Budgeting

Are you considering all the necessary technology categories when planning your annual budget? Technology is essential for any modern business such as yours, but it’s easy to focus solely on routine services that keep the lights on. This could lead you to miss crucial budget categories, leaving you scrambling when unanticipated needs arise. Keep reading to learn about three critical budget categories — projects, refreshes and accidents/incidents — that are often overlooked and how they can affect your business. Never ignore these categories Ensure your business has the resources it needs to thrive by taking the time to budget for the following categories. If they are not part of your budget plans, you might have to rethink your approach. Projects It’s easy for a small business like yours to neglect critical IT projects, such as securing your networks, but it leaves you vulnerable to attacks. Hackers can easily access your network if your employees use unsecured Wi-Fi. Risks associated with free Wi-Fi hotspots include network compromise, evil twin attacks and exploits. The best way to avoid these incidents is to provide your entire workforce with a secure VPN work setup. This allows employees to connect to a secure network, in turn protecting your company from potential attacks. Refreshes As your company expands, you must ensure your technology infrastructure can keep up. One method is to perform regular technological refreshes. This entails regularly upgrading your hardware and software. While retaining legacy systems might seem like the easy option or more fiscally responsible, it can harm employee productivity and your bottom line. If your security patches are outdated, you may even be vulnerable to hackers. By regularly upgrading your infrastructure, you can ensure your company is always using the most up-to-date technology. Accidents or incidents When it comes to accidents or incidents, cybercriminals are always looking for new ways to take advantage of businesses. For example, in the case of a ransomware attack, a cybercriminal may demand a ransom in exchange for the decryption code, which could overwhelm you. Without proper backup, you may have to pay a ransom to avoid data loss — and you still might not get your data back. This can be a financial and reputational setback for your business. You can protect yourself against today’s sophisticated threats by investing in the right security solutions. Collaborate for success When you try to cut costs, you might overlook crucial budget categories like the ones discussed above. Collaboration with an IT service provider, like us, can help prevent this. We can help you identify areas where you may be overspending/underspending and find more cost-effective solutions. We can also help keep track of your IT budget and ensure no necessary expenses are overlooked. We’ve created an infographic “How to Budget for Your IT Needs” to help you dive deeper into the concept of IT budgeting, which you can download by clicking here.

Are you planning to include your IT needs in your annual budget this year? If so, congratulations! You’re doing something incredible to ensure your small business’ success. Budgeting for technology can be tricky. On the one hand, you want to be ready for anything, but you also don’t want to overspend and waste valuable resources. It’s a delicate balance that many fail to achieve. We’ve compiled a list of the most common technology budgeting mistakes you should avoid. Keep reading to learn more about those oversights. Watch out for these mistakes By avoiding these mistakes, you can ensure you’re making the best use of your resources and getting the most bang for your buck. Mistake #1: The cheapest option is always the best In this modern digitized era, technology shouldn’t be an afterthought. Investing in high-quality technology can significantly improve your bottom line. Streamlining workflows, increasing employee productivity and improving customer satisfaction are all excellent reasons to invest in quality technology. Just as you would not attempt to run a marathon with inadequate preparation, you should not try to run your business with subpar technology. Invest in high-quality technology and watch the difference it makes in your business.  Mistake #2: Last year’s IT budget will work for this year As technology and cybersecurity threats evolve and advance, businesses need to stay up to date to succeed. This can be challenging because budgets are often tight, and it can be hard to justify spending on new technology when old systems are still operational. You can overcome this barrier by conducting internal assessments to identify friction points and areas where upgrading to a new system or platform could improve business outcomes. This information can help make a case for the necessary expenditure to stay relevant and improve your company’s long-term success. Mistake #3: One person can handle all my IT needs Even an IT genius needs the occasional vacation or day off. Augmenting internal resources with an IT service provider can help bridge gaps and give relief to your internal resources. IT service providers can help take on some of the day-to-day tasks and responsibilities. This can help improve job satisfaction and employee retention since your team members will feel appreciated and empowered to take time off when necessary, without jeopardizing your company’s IT infrastructure. Another crucial factor is that an IT service provider can help you in areas the internal IT team doesn’t have adequate bandwidth to cover or in which they do not excel. Mistake #4: Thinking short-term Always keep your overall business objectives in mind when budgeting for IT needs. Purchasing solutions that cannot grow with you is wasteful. You will end up spending more money in the long run. You can avoid potential roadblocks and extra costs by planning ahead as much as possible. Partner for success Partnering with an IT service provider can be an excellent strategy for IT budgeting. Working with a service provider allows you to understand your IT needs and the cost to meet them. A specialized IT service provider, like us, can also help you in staying within your budget by providing cost-effective solutions that meet your specific needs. Want to learn more about budgeting for IT needs? Read our infographic “IT Budgeting Tips for Small Businesses,” which you can download by clicking here.

With the new year around the corner, now is an excellent time to review your organization’s budget to ensure your business has the resources it needs to continue to grow and prosper in the coming year. It’s important to understand that in today’s highly digitized environment, technology shouldn’t be an afterthought. You need to have a clear and well-defined IT budget since an unanticipated technology issue in the middle of the year could cause trouble. In this blog post, we’ll explore a few key things to keep in mind while budgeting for your IT needs. Always assess your business needs As technology advances at a breakneck pace, regular technology refreshes become increasingly essential for any company hoping to stay successful. Rather than simply assuming you’ll need the same IT budget as last year, take the time to assess your organization’s current needs, as well as how upgrading or moving to different platforms might help your company meet those needs. Just like most technology-backed businesses, you should allocate your IT budget to improve these four areas: Routine IT services Hackers are always on the lookout for vulnerabilities in your business network. You need to identify these weaknesses in your IT infrastructure so that your business network isn’t compromised. Make sure you continuously monitor your network with a vulnerability scanning solution to identify potential problems and develop the best preventive measures. Projects Businesses frequently neglect critical IT projects, such as securing their networks, leaving them vulnerable to attacks. Hackers can easily access your network if your employees use unsecured Wi-Fi. Risks associated with free Wi-Fi hotspots include network compromise, evil twin attacks and exploits. Setting up a secure VPN for your virtual workforce is the best way to avoid these events. Refreshes Keeping legacy systems may appear to be the easiest and most economically sound option, but it can actually decrease employee productivity and harm your bottom line. You’re also more susceptible to hacking if your security patches are outdated. As a result, annual technology refreshes are critical to ensuring the optimal performance of your IT infrastructure. Accidents or incidents You’ll need a plan in place to tackle an accident or incident, such as a cybercriminal demanding a ransom. Discovering that hackers have encrypted all your systems can be disastrous, not just financially but also in terms of your reputation. When planning your technology budget, focus on strengthening your cybersecurity posture so you can mitigate today’s sophisticated threats. An IT service provider might be what you need An IT service provider can play a vital role in guiding you through anything IT-related, including cybersecurity, backup, compliance, budgeting and more. An IT service provider can help with: Internal support: Internal IT department or IT team The most common type of support is through an internal IT department or IT team. Usually, businesses with a committed IT team are enterprises, while small businesses may have only one IT staff member or none at all. External support: Outsourced IT service provider An external IT service provider, like us, can support your business in multiple ways, such as assessing your IT infrastructure to formulate a plan for budgeting decisions, providing advice on the best IT solutions, and assisting with implementation and setup. Hybrid support: A combination of internal and external IT services If you have an existing internal IT team but have areas they cannot cover, you can outsource those areas to an external specialist. Outsourcing your IT needs or opting for hybrid support alongside your internal IT team can reduce a great deal of stress since our specialists can help lighten the load and show you the right way to prepare a budget. To get started, contact us today for a no-obligation consultation. In addition, you can download our infographic “How to Budget for Your IT Needs,” which will walk you through the basics of IT budgeting.