If IT Isn’t at Your Strategy Table, You’re Already Behind

Technology used to sit in the back office. It kept the email running, fixed printers, and reset passwords.

That world is gone.

If you run a small or mid-sized business, or you are responsible for growth and brand as a marketing director, IT now touches everything you care about. Revenue. Customer experience. Employee productivity. Compliance. Reputation. The recent podcast conversation on how IT overlaps every pillar of business surfaced several hard truths that every SMB leader should internalize.

Below are the key lessons and what they mean for your organization.

1. AI Is Powerful, But It Is Not Magic

Artificial intelligence is dominating headlines. Large language models like ChatGPT are impressive, accessible, and heavily funded. But one important insight stood out: today’s AI models cannot truly predict the consequences of their actions. They generate based on patterns. They do not reason the way humans do.

For SMB owners and marketing directors, this means two things:

• Use AI as a tool, not a strategy.
  
  
• Do not build your brand or operations on hype alone.
  
  

AI can accelerate content production, customer insights, and automation. It can lower costs and improve responsiveness. But it still requires human oversight, business judgment, and guardrails. Smart leaders treat AI as leverage, not as a replacement for thinking.

2. Most New Tech Companies Do Not Survive

Here is a reality many business owners overlook: venture capital models expect most startups to fail. Investors are comfortable losing on the majority of their bets as long as a few succeed.

If you select a shiny new platform for your CRM, marketing automation, HR system, or AI workflow, and that company folds in two years, your team pays the price.

For marketing directors especially, this is critical. Your data, customer journeys, campaigns, and reporting often live inside third-party tools. Before committing:

• Evaluate the financial stability of the vendor.
  
  
• Ask about long-term roadmap and support.
  
  
• Consider what migration would look like if the company disappeared.
  
  

Choosing technology is not just about features. It is about durability.

3. Start With the Outcome, Not the Tool

One of the strongest themes from the discussion was simple: do not tell IT what to install. Tell them what you want to accomplish.

There is a major difference between saying:

• “We need a new CRM.”
  
  

And saying:

• “We need better visibility into pipeline, shorter sales cycles, and improved follow-up.”
  
  

When you start with outcomes, technology becomes a strategic enabler. When you start with a product, you risk solving the wrong problem.

For SMB owners, this prevents wasted investment.
For marketing directors, this ensures tools align with campaign goals, lead tracking, and ROI metrics.

Technology should serve the business strategy. Not the other way around.

4. Bringing IT in Late Costs More Than You Think

A powerful real-world example was shared: an HR department implemented a new platform without involving IT or security early. The result was costly rework, security complications, and lost integration opportunities.

This scenario plays out constantly.

When IT is invited after contracts are signed:

• Security gaps appear.
  
  
• Integrations break.
  
  
• User adoption suffers.
  
  
• Costs increase.
  
  

From a marketing perspective, this can be painful. Imagine launching a new marketing automation platform only to discover it does not properly sync with your CRM or finance systems. Now reporting is inconsistent, and leadership questions your data.

Involve IT early. Even if the tool “doesn’t have a power button,” technology likely sits behind it.

5. User Adoption Is Everything

You get one chance to make a first impression with new technology.

If a system launches slowly, glitches frequently, or confuses employees, adoption collapses. Once your team resists a platform, regaining trust is difficult.

For marketing leaders rolling out new analytics dashboards, content systems, or automation tools, this is critical. Training, performance, and usability matter as much as the tool itself.

A failed rollout is not just an IT issue. It is a productivity issue and sometimes a credibility issue.

6. IT Overlaps Every Department

There was a moment in the discussion that captured it well: try to find a modern business that does not depend on IT at its core.

Sales depends on CRMs.
Marketing depends on automation and analytics.
Finance depends on accounting platforms.
Operations depend on workflow systems.
HR depends on cloud payroll and onboarding.
Even farming operations now run data analytics in the cloud.

Technology is infrastructure. It is the nervous system of your organization.

If you are making strategic decisions about growth, brand expansion, new markets, or operational efficiency, IT must be at the table.

7. Security Is Not Optional, Even for Small Businesses

A common belief among SMBs is: “We are too small to be a target.”

That is incorrect.

Attackers cast wide nets. Automated tools scan for vulnerabilities. It does not take a nation-state to cause damage. Sometimes it takes a small amount of money and very little ethics.

For marketing directors handling customer data, email lists, and campaign analytics, a breach can destroy trust overnight. Reputation damage often costs more than the technical recovery.

Security is not just a technical issue. It is a brand issue.

8. IT Should Be a Partner, Not Just a Provider

The final takeaway was perhaps the most important.

Managed service providers should not operate as repair technicians who show up when something breaks. The strongest relationships happen when IT is part of strategic planning, budgeting, and goal setting.

For SMB owners, that means:

• Involving IT in annual planning.
  
  
• Aligning technology budgets with growth goals.
  
  
• Connecting IT metrics to business outcomes.
  
  

For marketing directors, that means:

• Collaborating on platform selection.
  
  
• Aligning security with data strategy.
  
  
• Ensuring reporting systems are architected correctly.
  
  

When IT becomes a strategic partner, growth becomes more predictable.

Final Thought: Technology Is a Business Decision

Technology is no longer a line item. It is a multiplier.

Handled well, it reduces friction, increases clarity, protects reputation, and accelerates growth. Handled poorly, it creates hidden costs, frustration, and risk.

If you are leading an SMB or running marketing inside one, the question is no longer whether IT matters.

The question is whether it has a seat at your strategy table.

When it does, your business moves forward with fewer surprises and more control.