sample business plan for ict company

IT Services Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

information technology business plan

IT Services Business Plan

Over the past 20+ years, we have helped over 500 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans to start and grow their IT companies.

If you’re unfamiliar with creating an IT business plan, you may think creating one will be a time-consuming and frustrating process. For most entrepreneurs it is, but for you, it won’t be since we’re here to help. We have the experience, resources, and knowledge to help you create a great business plan.

In this article, you will learn some background information on why business planning is important. Then, you will learn how to write a IT business plan step-by-step so you can create your plan today.

Download our Ultimate Business Plan Template here >

What Is a Business Plan?

A business plan provides a snapshot of your IT business as it stands today, and lays out your growth plan for the next five years. It explains your business goals and your strategies for reaching them. It also includes market research to support your plans.

Why You Need a Business Plan

If you’re looking to start an IT business or grow your existing IT company, you need a business plan. A business plan will help you raise funding, if needed, and plan out the growth of your IT business to improve your chances of success. Your IT business plan is a living document that should be updated annually as your company grows and changes.

Sources of Funding for IT Businesses

With regards to funding, the main sources of funding for an IT business are personal savings, credit cards, bank loans, and angel investors. When it comes to bank loans, banks will want to review your business plan and gain confidence that you will be able to repay your loan and interest. To acquire this confidence, the loan officer will not only want to ensure that your financials are reasonable, but they will also want to see a professional plan. Such a plan will give them the confidence that you can successfully and professionally operate a business. Personal savings and bank loans are the most common funding paths for IT companies.

How to Write a Business Plan for a IT Services Business

If you want to start an IT business or expand your current one, you need a business plan. The guide below details the necessary information for how to write each essential component of your IT business plan.

Executive Summary

Your executive summary provides an introduction to your business plan, but it is normally the last section you write because it provides a summary of each key section of your plan.

The goal of your executive summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the kind of IT business you are running and the status. For example, are you a startup, do you have an IT business that you would like to grow, or are you operating a chain of IT businesses?

Next, provide an overview of each of the subsequent sections of your plan.

Company Overview

In your company overview, you will detail the type of IT business you are operating.

For example, you might specialize in one of the following types of IT businesses:

In addition to explaining the type of IT business you will operate, the company overview needs to provide background on the business.

Include answers to questions such as:

Industry Analysis

In your industry or market analysis, you need to provide an overview of the IT industry.

While this may seem unnecessary, it serves multiple purposes.

First, researching the IT industry educates you. It helps you understand the market in which you are operating.

Secondly, market research can improve your marketing strategy, particularly if your analysis identifies market trends.

The third reason is to prove to readers that you are an expert in your industry. By conducting the research and presenting it in your plan, you achieve just that.

The following questions should be answered in the industry analysis section of your IT business plan:

Customer Analysis

The customer analysis section of your IT business plan must detail the customers you serve and/or expect to serve.

The following are examples of customer segments: individuals, schools, families, and corporations.

As you can imagine, the customer segment(s) you choose will have a great impact on the type of IT business you operate. Clearly, individuals would respond to different marketing promotions than corporations, for example.

Try to break out your target customers in terms of their demographic and psychographic profiles. With regards to demographics, including a discussion of the ages, genders, locations, and income levels of the potential customers you seek to serve.

Psychographic profiles explain the wants and needs of your target customers. The more you can recognize and define these needs, the better you will do in attracting and retaining your customers.

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Competitive Analysis

Your competitive analysis should identify the indirect and direct competitors your business faces and then focus on the latter.

Direct competitors are other IT businesses.

Indirect competitors are other options that customers have to purchase from that aren’t directly competing with your product or service. This includes other types of IT consultants, in-house IT support, or do-it-yourself IT tutorials. You need to mention such competition as well.

For each such competitor, provide an overview of their business and document their strengths and weaknesses. Unless you once worked at your competitors’ businesses, it will be impossible to know everything about them. But you should be able to find out key things about them such as

With regards to the last two questions, think about your answers from the customers’ perspective. And don’t be afraid to ask your competitors’ customers what they like most and least about them.

The final part of your competitive analysis section is to document your areas of competitive advantage. For example:

Think about ways you will outperform your competition and document them in this section of your plan.

Marketing Plan

Traditionally, a marketing plan includes the four P’s: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. For a IT business plan, your marketing strategy should include the following:

Product : In the product section, you should reiterate the type of IT company that you documented in your company overview. Then, detail the specific products or services you will be offering. For example, will you provide cloud computing, data center management, or network setup services?

Price : Document the prices you will offer and how they compare to your competitors. Essentially in the product and price sub-sections of your plan, you are presenting the products and/or services you offer and their prices.

Place : Place refers to the site of your IT company. Document where your company is situated and mention how the site will impact your success. For example, is your IT business located in a busy retail district, a business district, a standalone office, or purely online? Discuss how your site might be the ideal location for your customers.

Promotions : The final part of your IT marketing plan is where you will document how you will drive potential customers to your location(s). The following are some promotional methods you might consider:

Operations Plan

While the earlier sections of your business plan explained your goals, your operations plan describes how you will meet them. Your operations plan should have two distinct sections as follows.

Everyday short-term processes include all of the tasks involved in running your IT business, including answering calls, meeting with new clients, billing and collecting payments from clients, etc.

Long-term goals are the milestones you hope to achieve. These could include the dates when you expect to acquire your Xth client, or when you hope to reach $X in revenue. It could also be when you expect to expand your IT business to a new city.

Management Team

To demonstrate your IT business’ potential to succeed, a strong management team is essential. Highlight your key players’ backgrounds, emphasizing those skills and experiences that prove their ability to grow a company.

Ideally, you and/or your team members have direct experience in managing IT businesses. If so, highlight this experience and expertise. But also highlight any experience that you think will help your business succeed.

If your team is lacking, consider assembling an advisory board. An advisory board would include 2 to 8 individuals who would act as mentors to your business. They would help answer questions and provide strategic guidance. If needed, look for advisory board members with experience in managing an IT business or successfully running a small IT consulting service.

Financial Plan

Your financial plan should include your 5-year financial statement broken out both monthly or quarterly for the first year and then annually. Your financial statements include your income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statements.

Income Statement

An income statement is more commonly called a Profit and Loss statement or P&L. It shows your revenue and then subtracts your costs to show whether you turned a profit or not.

In developing your income statement, you need to devise assumptions. For example, will you charge your clients an hourly rate of $250 per hour, and will you work 5 hours per day? And will sales grow by 2% or 10% per year? As you can imagine, your choice of assumptions will greatly impact the financial forecasts for your business. As much as possible, conduct research to try to root your assumptions in reality.

Balance Sheets

Balance sheets show your assets and liabilities. While balance sheets can include much information, try to simplify them to the key items you need to know about. For instance, if you spend $50,000 on building out your IT business, this will not give you immediate profits. Rather it is an asset that will hopefully help you generate profits for years to come. Likewise, if a lender writes you a check for $50,000, you don’t need to pay it back immediately. Rather, that is a liability you will pay back over time.

Cash Flow Statement

Your cash flow statement will help determine how much money you need to start or grow your business, and ensure you never run out of money. What most entrepreneurs and business owners don’t realize is that you can turn a profit but run out of money and go bankrupt.

When creating your Income Statement and Balance Sheets be sure to include several of the key costs needed in starting or growing a IT business:

Attach your full financial projections in the appendix of your plan along with any supporting documents that make your plan more compelling. For example, you might include your office location lease or a list of your IT credentials.

Writing a business plan for your IT business is a worthwhile endeavor. If you follow the template above, by the time you are done, you will truly be an expert. You will understand the IT industry, your competition, and your customers. You will develop a marketing strategy and will understand what it takes to launch and grow a successful IT business.

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How to Write an IT Tech Startup Business Plan [Sample Template]

A sample it tech startup business plan template, 1. industry overview, 2. executive summary, 3. our products and services, 4. our mission and vision statement, 5. job roles and responsibilities, 6. swot analysis, 7. market analysis, 8. our target market, 9. sales and marketing strategy.

Sources of Income

10. Sales Forecast

11. publicity and advertising strategy, 12. our pricing strategy, 13. startup expenditure (budget).

Generating Funds/Startup Capital for Joel Rogers® Technologies, Inc.

Joel Rogers® Technologies, Inc. is owned and managed by Joel Rogers. He may likely welcome partners later which is why he has decided to restrict the sourcing of the startup capital for the business to just three major sources.

14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy

As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made available to all our management staff and it will be based on their performance for a period of three years or more as determined by the board of the organization. We know that if that is put in place, we will be able to successfully hire and retain the best hands we can get in the industry; they will be more committed to help us build the business of our dreams.

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Information Technology Business Plan

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Information Management Hawaii

Executive summary executive summary is a brief introduction to your business plan. it describes your business, the problem that it solves, your target market, and financial highlights.">.

By focusing on its strengths, its key customers, and the underlying values they need, Information Management Hawai’i, Inc. (IMH) will increase sales steadily in its first three years, while also maintaining the gross margin on sales, with a focus on cash management and working capital.

This business plan leads the way. It renews our vision and strategic focus: adding value to our target market segments, and reinforcing our ties with businesses in our local markets. It also provides the step-by-step plan for improving our sales, gross margin, and profitability.

This plan includes this summary, chapters on the company, products and services, market focus, action plans and forecasts, management team, and the financial plan.

Information technology business plan, executive summary chart image

1.1 Objectives

1. Achieve healthy earnings (EBIT) in the first year of operation.

2. Maintain a midrange gross margin throughout the entire operation.

3. Maintain just-in-time (JIT) inventory levels, or 11 turns per year.

4. Increase sales modestly but steadily in the second and third years.

1.2 Mission

To provide the Hawai’i business community with quality brand-name Information Technology business information solutions, reliable and professional Technical Support, and unparalleled Customer Service through the application of the principles of Kina`ole and heartfelt aloha, and to earn a fair profit for our employee-owners and stakeholders by embracing sound, ethical business practices.

1.3 Keys to Success

The keys to our success are:

Customer Satisfaction Goals vs. Results

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sample business plan for ict company

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Well-Developed IT Strategic Plan Example

In years past, many companies viewed the IT organization as a reactionary cost centre. If someone in the company needed a computer, server, piece of software, or anything in between, the IT department went out and bought it, and that was that. Over time, the IT landscape became a patchworked hodgepodge that was difficult to manage, maintain, support, and keep secure.

Under these circumstances, the IT department is part of the problem, not part of the solution, because what it was missing was an IT strategy plan . Software that doesn’t meet business requirements, obsolete hardware, and isolated systems become the glaring evidence of money wasted and an IT structure that is disconnected from the company’s mission and goals.

Let’s look at an IT strategy plan example and its essential components. .

What Is an IT Business Strategy Plan?

An IT strategy plan is a guiding document for a company’s IT organization. It defines the overall goals, the strategies that support those goals, and the tactics that are needed to execute those strategies.

Each section of the IT strategy plan focuses on one strategy and describes specific activities needed to implement that strategy. Think of it as a high-level project plan for realizing a strategy.

IT Strategy Plan vs an actual IT Strategy: The plan is like a large schedule to address all gaps between the current state of IT and meeting best practices. It will address all initiatives that lead to business outcomes and goals. Initiatives that require time and resources from IT department to be able to execute such as:

Example of an IT Strategy Plan chart

The scope and format of an IT strategy plan varies from company to company, but one thing remains constant: The IT strategy plan must be aligned with, and support, the company’s overall business vision. IT cannot work in a vacuum; every initiative pursued, and every dollar spent must support the goals and mission of the company.

With a solid strategy plan, IT becomes a partner in the business: a part of the solution.

Components of an IT Strategy Plan Template

So what does an IT strategy example look like? Let’s start with some of the core components. This IT strategy document example can be modified to meet the specific needs of a given business.

Alignment with business strategy and objectives: The IT strategy plan should demonstrate an understanding of alignment with the business strategy, so that the IT strategies support the business strategies. Business strategies that require large investments in IT infrastructure or software solutions should be specifically called out. It’s easy to misinterpret or misunderstand company goals if you’re getting them through the grapevine; this is why it’s essential for IT leadership to have a seat at the table for every business strategic planning meeting.

Long-term initiatives: Closely related to the previous point, any good IT strategy map example should include long-term initiatives (defined as those that will take three to five years to implement). For example, if one of the business strategies is to have a better customer digital experience , you may want to develop a suite of mobile apps over the next few years. If the company has no in-house development resources, the related IT initiative might be to build a mobile app development team and outfit it with the proper tools, processes, and training. Or partner with an IT service provider with the necessary skills to see your project through to completion. Again, it’s essential to keep these initiatives aligned with company goals and desired outcomes.

Technology roadmap: Technology naturally evolves over time, constantly providing opportunities to provide better, faster, cheaper service. When reviewing IT strategy examples, technology should take centre stage considering its role in IT.

Image source: https://www.itonics-innovation.com/blog/all-you-need-to-know-about-roadmapping-innovation/

For example, many companies are seeing the advantages of moving their on-premise data centres to cloud service providers such as Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS). The IT strategy roadmap example section should describe the technology directions that will best support the business and a high-level plan for getting there from the current state. Because it can be difficult to foresee what new technology developments would benefit a given business, it’s sometimes easy to go in a direction that ends up being wrong. Therefore, an IT strategy often covers a set of principles to govern the appropriate level of diligence or risk taking on new technology trends for different business goals.

Best practices: A key component in the IT organization’s ability to support the business is its adherence to best practices, such as the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL). This section should identify the gaps in the organization’s adherence to best practices and how those gaps will be filled. Getting this right requires expertise in IT best practices. No IT organization adopts these best practices overnight; it’s a journey that often takes many years. But the best IT business strategy examples take heed of best practices.

IT governance: Related to IT best practices is IT governance , the policies and procedures that define how the IT organization accepts, evaluates, launches, and controls new initiatives, quality and budget. Like best practices, these IT strategy example documents in many organizations have room for improvement. This section discusses identifies the IT governance gaps and plans for improvement.

IT service catalog: Supporting the business means implementing a standard catalog of IT services that is aligned with the needs of the business. This section should describe any gaps in the current IT service catalog and the plan for filling those gaps. However, some gaps are harder (or more expensive) to fill than others, and it’s easy to be too ambitious here.

Communication plan: One key to success in any organization is transparency: Clear communication on the current state, upcoming changes, the reasons for those changes, and the status of in-flight initiatives. If the IT organization does not have a working communications apparatus to keep its customers informed, this section outlines how it intends to get there. IT organizations need to be careful not to over-message, however, because too much just becomes so much ignored spam.

IT principles, metrics, and financials: This section answers questions such as: What is IT’s guiding principles? How does the IT organization measure its success? What key performance indicators will guide the organization to continuously improve? What is the budgetary model for capital investments, operational expenses, and chargebacks? These IT strategy statement examples need to be carefully aligned with the rest of the business and work with the company’s overall financial model.

Holistic design: This section describes the design principles to be adopted or refined for use in every IT solution, and should include the IT test strategy. For example , a holistic design approach to IT strategic planning considers people, processes, and technology. The tricky part is sticking with the chosen principles and not backsliding into suboptimal but familiar ways of operating.

Developing an IT Strategy Plan

Developing a solid, comprehensive IT strategy plan can be hard work, because the team’s ambitions have to be balanced against the resources available to bring them to life. There will be several cycles of draft and review with business leadership to settle on a strategy plan that works for both IT and the rest of the business.

Click Here to see a breakdown of the planning process for an IT strategy.

Many organizations find the task too daunting, and too easy to get wrong, to build an IT strategy plan on their own. It’s too important, however, to ignore it or give it short shrift. If needed, engage with outside expert resources to help. It’s the one thing that will transform IT from a reputation as a necessary evil to an essential part of the business.

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sample business plan for ict company

IT Business Plan

2.0 Company Description

3.0 products, 4.0 market analysis, 5.0 marketing strategy and implementation, 6.0 organization and management, 7.0 financial plan, 1.0 executive summary.

Prime contractors who receive job orders from the federal government often hire other companies to help ensure the fulfillment of the contract. If the government contract is greater than $650,000, the federal government mandates the prime contractor to provide a plan for subcontracting a portion of the work to small businesses. Information Technology Solutions (‘ITS’), is an information technology subcontractor that specializes in database management and application development support. ITS strives to provide the high quality technological business solutions with a concentrated focus on the energy and defense sector. ITS, established in 2010, is located in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company currently has five full–time staff members with expansion plans to add five more within the next three years.

ITS was formed in 2010 by Sara Jayne when she was downsized from Cap Gemini. Ms. Jayne has grown the company five-fold with the addition of five new employees and anticipates need for five more within the next three years. With over 20 years experience Ms. Jayne has successfully subcontracted with 20+ local contracts and has a pipeline of 10 more.

ITS focuses its efforts in two service areas: database and application development and support. ITS strives to foster and maintain solid relationships with its clients, fine tune its services, and continue to develop innovative business solutions that will improve the way their clients do business. Due to its small size, ITS has the unique ability to act quickly and easily meets or beats its deadlines. Its main limitation is its limited staff resources. ITS plans to expand personnel over the next three years to meet achieve a balance of supply and demand.

The purpose of this plan is to create a strategy for ITS that will increase its revenues annually by 20%, and simultaneously grow assets 25%. Overall, this business plan will provide an in–depth understanding of the company, along with a plan for growth in the future.

1.1 Business Objectives

The primary objectives of ITS are:

1.2 Mission Statement

It is ITS mission to empower prime government contractors to meet their objectives. ITS strives to foster and maintain positive relationships with each and every client (both internal and external), by providing cutting edge technology services at reasonable and competitive prices.

1.3 Guiding Principles

Be Dedicated. Every day, consistency is key. ITS is dedicated to each and every job – down to the very last detail. It is this tenacity, attention and focus to detail on each and every project that defines the success of this organization.

Be Dependable. ITS believes that a commitment to meet all its obligations punctually, honestly and honorably. ITS believes that if you are the “go to” business, you’ll never have to worry about having to generate extra leads or word-of-mouth referrals.

Give and You Shall Receive. Give the thing you want most and you’ll be amazed at what you get in return. ITS firmly believes in this philosophy and that its efforts can be multiplied for the greater good of the company, its customers and the community.

1.4 Keys to Success

ITS considers the following factors to be the primary contributors of business success:

ITS strives to foster and grow empowered relationships with prime government contractors. While small in size, the ITS team of experts has collectively has over 60 years experience in computer problem solving and solutions. With its corporate office located at 1327 S Mint Street in, Charlotte, North Carolina, ITS easily targets local prime government contractors. ITS is established as a WOSB, that is a Woman Owned Small Business as classified by the Small Business Administration.

ITS seeks long term contracts with a focus on database management and application and development. Rather than casting a broad net, ITS targets two distinct government sectors: energy and healthcare. By specifically targeting these areas of interest, ITS is the industry expert and can truly not only understand its customers’ needs but can identify solutions that are just as dynamic as the technologies and industries themselves. In turn, it is ITS belief that its customers will return time and time again for additional projects and long term contracts. ITS has future plans for some diversification and in the next ten year horizon plans to diversify its markets by incorporating the defense industry as well. In addition, the company plans to ultimately become a prime government contractor and at that time will also hire a full-time RFP (Request for Proposal) writer to win the contracts.

ITS believes that because it is already established as a WOSB, this further enhances its position in the government contract market. The federal government has both prime contracting and subcontracting goals for small businesses. More specifically, 23% of federal prime contract dollars are currently awarded to small businesses, with individual prime and subcontracting goals for certain identified small business groups. Further, the federal government must award 5% of its prime and subcontract dollars to WOSBs.

2.1 Ownership

Originally formed as a sole proprietorship, ITS recently changed its status to a Chapter S Corporation. ITS is wholly owned by Sara Jayne. Sara Jayne is the President, CEO and CFO. Ms. Jayne graduated from Duke University with a degree in Sales. She is also the Project Manager for all government subcontracts. It is her proven extreme attention to detail and commitment to these contracts that gets the awards time and time again. She has ten years of experience in the technology consulting industry as a Network Engineer and ten years of experience as a Database Administrator with Cap Gemini. Ms. Jayne is a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer. She is also 6 Sigma certified, meaning she has received extensive training in business process improvement.

2.2 Legal Form

ITS is a Chapter S Corporation formed in 2010 doing business in the State of North Carolina.

2.3 Start-Up Summary

N/A – ITS has been operational for two years.

2.4 Location and Facilities

The corporate office of ITS is located in the heart of downtown Charlotte at 1327 S Mint Street, Charlotte, North Carolina. The city has a population of over 11,555 according to the 2010 U.S. Census Report. The residential population in the immediate area is comprised of a mixture of single family and multi-family housing. The median household income is $38,895. Major employers include Bank of America, Wells Fargo, U.S. Airways, Carolinas Healthcare System, and Duke Energy.

Charlotte has a strong technology base and unlike it peers in other technology hubs, the lower cost of living and warmer climate make Charlotte the ideal location to find (and employ) talent.

The company leases 1,200 square feet on the third floor of a 34,000 square foot high rise office building. According to Charlotte’s Chamber of commerce, the area comprising of zip code of 28202 employs some of the largest employee concentrations in the greater Charlotte MSA and is comprised of 2,388 establishments and employs a total of 51,825. Of these employees, the majority or 18,688 work in the service industry while 12,717 work in Finance/Insurance/ Real estate field. 4,560 are retail employees and 3,164 are employed in manufacturing. With easy access to Interstate 77 and U S Highway 74, the location provides easy access in the greater Mecklenburg County.

3.1 Products/Services Descriptions

ITS partners with its prime contractors and assures the production of quality deliverables from each subcontract assigned, assuring the development of long term business relationships. ITS provides the following services:

Analysis of the current technical environment, Analysis of business requirements relevant to the application architecture, Architecture definition, Application software requirements analysis, Application software testing, System level integration and testing

3.2 Competitive Comparison

The zip code 28202 is home to 15 information technology companies in addition to ITS. Because ITS is not limited to its physical location and focuses its source of business on servicing government contracts, the majority of these local companies do not compete directly with ITS.

However, due to their proximity to ITS and their similar background they are mentioned here:

Vialogix Communications Inc 501 N College St Established in 1996, and operated by Robert Norris. The company has 20 employees and annual revenues of $3.9 million. With a primarily focus in building websites. Vialogix does not directly compete with ITS. Vialogix primarily builds web sites, intranets, extranets, web-enabled applications, wireless applications and databases.

Data Recovery Charlotte 401 S Tryon St # 10 With 7 offices in the Charlotte region, 18 employees and annual revenues of $3.5 million, Data Recovery competes indirectly with ITS. They are primarily computer forensic analysis and recover data that has been corrupted or intentionally deleted. They can identify how a ‘hacker’ got past the security checks and if fortunate enough, identify the individual who caused the damages.

William Ives Consulting 320 S Tryon St Ste 213 The company has 18 employees and annual revenue of $2.7 million. The company has a primary focus on legal industry; however, they also provide automation with the way the clients chose to do business. They utilize groupware, document management and fax tools network platforms such as Microsoft Windows NT and Novell Netware.

Refresh Technologies 201 W Morehead St Ste 400 The company has 8 employees and annual revenues of $1.5 million. This is a newly established company similar to ITS. The key principal, Fae Schaefer, has 10 years experience, comparable to Ms. Jayne’s. Refresh Technologies focuses more on companies utilizing her contractors to free up their employee resource pool. Her company provides comparable services, by offering services remotely or within a hosted environment, data backup & recovery, business continuity, server and storage monitoring and management, managed security, email management, application and database monitoring and managed network services. The company also reportedly saves its customers an average of 40% when compared to its peers but this information could not be verified publicly.

3.3 Product/Service Sourcing

ITS’ key to success thus far has been the creation of clear, unambiguous subcontracts. Each subcontract has a legally binding, written contract that defines the following items:

3.4 Inventory Management

ITS is primarily a service based company which carries no inventory.

3.5 Warehousing and Fulfillment

Ms. Jayne is the Project Manager and delegates the specific tasks to be completed. Each subcontract, although tailored for each client generally follows these standard guidelines:

Define Scope The first step in the preparation of the Project Plan is the creation of the narrative description of the project. The narrative establishes the customer’s ultimate system objectives and provides frame of reference for reviewing the balance of the plan.

Define Deliverable The next step in the process is the definition of the deliverables. The deliverables should be defined in as much detail as possible. A well defined deliverable ensures a common understanding of what is to be delivered and establishes realistic expectations. If one of the deliverables is an operational system, a complete functional specification should be included. This will explicitly define the system for both the users and for the designers. This is important since it is the basis for measuring the success of the system. It also forces the users to ensure that all of the requirements have been included. Simply put, if the Project Plan does not define it, it will not be in the end-product.

Define the Methodology Determine how the deliverables will be acquired or produced. Refine the methodology, whether it be the customer’s or ITS’, and make any modifications necessary due to specific project needs.

Establish Project Organization The next step in the preparation of the Project Plan is the creation of a Project Organization Chart. A project will not be successful unless there is a clear understanding by all parties of who the deliverer and acceptor are. The completion and circulation of the Project Organization Chart will ensure that this takes place. The chart also identifies the other key project participants, the customer, and the project team members.

3.6 Products/Services

ITS’ current focus is twofold: database management and application development.

Database Management In general, the government sectors require old broken outdated software systems to be upgraded and stagnant legacy systems to be streamlined and operating more efficiently. Operating efficiency has become vital as the government seeks to get its arms around the largest databases in the country. The U.S. government’s information systems are clogged with a variety of old and disparate sources. Legacy systems, databases, and data warehouses are ‘clogging’ the systems As these sources and data volumes multiply, over time, it becomes to critical to incorporate, regiment and apply rules of order to avoid further data ‘glut’.

By creating a comprehensive data model, ITS offers insight into organizational needs and provides the roadmap for successful integration. Ms. Jayne leads teams with specialists in business process and data analysis, system design and integration, and business intelligence to develop solutions that deliver results.

Application Development Application development, the creation of programs that perform functions for software and hardware, are in great demand for government entities. ITS can create many applications for example, that run behind-the-scenes for tracking inventory, maintaining account balances and billing clients automatically.

Once, applications focused primarily on functionality. Today, the most complex applications focus on elements such as speed, compatibility, security, scalability and customer experience. ITS strives to create the fastest and the most user-friendly applications to meet these needs.

Future Plans ITS has future plans to expand into government contracts, and expects to hire a full-time proposal writer. Additional plans include diversification into other popular government contracting sectors such as defense. Another goal is secure a recurring base, consulting, revenue to serve as a cushion against sales declines when the spending environment deteriorates. Long-term contracts provide revenue continuity: Contracts are often five to 10 years long, and are rarely broken.

The global IT consulting & other services market had total revenue of $515.6 billion in 2010, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.9% for the period spanning 2006-2010. The integration & development services segment was the markets most lucrative in 2010, with total revenues of $254.2 billion, equivalent to 49.3% of the market’s overall value. The performance of the market is forecast to decelerate, with an anticipated CAGR of 2.7% for the five-year period 2010-2015, which is expected to drive the market to a value of $587.8 billion by the end of 2015. (Data Monitor).

4.1 Industry Analysis

The U.S. information technology services industry includes about 100,000 companies with combined annual revenue of about $290 billion. Major companies include Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), Unisys, and the technology consulting arms of IBM and Hewlett-Packard. The computer facilities management segment of the industry is also highly concentrated: the 50 largest companies generate about 80 percent of revenue. The rest of the industry is concentrated: the 50 largest companies account for about 50 percent of revenue.

Worldwide IT services revenue is about $800 billion. Leading exporters of computer and technology services include India, the US, Israel, and China, according to the World Trade Organization. Major companies based outside the US include Fujitsu (Japan), T-Systems International (a subsidiary of Germany’s Deutsche Telekom), and Cap Gemini (France). (First Research).

The market is fragmented with small players competing alongside large, multinational companies. Buyers range in size: larger buyers, with greater financial muscle, exert more buyer power. Brand recognition is likely to be of significant importance to customers and they therefore often look to a reputable company for services. Entry to this market is increasingly achieved through the diversification of operations by existing companies from other fields. Rivalry between market players is alleviated to an extent with larger players operating in other markets or offering their services to a range of industries. Skilled employees, as suppliers of technical knowledge and expertise, are an important input. On the other hand, some companies show some backwards integration with their own hardware and software capabilities, which reduces their reliance on external suppliers. (Data Monitor)

IBM Global Services is the leading player in the global IT consulting & other services market, generating a6.6% share of the market’s value. Hewlett-Packard Company accounts for a further 4.5% of the market. (Data Monitor)

4.1.1 Market Size

According to the U.S. General Services Administration the Top 100 Contractors Report is a list developed annually and tracks U.S. federal government procurement. The Top 100 Contractors Report for Fiscal Year 2010 lists contracts totaling $284.7 billion (2009: $294.6 billion). In the same period, small business contracts totaled $97.9 billion (2009: $96.8 billion). In Fiscal Year 2011, the top five departments by dollars obligated were the Department of Defense ($373.6 billion), Department of Energy ($25.1 billion), Health and Human Services ($19.3 billion), Department of Veteran Affairs ($17.4 billion), and NASA ($15.4 billion).

4.1.2 Industry Participants

The subcontractor market is flooded industry participants.

ITS’s primary competitors can be virtually almost business. In fact, any entity meeting the general requirements is a perspective competitor. The criterion to subcontract with the federal government is relatively simple. In order to do so, qualified candidates must 1) Obtain a small business certification from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). The type of certification depends on the ownership, location or revenue of the subject business. Business certifications include HUB Zone, 8(a), small, women-owned, veteran-owned, Native American, Alaskan-owned and Native Hawaiian-owned. 2) The company must then register with the Central Contractor Registration, and complete an online training course. 3) The company must, be in business for at least two years prior to and apply through the Small Business Administration (“SBA”).

4.1.3 Main Competitors

ITS does not have local competitors, however, due to their proximity to ITS and their similar backgrounds they are mentioned here:

Vialogix Communications Inc 501 N College St Established in 1996, and operated by Robert Norris. The company has 20 employees and annual revenues of $3.9 million. With a primarily focus in building websites Vialogix does not directly compete with ITS. Vialogix primarily builds web sites, intranets, extranets, Web-enabled applications, wireless applications and databases.

4.1.4 Market Segments

The US Government is as diverse as the U.S. secondly itself. However, with a few exceptions, the majority of the U.S. government contracts are awarded to the following industries: aerospace, telecom, automotive, defense, insurance and social service, energy and life sciences, banking/finance, rail/naval, distribution/sales assistance, aeronautics, space, and utilities.

4.2 Market Tests

While working as an independent consultant, Ms. Jayne focused her company’s efforts on two highly sought after government contract areas: energy and healthcare. She began contracting for some of Charlotte’s lager energy provides, providing them with IT services. She currently has 30 customers including: Duke Energy, Toshiba America Nuclear Energy, Westinghouse Electric, Power Group, and The Shaw Group.

To date ITS has been awarded two government subcontracts: 1) with the Betchel Group, and 2) with General Electric. Both projects are currently underway with all milestones to date meeting/exceeding expectations. Both prime contractors had a mandatory requirement to subcontract a portion of their work. The fact that ITS is a WOSB, combined with its proven track record, and ability to move quickly on short notice, made the award process that much more appealing to the conglomerates.

4.3 Target Market Segment Strategy

ITS’ strategy is twofold: work directly with prime government contractors (such as Duke Energy) and obtain contracts indirectly (word of mouth) such as the their experience with Betchel.

4.3.1 Market Needs

In general, the government sectors require old broken outdated software systems to be upgraded and stagnant legacy systems to be streamlined and operating more efficiently. Operating efficiency has become vital as the government seeks to get its arms around the largest databases in the country. The U.S. government’s information systems are clogged with a variety of old and disparate sources. Legacy systems, databases, and data warehouses are ‘clogging’ the systems As these sources and data volumes multiply, over time, it becomes to critical to incorporate, regiment and apply rules of order to avoid further data ‘glut’.

4.3.2 Market Trends

Many areas of high technology are highly competitive and are subject to rapid, unanticipated changes. The dynamic business climate poses significant challenges requiring companies to adapt rapidly to evolving conditions. In addition, during sharp industry declines such as 2000-2001 or 2008-2009, cash balances can be depleted very rapidly. (Standard and Poor’s)

While the timing of technological change and obsolescence is difficult to predict, rapidly changing technologies with marked potential for materially eroding companies’ business and financial profiles are one of the few constants in the high technology sector. Cyclicality and technological change can create sharp declines and significant shifts in competitive dynamics, customer requirements, and buying patterns, which can rapidly reshape industry subsectors. The ongoing transformation of the data storage and semiconductor industry segments is an example of these market dynamics at work. (Standard and Poor’s)

High technology companies’ earnings and cash flows are subject to cyclicality created by the business and/or consumer cycles. In many developed countries in recent years, volatility in business/corporate sector demand has tended to be markedly greater than cyclicality in the consumer economy. Historical recessions have largely been business-driven, rather than consumer-led, but in the current recession, demand is down sharply across both consumer and business markets. (Standard and Poor’s)

Consolidation remains a long-term trend in many high technology subsectors as growth rates have slowed. Managements of larger companies view their subsidiaries as components of a portfolio that should be actively managed, a strategy generating ongoing acquisition and divestment activity. Customers want integrated solutions; in response, high technology companies are broadening their offerings through acquisitions. (Standard and Poor’s)

4.3.3 Market Growth

While prime contractors saw a decline in growth when comparing fiscal year 2010 to fiscal year 2009, sub-prime contractors actually grew over the same time period. Sub-prime contracts were reported to be $96.8 billion in year 2009 compared to $97.9 billion in 2010 representing a 1.12% increase.

Based on the growth in this market and the current government mandates to award to small businesses, it is ITS’ contention that annual grown of 20% in revenues and 25% in assets does not appear unreasonable. Further this aligns ITS with its peers of similar size which enjoy the same growth. ITS will achieve this growth with the addition of more staffing. With the addition of billable hours and the built in cushion ITS has in its billable hours, the company feels these are sound achievable financial goals. (For more information regarding this ‘cushion’ please refer to the financial analysis portion of this business plan).

4.4 Positioning

ITS has set itself apart from its competitors by 1) its narrow and targeted market focus (energy and defense) and by completely understanding industry trends. ITS is truly the market expert. 2) ITS’ extreme attention to detail in its subcontracts and project planning sets them apart from their peers. 3) Because of its small size, ITS has the ability to not only meet /exceed deadlines, but they can adapt quickly as well and on short notice. 4) All these factors lead to cost savings which in turn are passed on to their clients.

In order to grow revenues 20% annually and to keep pace with peers, ITS must sell $152,000 in new revenue or put another way, bill an additional 1,344 hours annually. ITS has built in cushions into its pricing model, which easily allows for just such an increase.

For example in proforma Year One, ITS estimates that it will bill 2,794 hours in billable revenue. (2,794 hours * $113.07 hourly rate =$315,917 in revenues). However, with a staff of 5 employees working 40 hours a week, the company has the potential for 9,600 hours annually. The additional burden of 1,344 hours could easily be absorbed by current staff. ITS, however, chose to keep a conservative estimate by basing the projected income and expenses similar to its peers.

5.1 SWOT Analysis

5.1.1 strengths.

5.1.2 Weaknesses

5.1.3 Opportunities

5.1.4 Threats

5.2 Strategy Pyramid

ITS plans on achieving a minimum of 20% of its revenues in the form of recurring consulting base, to cushion against revenue decline when the spending environment deteriorates. Long-term outsourcing contracts provide revenue continuity: Contracts are often five to ten years long, and are rarely broken. ITS plans on achieving this goal by providing top notch service to its customer base with detailed follow-ups and reviews. By keeping its narrow focus on target markets and needs, ITS can quickly alert clients of improvements and new technologies. With its commitment to training and education, ITS employees can readily adapt and perform routine upgrades. These services are often built into the contracts up front, automatically generating residual income.

5.3 Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

ITS has set itself apart from its competitors by 1) its narrow and target market focus (energy and defense). By completely understanding industry trends and trends ITS is truly the market expert. 2) ITS’ extreme attention to detail in its subcontracts and project planning sets them apart from their peers. 3) Because of its small size, ITS has the ability to not only meet /exceed deadlines, but they can adapt quickly and on short notice. 4) All these factors lead to cost savings which in turn are passed on to their clients in the form of cost savings.

5.4 Competitive Edge

That fact that ITS works with both local government contractors, has a narrow, specific targeted customer base, combined with WOSB status and a proven track record, gives ITS an edge over the competition.

5.5 Marketing Strategy and Positioning

ITS is uniquely poised as government subcontractor by its narrow focus on the energy and healthcare sectors. This focus allows for detailed models, specifically targeted to these industries. ITS utilized a focus strategy – and positions itself to cater to the needs of a narrowly defined market.

5.5.1 Positioning Statement

ITS’ goal is to be the premier subcontractor in the energy and healthcare sector. By, crafting detailed project plans, utilizing detailed models, defining the deliverables and anticipating the steps needed to complete each a and every project they undertake. ITS with its talented pool of in house talent perform all the work themselves, keeping overhead low and passing the savings onto their clients. ITS is not mired in red tape and can readily meets its milestones and deadlines and adapts easily to change. ITS motto is ‘We don’t just get the job done the first time, we get it done right”.

5.5.2 Pricing Strategy

ITS charges a flat rate of $113 per hour

5.5.3 Promotion and Advertising Strategy

ITS relies primarily on direct marketing by word of mouth. Ms. Jayne is a member of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce and has promoted the business by word of mouth and volunteering for many of the chamber events and sponsoring happy hours and corporate luncheons.

The company has a website which is another marketing tool.

ITS plans to join IT Energy Trade Groups and IT Healthcare Trade Associations.

5.5.4 Website

The ITS website identifies who the company is, a brief history, and services and products provided. The website has a “Who We Are” section featuring pictures and brief biographies of the ITS staff. The site has links to related sites such as SUB-net a database that lists all opportunities from government contractors and FedBizOpps.gov, the searchable federal opportunities database.

The website features case studies with actual clients with needs and benefit analysis.

5.5.5 Marketing Programs

ITS, with its limited budget, will rely heavily on face to face time with contacts. Through her extensive contacts while made working in the industry, Ms. Jayne plans to continue meeting directly with prospects. The IT community is close-knit and word travels quickly.

5.6 Sales Strategy

It is impractical to have a try before you buy in the IT field; however, ITS likes to present its prospects with the next best thing, an initial free consultation and evaluation. The potential client is given a detailed questionnaire to complete and forwarded to ITS for review. The questionnaire is invaluable and helps ITS determine options best suited for the client. ITS thoroughly believes that by truly understanding their customers, they can create custom Project Plans and win subcontracts.

5.6.1 Sales Forecast

ITS expects to grow revenues 20% annually over the next three years. In order to grow revenues 20% annually and to keep pace with peers, ITS must sell $152,000 in new revenue or put another way, bill an additional 1,344 hours annually. ITS has built in cushions into its pricing model, which easily allows for just such an increase.

For example in proforma Year One, ITS estimates that it will bill 2,794 hours in billable revenue. (2,794 hours * $113.07 hourly rate =$315,917 in revenues). However, with a staff of 5 employees working 40 hours a week, the company has the potential for 9,600 hours annually (or $1,085,472). The additional burden of 1,344 hours could easily be absorbed by current staff. This business plan however employs a more conservative approach with sales and assets reflective of industry peers.

Table 5.6.1 Annual Sales Forecast

5.6.2 Sales Programs

ITS awards it employees with a lucrative incentive package to include bonus and profit sharing. For the initial three years employees will receive small bonuses, but over time, bonuses and profit sharing will commensurate with annual revenues.

ITS is a Chapter S-Corporation doing business in the State of North Carolina. The company is wholly owned by Sara Jayne.

5.8 Milestones

The following milestones will assist ITS in gauging its target metrics.

Table 5.8 Milestones

5.9 Exit Strategy

If revenues fall below break-even for four consecutive periods, the company will not have sufficient cash flow or working capital to meet operating needs. At such time, the company would require liquidation and disposal of assets, primarily the computers and hardware. Secured creditors would be paid first, then unsecured with the remainder to the investor(s).

6.1 Organizational Structure

ITS is an S-Corporation wholly owned by Sara Jayne. She currently has five employees on her staff – including one database administrator and four programmers.

6.2 Management Team

ITS is a Chapter S Corporation wholly owned by Sara Jayne. Sara Jayne is the president, CEO and CFO of ITS. Sara graduated from Duke University with a degree in Sales. She is also the Project Manager for all government subcontracts. It is her proven extreme attention to detail and commitment to these contracts that gets the awards time and time again. She has ten years experience in the technology consulting industry as a Network Engineer and ten years as a Database Administrator with Cap Gemini. Ms. Jayne is a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer. She is also 6 Sigma certified, meaning she has received extensive training in business process improvement.

ITS will utilize a local accounting firm and outsource its payroll and taxes.

6.3 Management Team Gaps

6.4 personnel plan.

The following table demonstrates the budget requirements for ITS staff over the next three five years.

Table 6.4 Personnel Plan

6.5 Board of Directors

The financial plan will cover the following:

7.1 Important Assumptions

The estimated average billable rate: $113.07 per hour; this analysis employs a conservative billing rate; this model can easily be adapted to demonstrate higher hourly billing providing additional ‘cushion’ to the financial analysis.

INCOME STATEMENT ASSUMPTIONS

The company currently employs one database administrator and four programmers.

Company plans to hire two additional programmers in Year Two

In Year Three, the company plans to hire three additional programmers

Estimate the company will grow revenues 20% annually and assets by 25% (coincides with industry peers).

The company assumes to generate additional 20% in revenue streams from residuals created by long term contracts

Advertising expense is estimated to be .93% of revenues

Accounting and Legal is estimated to be 4.76% of revenues. Primarily this will be attributed to a tax service for the purposes of payroll and income taxes.

Legal expenses will be minimal, but in the event the company creates a patent, then this expense could potentially increase.

Professional Fees represent s.57% of revenue and compares favorably with industry peers

Annual rent is $9,600 or 2.43% of revenue in Year One. The company occupies 1,200 square feet of a 34,000 square foot building located at the desirable Mint Street location in heart of downtown, Charlotte, North Carolina.

Wages represent the largest component of annual expenses and are estimated to be $296M in Year One, $409M in Year Two, and $580M in Year Three. Like its peers, the IT Company’s largest expense is in the form of wages, salaries and bonuses.

BALANCE SHEET ASSUMPTIONS

The company was formed two years ago as a sole proprietorship and recently reorganized as an S-Corporation. Rather than owner’s contribution, the owner advanced approximately $33M in the form of loan to be repaid. The loan is fully amortizing based on a five year term.

7.2 Start-Up Costs

Although not technically a ‘start-up’, initial expenses include working capital and computer hardware and software.

Table 7.2 Start-Up Costs

7.3 Source and Use of Funds

The source of funds for the initial funding were in the form of owner contribution and loan to owner the loan is fully amortizing over at 6.25% over a five year term.

7.4 Break-Even Analysis

As a service provider, ITS has no cost of goods sold or overhead. Rather than try to consider employees wages as overhead, the break even chart below demonstrates the point where fixed costs less variable costs (in terms of billable hours ) equals zero.

Table 7.4 Break-Even Analysis

7.5 Projections

7.5.1 projected profit and loss.

Company’s gross profit appears in line when compared with peers. As a service provider they have little or no overhead. In addition to billable hours, the IT Company needs to strive for residual income in the form of long term contracts. This repeat business will act as a cushion in the event of an economic downturn.

Over the three year estimate, the company’s total expenses appear in line with industry peers based on same sized revenues and assets. Total expenses approximate 93% of total revenues.

Salaries, wages and bonuses represent the largest component of expenses. To retain talent and get the higher billable hours, comes with a price. Offsetting this however, is barring any unforeseen expenses; this industry enjoys high profit margins, typically above 6%.

Table 7.5.1 Pro Forma Profit and Loss

7.5.2 Projected Cash Flow

The statement of cash flow shows the incoming and outgoing cash of the business.

Table 7.5.2 Pro Forma Cash Flow

7.5.3 Projected Balance Sheet

Liquidity is key in this industry. Cash and trade receivables represent approximately 53% of total assets, resulting in positive working capital and cash flow. Right now, this company is enjoying the benefits of positive cash flow, but as has been seen in the past, this industry is economically sensitive and the similar downturns such as those of as 2000-2001 or 2008-2009 could quickly deplete cash reserves. IT companies must also maintain liquidity to keep current with technology. As new technology advances, the IT Company must be prepared to keep pace and make smart purchases to partner with this technology.

Table 7.5.3 Pro Forma Balance Sheet

7.6 Business Ratios

Because of the high level of business risk, many IT companies’ financial risk and leverage profiles tend to be more conservative, characterized by relatively high levels of equity capital, modest debt, and often substantial cash reserves accumulated because they need cash available to protect against cyclicality and unexpected downturns in earnings. (Standard and Poor’s)ITS’ business ratios also demonstrates these attributes.

Table 7.6 Ratio Analysis

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