Over the past couple of years, IT budgets have become increasingly important as workplaces have become increasingly reliant on digital tools and systems.
This has led to the question of how to structure and manage an IT budget in order to engage your employees and customers in the most meaningful way possible, while also maximizing your investment.
Planning an IT budget: what to consider
Review past spending
Take a look at your spending over the past few years, including a pre-and post-pandemic snapshot. This will help you identify what consistent baseline items need to be accounted for, what new IT costs have arisen with remote access needs, and where there are still gaps that need to be addressed.
Look for things like where your business spent more than was planned for, where there was underspending and what, if anything, was money spent on that you later realised was unnecessary.
Tailor your budget to your organisation
Align your IT needs with your organisational flow and business model. There’s no point pursuing new innovations just because they are trending in other spheres. If a technological tool isn’t meeting a clear need in your organisation, it may not be for you.
If you run a retail business, for instance, an always-on messaging platform may cause more harm than good for employees running a store. In that instance, investing in more effective point-of-sale solutions will have a clearer benefit than a messaging platform subscription.
Don’t skimp on security
Sometimes, small and medium-sized businesses underestimate the need for security. In reality, any place where data is stored or shared is at risk of cyberattack, and cybercriminals won’t hesitate to take advantage of any obvious security gaps in a company’s systems.
Plan for recurring expenses
As you review expenditures from the past few years, be sure to note costs that will recur on a monthly or yearly basis and plan those into your IT budget from the start. These will often be things like software subscriptions or cloud-based services that get billed at regular intervals. If there is a varied cost depending on usage rates, track the trends from the previous year so you can adjust the monthly payment component of your budget to align accurately with the money you’ll need to have available at different points in a 12-month period.
Get expert advice
If it feels daunting to try and track all your IT needs and plan your budget accurately, it may be worth investing in getting expert help. An outsourced IT service provider can make a big impact. They are already up to date on trends and solutions in the IT sector and know how to balance the different demands and components and IT systems within a business.
Get in touch to find out how we can help you plan and implement an IT budget and strategy that will meet your organisation’s specific needs.
