Although we generally like to use our blog as a forum for helping business owners and executives save money, we do occasionally come across businesses that are budgeting too little on IT. When that happens, other goals related to productivity are sacrificed and the longer-term costs associated with technology increase. In other words, when you pay less now, you end up paying more later.
How do you know whether you are spending enough on IT or not? Naturally, the best way to figure things out is by scheduling a consultation with one of our virtual CIOs. In the meantime, however, there are some telltale signs you can look for. Here are five things that indicate you might need to increase your IT budget…
#1 Your Spending Is Less Than Half Your Industry Average
There are a lot of ways to save money on IT. In fact, you can find many of them by searching through our previous posts on managed services, cloud computing, and other cost-cutting ideas. If you are spending a small fraction of what your competitors are, though, it might be a sign that you are falling behind rather than being efficient.
#2 Employees Are Constantly Dealing With Workarounds
A lot of business owners are fine with having employees use little workarounds to get things done when they don’t have the right pieces of hardware or software. What these entrepreneurs don’t realize is that little inefficiencies add up to a lot of wasted time. It’s better to spend a little on the tools your team needs so they can do the jobs you hired them for more effectively.
#3 You Are Putting Off Important Upgrades
This is another area where saving money today can affect your company adversely in the future. If there are investments or upgrades that need to be made, then putting them off virtually guarantees that the costs – whether they are measured in terms of dollars or hours lost – are going to be greater down the road. It’s better to budget for what your business needs than it is to pretend you already have it.
#4 You Constantly Overspend on Tech
Your tech budget should represent what you realistically need to keep your business running, not the amount you would like to spend in a perfect world. If you are constantly going above the figures you’ve set for a quarter or a year, that could be a sign you simply aren’t allocating enough for IT service and equipment.
#5 You Business Can’t Do the Things You Want It To
The most obvious sign you need to spend more on IT is that you aren’t getting the performance you need. Of course, more money doesn’t always equal more capabilities, but in general, it’s going to take some level of investment to get the tools and apps you want to improve your profitability.
Figure Out IT Spending the Easy Way
At Fantastic IT, we can give you two incredibly simple ways to improve your IT budgeting today. First, you could contact us for a free account review and consultation. We can probably save you quite a bit over what you’re spending with your current provider. And second, you could engage us to work as your virtual CIO. That gives you access to strategic planning and budgeting consultations that could help you save money over the long run.
Want to find out more? Contact us today to see how we can help!