With the world upside down, there has never been a better time to think about your Small Business IT budget.
In this article, we will outline where your budget can provide the best return on investment. Have a read through then contact us for a free IT assessment!
Staff Computers and Laptops
Probably the most significant allocation of the budget should go towards new or upgraded hardware. This is a combination of replacing systems that have reached the end of life and systems that go faulty.
Most laptops and desktop computers last from 3 to 5 years before a replacement or upgrade is required. Leaving the replacement period longer will have a negative “unseen” impact on your business in the form of lost productivity.
As time goes on, computer systems will slow down – and if staff have slower systems to work on, they won’t get as much work done. It won’t be noticeable until a point is reached with a PC system becomes unusable.
Other hardware to budget for is potential servers and network equipment. Again similar to PC’s 3-5 years is a good time to factor in renewal.
Software Licensing and Subscription
In the old days of IT, there was always a large upfront cost to software for business. However, cloud solutions such as Microsoft 365 have embraced the subscription model.
Now instead of paying a large chunk of money for a copy of Microsoft Office, a small subscription fee is charged per user per month.
This has two benefits – the first is that there is no high cost when you take on new staff and the second is that it allows you to be flexible in your approach to software licensing in your business.
Internet Connectivity
A good high speed internet line is critical for any business to work well. Some companies even factor in built-in redundancy with more than one internet line to their office. The beauty of a solution like this is that you can combine the lines for increased speed and if a line ever fails, you’ve got the other as a backup.
Business-grade lines usually come at a higher price than a standard home line. This comes down to service level agreements with the internet provider. If a fault is found or a line goes down, it’s in contract with the provider that they’ll have an escalation of 4 hours or less to fix the issue.
IT Support & Management
Most important in any IT budget is the support and management of the IT infrastructure.
Who is going to maintain and support the technology in your business? Sometimes this is provided by an in house IT specialist depending on the business size. However, most companies with staff headcount from 5-50 in size prefer to outsource their IT support and management to a company just like ours.
The main benefit of an outsources IT service offering is that you are working with experts in the field. If a problem occurs, it’s fixed quickly and with a predictable cost attached to the service every month.
If you would like to find out more about how to budget your IT and are looking for an outsourced IT support provider, then we might just be the answer. Give us a call at (905) 231-1303 or through our contact form!
