How to choose the right computer equipment for your business to increase your productivity and efficiency without it costing the earth.
Business software helps you complete a range of tasks. Choose the right software, provide support and train your staff with our introduction.
It is highly likely that you depend on the internet for some aspects of your business. Find out how you can use the internet more effectively.
Good communication with customers, partners and suppliers is vital for business success. This summary explores business communication methods.
How would you cope if your IT system failed or was breached? We cover the main IT security issues and how to protect against them.
Good IT management can help you choose, use and implement IT. Our overview helps you manage IT in a way that maximises the return on your investment.
IT support is vital if you rely on your IT system. But how can you set up an effective safety net in case things go wrong? We explore the options.
Getting the right IT is just the first step. Appropriate training, policies and working practices can help you maximise return on your IT investment.
Do you know what your business spends on IT? It's important you keep track of what you buy and when, so you can be sure you're using your cash wisely.
Producing a clear IT budget for the coming year will assist you in several ways:
Setting an IT budget is not a task many people relish, so businesses often avoid it for as long as possible. Try not to fall into this trap, as it can cause problems when you hit major, unexpected expenditure.
Much of your IT budget will be driven by your overall business strategy, so it is important the two are closely aligned.
For example, if you plan to expand by recruiting staff, you will probably have to purchase computers for them and provide support and training. These items should be factored into your IT budget.
As your business grows, consider the possibility that your IT infrastructure may need to be altered and streamlined to support your company's expansion and meet changing needs. Regardless of your company's size and maturity, it's vital you have a reliable, scalable and adaptable IT infrastructure in place. Working with an experienced solutions provider from the outset can make the process faster and more efficient.
Having said that, always remember that your IT budget is a forecast, not a plan set in stone. Unexpected items are almost certain to crop up, so leave some wriggle room in case your business moves in an unplanned direction or you experience an unexpected failure of a key piece of equipment.
Approach your budget methodically, aiming to build a comprehensive picture of your technology costs:
Although ultimate control of your IT budget may rest elsewhere, it is important someone with IT knowledge – perhaps your IT manager – has considerable input. They will best understand the technology itself, like how long hardware can be expected to last and which pieces of equipment are most important.
Your IT budget is a tool to help you allocate funds and monitor spending.
Set a budget once a year, breaking down spending for each month. Remember to build in regular monthly costs like charges for IT support, cloud services and your internet connection as well as factoring in one-off expenses like new hardware.
Once you've created your IT budget, track your actual spending as you go. Aim to stay close to your budget.
If you've calculated right, your spending will match your projections. However, unexpected IT costs are not uncommon. For instance, new systems frequently overrun expected costs, so build in a decent contingency. Similarly, IT training tends to be costly but important, so don't under budget in that area.
If your IT costs vastly exceed your predictions, or you are spending in different areas, review why. In extreme cases you might need to assess whether your IT spending is sustainable and produce an amended IT budget to see where you can cut costs.
At the end of the year, always review how your IT budget performed and how your business used it. These findings should help you create a more useful, accurate budget next time, so you can focus IT spending in the most important areas.
Given limited IT staff and budgets, you need to make wise decisions as to what you can do best yourself, and when experienced third-parties can do a better job.
Managed services solutions providers can be used to meet the IT, business and budgetary requirements of smaller businesses and other organisations that don't have many employees dedicated to IT. Managed services solutions give businesses the peace of mind that their IT infrastructure will be up to the job of supporting the goals of the company, both now and into the future.
