All good business owners understand that they need to invest in technology if they are going to compete. The right tech solutions will improve productivity, save money, and help you offer a better service to your customers. But budgeting for your IT is tough and business technology is expensive, which means that a lot of businesses end up overspending. That’s not good news because if you spend too much on your tech, you negate the money saving benefits that you get from it and it will put strain on your overall budget. IT overspending usually happens because businesses are making some simple mistakes, and you could be doing the same. These are some of the ways that your business could be wasting money on technology.
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Buying the Same Expensive Computer for Everybody
This is a common mistake that businesses make because they think expensive automatically means better, and their employees will be more efficient. But in reality, that simply isn’t true, and you need to think about what the employees actually need. For example, if you have a graphic designer working in your marketing department, they will need a powerful computer that can run complex software, and they need a big monitor so they can view projects clearly. In that case, an expensive computer is the best choice. But you’re an employee in the sales department that is only using their computer to run simple sales software doesn’t need anything that powerful or expensive. You’ll save a lot of money if you buy computers according to people’s needs, and in some cases, just let them use their own. If you are going to let people use their own, it’s important that you have a bring your own device policy (find out more at cio.com) so you can maintain data security.
Buying Software That You Don’t Need
Salespeople can be very convincing, and a lot of business owners are fooled by software companies. The problem is, you aren’t an IT expert so when a sales rep tells you that this software has all the latest features and it will improve your business, it’s easy to get taken in. But a lot of those amazing new features may not be applicable to your business at all, so you’re just paying for things that you don’t need. That’s why you need experts to help you choose and implement new technology. If you find an IT consulting service (like this one at umbrella-ms.com) they will be able to look at your business and consider your goals, and then advise on the best tech for you. You’ll only pay for what you actually need and stop wasting money on things that don’t benefit your company.
Buying Too Much Cloud Storage
Cloud computing is a big business buzzword at the moment, and for a good reason. Cloud computing can benefit your business in a lot of ways. However, so many businesses pay over the odds for cloud storage because they simply buy too much. Make sure to check how much data storage you actually need, and don’t pay for more than you will realistically use.
If you can avoid these common mistakes, it will be a lot easier to manage your technology budget.