Looking out the other side of the current lockdown many firms will be wondering what they should be doing with their IT budget. Now more than ever before firms will be wanting to get maximum return on the investment they make.
Unpopular as it might be with IT providers there is a strong argument to not make any further investments in on premise IT whilst revenues and profits are likely to be lower than last year. So what can you do to bridge the gap between what you have now, and what you might need to keep the wheels turning.
First take a look at the recommendations from your IT Team or External IT Provider, what are they recommending for this year’s budget. What servers running what services are scheduled for replacement. What is your policy for upgrading laptops, tablets, and phones. Some decisions are easy; if your existing kit can still do the job without risk then leave it as it is.
Second run a magnifying glass over all of your subscriptions services. What are you signed up to that you can reduce or remove. Now is a good time to apply a new focus to the original rationale to sign up to the service. Often these services are lumped into the IT Budget and simply renewed year on year.
Third can you reconfigure simplify and reduce your costs? By their very nature IT systems grow year on year. Often technology is added but how often is it removed or straight replaced. Software vendors like to increase revenues by adding functionality often not requested by users. This bloatware invariably is used to justify increased annual renewals. So take time to examine each service and understand how it impacts your firm. Can you do without it over the next 12 months.
In Summary:
Do not upgrade anything if you cannot get an immediate (within 12 month) payback.
Reduce your subscription footprint, what do you pay for and don’t use or need?
Ask yourself will it increase productivity or improve client service, if it doesn’t why are you even considering it.
If you need help reviewing your IT Budget please get in touch we are happy to help free of charge during this difficult time email David.Watson@anshin.co.uk