Stretching budgets as far as they can go is par for the course with small businesses, but you should be careful not to hamstring your business by eliminating too much of your IT budget. Technology is vital to a company’s success, and fortunately, there are ways of cutting costs without sacrificing quality or making drastic changes to your infrastructure.
Here are five effective IT budgeting tips for small businesses to help you achieve this balance.
Conduct a thorough IT audit
It’s essential to understand your current spending and technology use before taking the knife to your technology budget. Conduct a full audit of your IT assets, including hardware, software, and service subscriptions. Then conduct reviews of their performance and impact where possible.
With this information, you can determine what you really need and what is weighing you down. By eliminating the bloat, you can save on costs while improving the efficiency of your systems.
Prioritize preventative maintenance
The longer your IT lasts, the less you spend over time replacing it. Regular maintenance can prevent costly breakdowns and extend the life of your equipment. Schedule regular check-ups for all your major hardware (desktops, servers, printers, etc.) and update your firmware. There are many automated tools that can help with this.
You should also keep detailed records of your hardware warranties and end-of-life dates, so you’ll know when to start budgeting for a replacement.
Leverage cloud services
Migrating to the cloud can provide significant cost savings while expanding your business’s capabilities and stabilizing your budget with consistent and predictable monthly costs.
There are endless apps and integrations in the cloud, but the best budget-friendly cloud solutions and features include:
- Cloud storage: This technology gives you anytime, anywhere access to your documents and data while reducing or eliminating the need for expensive on-premises storage solutions.
- Software as a Service (SaaS): Avoid the upfront costs of purchasing software licenses and enjoy constant upgrades and updates for a low monthly fee per user.
- Cloud backup: The price of cloud backups gets lower all the time, so you can protect your data affordably and get rid of expensive physical backup infrastructure.
- Flexible pricing: When your business grows or shrinks, adding or removing cloud users is easy, and you only pay for what you use.
Negotiate with vendors
Don’t be afraid to negotiate with vendors and simply ask for a better deal. Many vendors operating on subscription models will provide you with discounts and better rates to ensure you remain a customer long into the future. Telecom companies in particular usually have a lot of freedom in negotiating their fees to keep customers happy.
Here are some tips for negotiating:
- Do your research: Understand the market rates and what competitors are offering so you know what to offer and accept.
- Bundle services: Ask about discounts for bundling multiple services or products.
- Consider long-term contracts: Vendors may offer better rates for longer-term commitments.
Hire a managed IT services provider
It may seem counterintuitive to save money by hiring a managed IT services provider, but consider what you gain. Instead of hiring a full-time IT employee, training them, paying their salary and benefits, and dumping all of your IT responsibilities on them, you can pay a fraction of the cost for the services of an entire team of professionals.
You then get enterprise-grade IT optimized for your business goals, up-to-date cybersecurity, and much more for a predictable monthly price that doesn’t harm your budget.
The added revenue from increased productivity and efficiency as well as the money saved on cyberattack remediation usually makes up for the costs of paying for managed IT services, but only if you find the right provider.
If you need a managed IT services provider that can align your IT for greater business success on a limited budget, contact USWired today. We’ve been partnering with small businesses across San Francisco and the Bay Area for over 25 years, helping them cut costs while boosting productivity with comprehensive IT services. Schedule a free consultation with our IT experts and we’ll show you how we can improve your efficiency and operations while staying within your budget.
