How to Save Your Tech Budget: Top Tips To Save Your Budget

In these tough economic times, every penny needs to be accounted for. If you’re an IT decision-maker, that means your tech budget is under scrutiny like never before. But don’t worry – we’ve got some tips to help you save money and not lose any of the important tech!

It’s common for businesses to view IT as an unnecessary cost, which is why the IT department is often given an incredibly low budget. However, in today’s digital world, technology couldn’t be more important for the development and growth of a business. So how can your IT department successfully support the organisation with such a low budget? There are several ways it can be done.

Firstly, Why Does the IT department Receive A Low Budget?section_1

The IT department often receives a low budget because higher-ups don’t understand the value of investing in technology. It’s seen as a cost rather than a revenue source. They don’t realize that a strong IT infrastructure is essential for businesses to be competitive in today’s market.

A well-run IT department can provide a significant return on investment by improving efficiency, reducing costs, and increasing revenues. When the IT department is underfunded, it can’t perform its essential functions properly. This can lead to increased costs and decreased productivity. Businesses need to understand that investing in IT is an investment in their future. A strong IT infrastructure will pay off in the long run by making the business more efficient and productive.

Additionally, IT is often seen as an unnecessary cost because it’s not always clear to see how it adds value to the business. If you don’t hear any news about your technology, that usually means your IT is doing its job correctly. For example, the purpose of an IT security service/solution is to ensure that cybersecurity threats don’t impact the business in any way, meaning your boss won’t hear any news when it’s fulfilling its purpose. This can cause your boss to be unaware that your IT is functioning, leaving you to constantly need to prove that your budget is worthwhile.

This is the case with many IT services and solutions because their responsibility is to ensure IT is working well and to help your business operate smoothly without any disruptions. The less you hear about your technology, the better. That is how IT can be easily overlooked by the hierarchy of a business.

What Essential IT Services/Solutions Should you Prioritise Your Tech Budget On?section_2

To make sure IT is supporting business development and growth whilst working with just a small budget, it’s crucial to understand what IT services and solutions are necessary to spend money on. The main services and solutions for any business are IT support and IT security. However, there are many other IT services you need to spend on to ensure your business is efficient.

IT Support and IT Security are the essentials of any IT department, but to ensure that your business is running smoothly, you may need to use other services in conjunction with it. For example, you may need a Microsoft license for every department to do the basics (e.g. send an email). Additionally, you may also need a communications service to communicate with customers and employees. These communications services can be either traditional (e.g. a landline telephone service) or a more technically advanced service (e.g. a VoIP service).

IT is about more than just keeping your business safe from threat, or up and running. You also have to have many systems that keep your business efficient and effective.

Other services or software’s might not seem as essential as the more basic IT Support and Security, but without these services, your business won’t operate adequately.

But, How Can You Save Your Tech Budget?section_3

By now, you know what services you need to spend your money on (or at least you have a rough idea). But do you know the best ways to save your IT budget? We’ve made a list of our top tips to save your budget, without losing the technology your business uses to thrive.

Create an IT Strategy – Stop Wasting Money on the Unnecessary

In every department, you’ll find some things are just a waste of money and don’t count towards the future goals of your business. If you don’t plan for the goals of your business, your business will just stay the same, and your problems will never go away. But if you create an IT Strategy, you can plan for your business’ future and thus the future of your IT. And even highlight the issues in your budget just now.

What Will You Find

In an IT Strategy, you can see what systems are good for the longevity of your business, and what is holding you back. You might also find something expensive in your budget, which you could do cheaper and better elsewhere. In that case, you can save your budget by switching. Do remember to research the new system out first before switching – so there are no nasty surprises to your budget!

Additionally, you might be paying for something that you didn’t even realize you were, and your IT Strategy can flag this for you. If you don’t need the software/ system, you can remove this expense. Saving space in your budget for more important things.

Make One Yourself Or Hire Somebody To Help

To create an IT Strategy, you can either create one yourself or get an outside company to make one for you. Creating one yourself can be cost-effective as you don’t need to pay anybody else to do it for you. However, creating an IT Strategy yourself can be costly with your time. But, the time it takes to create the strategy is always worth it.

In comparison, getting an outside company to make an IT Strategy for you can be great as they are impartial to all of your systems & software. In addition, you also save your valuable time so that you can focus on other areas of your IT. However, it is more costly to hire an outside company rather than create one yourself. Before deciding, you should weigh the pros and cons of each.

An IT Strategy is the best way to discover what is taking up the most of your budget, and what is necessary for your IT. It may cost time and money to set it up, but it is very important to have one in place for the future plans of your IT.

To find out how you can create an IT Strategy for yourself, read our blog which gives you the best tips for creating one. If you’re looking for an outside company to create an IT Strategy for you, contact us today to see what we can do for you.

Still not sure or need help with creating a strategy yourself? Contact us today for some friendly tips on how you can create your own strategy. It’s one of the most important things you can do for the future of your IT!

Make Sure You Research Your Systems

One of the biggest wastes of your budget is switching systems after paying for another. This is due to cancellation charges or needing to pay for extra systems when the first system didn’t have all the features your business needed.

We Understand – We’ve Been There

We’ve all been there. Too often, we select a system only because it’s the first one we’ve found or because it seems adequate. It’s a common scenario: You buy into a program for many months, only to find out that it doesn’t work well and then have to start from the beginning with a new system. This is especially true when talking about cybersecurity systems as there  are so many available. With cybersecurity being one of your business’ biggest IT expenses, you’ll find that a lot of your budget is wasted.

Every business and every business’ cybersecurity is different. There is no one-size-fits-all cybersecurity system that can protect your business the way it needs to be protected. Every business is too different for that to be the case. The same is true for all IT systems – there is no one-size-fits-all solution.

Cybersecurity is A Big Culprit For This Waste of Your Tech Budget

With this, I’m sure you’ve went through your fair share of cybersecurity systems. But, this can waste your budget. The best thing advice we can give you to stop this excessive expense? Research, research, and research your cybersecurity solutions before you buy. Most cybersecurity solutions out there will give you information about their systems, or a demo/ trial before you start paying.

Research, Research, Research

By researching the key cybersecurity features your business needs, you can create a check-list that will help you find the perfect solution. Do you know exactly what features you need in your cybersecurity? Have you checked this against the cybersecurity system you have just now?

If you’ve already created your IT Strategy, you’ll know what cybersecurity features you need for your business in the future. So why not use these plans just now and save your budget? Researching the perfect solution can save your tech budget now and in the future.

Need Help?

Need help discussing what IT Solutions you need for your business? Or creating an IT Strategy to discover the path towards your future IT goals? Contact us here at Onestop IT and we can discuss your business’ future. 

Sometimes Outsourcing Can Save Your Tech Budget

I think we all have this notion that you can’t save money by spending money, but this isn’t the case all the time. To make money, sometimes you have to spend money. The same is true for your tech budget.

Do You Have an IT Support Budget?

Any business that relies on technology needs to have an IT support budget – even if they don’t necessarily say they already have one. This budget is used to cover the costs of maintaining and repairing equipment, as well as hiring staff to provide tech support. These costs can quickly add up, and many businesses find that they are spending more than they can afford on their tech support budget.

One way to save money on your tech support budget is to outsource. This can be a cost-effective way to get you the help you need, without having to hire full-time staff. Full-time staff usually being the biggest expense in your IT Support budget.

In addition, outsourcing your tech support can also give you access to a wider range of expertise. Which can be useful if you encounter complex problems. However, you should always balance the pros and cons of outsourcing your IT Support before making any decisions on outsourcing.

When To Use Outsourcing & When Not To

You can use your IT Strategy to determine if it would be cost-effective to outsource your IT Support. If you don’t use a lot of IT Support, outsourcing your IT Support can save you the cost of hiring in-house staff.

However, you must evaluate whether outsourcing is beneficial to your IT budget. You will not save your budget if you outsource your IT Support when it’s not needed or recommended. In some cases, it can cost more to outsource your team than to have an in-house one.

Creating an IT Strategy for your business is the best way to decide how you can properly use your tech budget. If you have questions about whether outsourcing your IT support is the best decision for you, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We would be more than happy to chat with you and help put your mind at ease. We can help you weigh the pros and cons of using an outsourced service.

Need Help To Set Your Tech budget?section_4

If you’re unsure how to set an IT budget for your business, we would recommend that you create an IT strategy. Understanding your current IT and setting a roadmap for your business and its technology makes it easy for you to set an annual tech budget. If you don’t know how technology can help you meet your business goals, one of our IT specialist consultants can clear this up for you. Get in touch today by calling us on 0131 5100 100 or fill out a contact form on the website.