The framework gives you a simple way to benchmark your company’s current level of digital and IT maturity, and agree a target maturity for the business. Many SMEs are at levels 1 or 2 in most areas, and in today’s increasingly digital world, they should be aiming for at least a level 3, and in most cases a level 4, in each of the eight competencies.

The target levels will depend on the business’s appetite for risk, growth plan, and drive to outpace competitors. By assessing your business against the IT Maturity Framework and setting your own targets, you’ll quickly get an understanding of your biggest gaps and have a sound basis for discussion about where to prioritise technology investments.

Tom Ainscough is the Ops and IT Director at ZyroFisher, a private equity-backed business and the leading distributor of parts, accessories and clothing to the UK and Irish cycling markets. Tom is a supply chain and operations specialist who took on the IT role as a layman. He engaged Fluid to deliver a 360 degree assessment of ZyroFisher’s IT provision and digital strategy, and to develop a digital and IT roadmap aligned to business outcomes, to support the business’s value creation plan.

In March 2020 ZyroFisher pivoted to remote-working. Over the next 12-months they innovated their way through the Covid-19 crisis, upgrading their Enterprise and Resource Planning (ERP) system,
improved security and expanded from two to ten B2C websites.