A Technology Check-Up for Small Businesses by Independent Experts

Tech Check is a business review of the use of ICT, leading to a brief written plan for optimising the strategic use of ICT to develop the business. The programme will be launched in June 2007 and is available to all businesses based in Dublin city employing less than 50 staff. The fee is €150.

Independent experts working with the individual owner managers will deliver this activity. The experts are expected to be drawn, to a large extent but not exclusively, from the pool of business mentors that currently work with the County and City Enterprise Boards. The focus is intended to be primarily on technology as a means of developing and growing the business rather than on the use of technology for its own sake. The output will be much more than a simple “spec” for the hardware/software required. The checks will be implemented using a standardised assessment and planning tool provided at national level. Training in the use of the system and on administrative and operational procedures will be provided to the pool of experts at a number of seminars at the beginning of the scheme. It is planned that the assessment tool will be put on-line in due course to facilitate data collection, monitoring and, eventually, fairly sophisticated benchmarking of businesses against each other. Each assignment will begin with an assessment of the client’s current business and technical capacity. Based on this assessment, the expert will identify the key strengths, weaknesses and, more importantly, the opportunities relating to the client’s use of technology. The process will then provide a strategy for dealing with these identified priorities, which will require the mentor’s input on the opportunities available to the business through better use of their existing technical resources or by acquiring and using new technologies. The output for the client will be a short focused report tailored to the particular needs and circumstances of the individual business. The report will provide the business owner with a clear, action orientated and realistic strategy aimed at developing and deploying appropriate ICT skills, systems, hardware and software within the business with the objective of delivering real and sustainable competitive advantage. The word “appropriate” is particularly important – it is critical that we avoid over-engineered or “over-spec'ed” solutions. There are more details on our website www.dceb.ie under Tech Check.

• Back to Index