Technology can be a great resource, but it can also be expensive! This is especially true if you do not have a budget or proactive plan in place for utilizing your hardware and tracking how much you are spending on IT. In this series, we have discussed the costs you should know, the work an IT professional does, and why break-fix doesn’t work. The purpose of this article is to help you identify where you stand with your IT budget and the costs it may be causing your company.
Self-Evaluation
The following questions are designed to help you identify costs you (or your IT) should be taking into consideration on a regular basis. Some things you may be readily aware of. Others may take a bit of digging, but by the end you should have a more complete picture of your IT spending so that you can budget and plan for your future. We recommend pulling several years worth of information to get the best comparison and see any growing trends in your IT needs.
- How old are your current devices?
- How much will it cost to replace each of your current devices?
- How old are your current software licenses? Do any of them have an end-of-support or end-of-life date?
- How much will it cost to replace or add software licenses?
- How many new devices did you add in the last year? How does that compare to previous years?
- How much money did you spend in total IT costs in the last year? How does that compare to previous years?
- How much money did you spend on hardware specifically in the last year? How does that compare to previous years?
- How much money did you spend on software specifically in the last year? How does that compare to previous years?
- How much money did you lose in productivity due to IT issues in the last year? How does that compare to previous years?
- How much money did you spend paying for an IT professional last year? How does that compare to previous years? (If you have an internal IT, how much was their yearly salary? If you hired a tech as needed, how much did you pay them for their time?)
Hopefully you aren’t surprised by any of the data you found. If you are though or feel your numbers could be better, and would like to get a more stable budget in place, our team would be happy to meet with you and help you get on a budget that makes sense for your company. Technology doesn’t have to come with a scary and unpredictable side-cost. You can budget how much you are spending on IT if you plan ahead and have the right support. Set yourself up for success today!
