The end of the year is a great time to decide about your technology needs for the next year and years to come. When doing your IT budget this year you may consider the following items:
- Did you look at your spending for 2017 and Q4 of 2016 to try to judge how much you spent and estimate what you will look to spend in 2018?
- It is important to note that there is a balance with technology. Does it need replaced or can it go on? By reviewing your expenses over the years, you can budget and plan a procurement path that is right for your company while minimizing cost spikes during the quarters.
- Ask yourself how your IT ran last year, and how efficient it was or wasn’t.
- If your current solution is not allowing employees to work, it may cost you more than just the dollar amount of support and hardware. When computer systems are down, you have idle workers that are costing you more than having a good solution in place.
- How much salary did you pay an IT professional to work for your company? Software and hardware costs? If you outsource your IT how much was spent and were there any “surprises” from that company?
- It all adds up, even the mistakes. Computer systems and support for those systems is often seen as an expense to many companies, but when IT is done right; your technology solution can be seamless and efficient so you can truly take care of your business goals.
- Did you pay a management fee for someone to host your server or cloud hosting costs? What about your email cost?
- Hosting items in the cloud or datacenters is sometimes the best option. That does not mean that you should have to pay an arm and a leg for them. Review other hosting providers and see if your provider is within 15% of the competition. If they are not, you may want to ask what is costing so much more. Make sure you compare apples to apples though….
If you are struggling with any of these topics, we have a great team that can help you figure out what you might need to plan for in 2018. Not having surprises in your IT budget will take the burden off knowing the company is prepared financially.
Email or call us today at 918-893-9520 for more help on how to budget your current and new technology solutions. Let us show you what you are spending and how the cost of hiring us as your IT department is a positive move in the following year!