Simple IT Strategy Better Than No IT StrategySimple IT Strategy Better Than No IT Strategy

For many resource-strapped small and midsize companies, IT "strategy" means determining which technology fire to put out next. We all know that's not really good enough, and fortunately buidling a strategic IT plan doesn't have to be that difficult.A new research note from Info-Tech Research Group suggests that a simple, useful plan can be "implemented in days or even hours."

That's critical, because the problem of course, is that the more stressed your IT shop by daily demands, the more you need a plan -- and the less time you have to actually build one.

InfoTech says that all the strategy needs to do is outline the long-term objectives, and the short-term ways to achieve those goals, to begin behaving more deliberately and innovatively in support of the company's overall priorities.

For smaller companies, especially, keep things simple by keeping the planning horizons short. Small companies have to be agile anyway, and looking too far out would just be a waste of time.

The key though, is to do something. How many of you have some sort of IT strategy or strategic plan in place?