How to Adjust Your Budget in Response to Hard Times

It’s never a good time to deal with budget cuts, and unfortunately, due to its large costs and investments, technology management, maintenance, and infrastructure are often a victim of them. Let’s go over how you can lessen or mitigate the hit you take when dealing with an IT budget cut.

While the scenario above is an unfortunate reality, it is also true that the last thing you should cut is your IT. Still, you might not have a choice in the matter, so let’s examine some ways you can make sure the cuts sting just a bit less, as well as what you should prioritize.

First, Try to Avoid Cutting IT Expenses

In a sense, you can imagine IT as just another employee at your workplace. They are efficient and convenient, saving you a lot of time and resources that would otherwise be wasted elsewhere. Before you make the difficult decision to “terminate this employee,” so to speak, consider all of the good they do for your business and whether or not cutting them loose is actually the best call. Obviously, we are talking about your IT here, so the premise of this point is simple; if it works and isn’t causing trouble for your business, financially or otherwise, do your best to not cut it. But if you do have to downsize your IT, read on to find out how you can do it effectively.

Downsize Your Budget without Harming Your IT Infrastructure

Before you make any decisions, you’ll want to know what metrics you want to focus on for your IT. There is a big difference between suspending a technology you think is behind the problem after a stress test and suspending a technology that you know is reliable and proven to provide value. If you aren’t careful in your assessment, you might create what we call a false economy, or perceived savings that lead to higher costs further down the road.

It’s also worth noting that some costs should not be cut at all, like technology refreshes. How do you expect to keep up with today’s competitive environment if you aren’t using technology that can keep up with your business?

Get the Most Value with Managed IT Services

We know it might sound crazy to save money by adding another service, but we assure you that the notion isn’t actually as wild as you might think. An MSP can provide incredible value and cost-saving investments for your business.

A managed service provider can effectively provide you the benefits of an entire IT department for a predictable monthly rate, something which is hard to do even with the most dedicated in-house team. MSPs also give businesses the ability to benefit from their collective technology knowledge, expertise, and industry connections with vendors. You can accomplish more with less through the use of cloud services, virtualized hardware and software, remote technologies, and so much more.

If you want to start saving money with your technology, budget cuts or no budget cuts, we’d love to get to know your business and your needs better. Get started by calling us today at 630-549-6199.