In a lot of small and medium-sized businesses, hardware upgrades make up a significant portion of the IT budget. However, we often come across situations where businesses are overspending.
We are going to show you why in this short post. However, first we want to make clear that by “hardware” we are referring to any physical piece of technology you buy for your company. That could include laptops and desktop workstations, mobile devices, or even servers you use to process email and web traffic.
With that little caveat out of the way, let’s look at a few of the reasons business owners and executives tend to overestimate their hardware upgrade and replacement costs…
Today’s Technology Lasts Longer
Generally speaking, hardware devices are more durable and reliable than they used to be. Phones are becoming waterproof, hard drives are lasting through many years of daily use, and it isn’t unusual to see a laptop that’s been in service for six or seven years.
These are all welcome changes from a bottom-line perspective, of course, but we still meet with business owners and decision-makers who are convinced they have to upgrade their technology every few years. We can understand how they’ve developed these habits, but the fact of the matter is that today’s tech comes with a longer lifespan.
Upgrades Don’t Always Bring Huge Improvements Anymore
It isn’t just that hardware is becoming more durable; new technology isn’t offering the same enormous performance gains as it was in the past. For example, replacing a computer with a new processor in 2019 may not do a lot to speed up the applications you run on a daily basis.
That’s not to say that new devices aren’t faster or more capable, of course, or that this idea applies equally across all hardware types. Instead, it’s just a reminder that some of the improvements made over the past half decade have been more incremental in nature. In other words, you don’t necessarily have to buy new hardware to keep up with the demands of your business.
Some Hardware Items Shouldn’t be Replaced
One more thing to understand about the hardware portion of your IT budget is that some items don’t need to be replaced at all. The cost-to-benefit ratios just don’t make sense.
For example, it’s almost always more cost-effective to lease space in a cloud computing facility than it is to invest in several servers. By outsourcing that need you’ll get access to better and faster equipment, and do it at a predictable monthly rate. That’s certainly preferable to making a large cash outlay and worrying whether you’ll have to replace what you purchased again in the near future.
Need Help Saving Money on Technology?
At Fantastic IT, companies from all over Southern California turn to us because they want knowledgeable and efficient IT care. However, our clients also appreciate that we help them develop budgets and strategies that save them money year after year.
If you want better tech performance without spending a lot on equipment, service, maintenance, and repairs, contact our team today. We will be happy to schedule a free consultation so you can learn more about our work.