businesses should pay close attention to their IT procurement strategy.
These include:
- Cutting costs
- Finding the best suppliers
- Enhancing your brand image
- Reducing risk
- Helping to achiee the overall strategy of the organisation
IT procurement is more than just finding the cheapest supplier. For example, if you are looking to source high-quality products to reflect your image as an established and trusted brand, then your IT procurement strategy can help to achieve this.
In this way, your IT procurement process helps to align the business with your overall strategy or objectives.
IT Procurement Services London
At Lyon Tech, we consult with businesses in London on a range of IT-related topics.
We provide London businesses with IT procurement services that are second to none. This means getting the very best deal for any IT infrastructure purchases, carrying out in-depth research on any vendors or suppliers to ensure the standards of quality are met, and ensuring that the IT procurement process serves to enhance the brand and reputation of our clients, aligning with the goals of their business.
Along with procurement services, we offer businesses in London a range of professional services, including:
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IT governance
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24/7 help desk support
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Cybersecurity analysis and monitoring
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Disaster recovery
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Business continuity
Alternatives to IT Procurement—Infrastructure as a Service
Having an effective IT procurement service helps to reduce costs as one of the key benefits, but is there a way to make further cost reductions?
Many businesses in London have chosen to ditch the traditional IT infrastructure model for a method that is much more cost-effective and requires no expenditure on infrastructure or expensive equipment.
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) has a number of key benefits for businesses in London; it is cost-effective, scalable, flexible, and can streamline working processes, improving productivity.
With no expensive assets to purchase or maintain, it is clear why IaaS is commonly adopted in place of traditional asset purchasing by many businesses operating in London.
How Does Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) Work?
With the IaaS model, a solutions provider hosts all the necessary infrastructure—such as storage, computing power, graphics capabilities, networking resources, and servers—then delivers them through the cloud environment for businesses to utilise.
In contrast to traditional procurement of IT infrastructure, IaaS offers a much more flexible and dynamic approach that can easily be scaled up or down as needed.
For example, if a business in London needs to hire 20 additional temporary workers and set up all the necessary IT equipment for them, this would normally require purchasing the desktop PCs, servers, and networking equipment for each of those 20 team members.
Through the IaaS model, however, scaling up infrastructure requirements is as simple as selecting an option on a bespoke package of services.
Capacity can easily be scaled up or down upon request, without having to go through the outlay and procurement procedure.
Contact Lyon
At Lyon Tech, we provide businesses with the technology and solutions they need to become key players in their industry.
We provide IT governance covering all aspects of the business, including IT procurement services, infrastructure monitoring, and 24/7 support for any technical issues.
For those businesses looking to streamline their working processes and build an effective cloud-based environment for their daily operations, we provide a range of state-of-the-art solutions to facilitate this shift towards a more flexible and dynamic approach.
If you are looking to take your business to the next level, get in touch with our advisors today and we can discuss which options would suit your business model.
