Business Analysis: A Fresh Look at the Intersection of Business and Technology

Business Analysis is an opportunity to take a fresh look at the way a company does business and then align technology with it.

Business Analysis asks "What does the business do? What does the technology do? And what can the business and technology do together?"

There are two primary reasons a company undergoes business analysis in terms of technology:

• The company is adopting a new technology platform.
• The company needs a fresh look at how technology aligns with the way it does business.

Business Analysis, is the way to make sure a company continually gets the most out of its technology.

Every company performs a Business Analysis, formally or informally, before adopting technology. In varying degrees of detail, the company determines whether the technology meets its needs.

The second type, a refresher Business Analysis, is the way to make sure a company continually gets the most out of its technology after adoption. Refresher Business Analysis with a technology provider should be considered in the course of creating a strategic technology plan and preparing for the upcoming year.

It may be a year or more since the company adopted its software platform. In that time, the business improves by adding or modifying activities and processes, and the technology improves through new releases.

For example, a company that started using the Essent Business Management System just 2 years ago now has access to dozens of new features released since then. That company likely will have grown and evolved in that time as well.

With improved technology and an improved company, it now makes sense to take a fresh look at how the company and technology can work together in improved ways. The more time that passes, the more likely it is that refresher Business Analysis can improve the intersection of business and technology.

Any company that adopted its technology platform two or more years ago should strongly consider budgeting for regular, periodic Business Analysis sessions from its technology provider. The longer it has been since adoption, the more there is to gain.

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