There are a lot of ways to waste cash in a business – IT is no exception if done poorly. Whether you’ve lost out buying in to unfit technology in the past, suffered the slow burn of old equipment or you’ve been stung by a commitment to a product or service you don’t actually fit. Unfortunately, most growing businesses will experience a “learning” like this in their journey; which is not great. Our job is to help you avoid these situations.
Here are a couple of tips to consider when you’re thinking about the IT spend in your business:
Ask any business that has run a server, they are generally dark about the topic and the cost. Always expensive up-front, needy (from an IT maintenance and upkeep perspective), risky, hardly ever the golden ticket.
It is much less common nowadays to require a server; and when we onboard a new customer with a server we really have to ask “why?”, and “is there a better way of doing this?”
A server, even run properly, is both a major capital expense and an ongoing cost burden for any business so we’re always weighing up the options for potential alternative solutions.
Modern options mean we can do away with in-house servers most of the time. What’s going to be right for you?
We consider:
Would you like to buy a bad thing twice, or a good thing once?
That’s a regular call to make with most investments in business technology, particularly for anyone aiming to build a solid foundation for their business.
If you’re running a productive operation and a key piece of equipment fails, what and who does that affect? What does the downtime and loss look like?
Consider a critical team member's laptop - fairly vital. If this breaks down are you going to need this sorted ASAP? A well-built laptop with next-day on-site repairs or an express replacement warranty are always very sensible options.
What about that equipment in the messy IT cupboard? Or equipment that’s running a bit too hot and dusty? Sure to cause you grief at some point ahead, and not a lot of investment is required to proactively tidy and sort.
When something is the right fit and well looked after, it will probably always cost more than the cheapest option at first, but it will last, and it will serve your business fittingly. We’re a big advocate of this.
Cybercriminals are always on the lookout for new ways to compromise business systems and scam people because it pays them well. The best things you can do to avoid funding their harm as a victim is to fund your own prevention measures instead. Be prepared, expect their attempts to threaten your business, train your team, test your plans, and minimise your exposure to risk. Your best form of protection is smart preparation.
We’ll cover more detail on this in a separate piece soon, so keep an eye out!
Training is key. Skills are important. And investing in both drives great outcomes.
Whether it is upskilling yourself and helping team members around you, or leaning on experts like us to help get the best foot forward for your business – investing in the right people is key.
We’re proud to help businesses grow into new spaces with practical and simple advice backed with our experience. We love being contactable, and we enjoy being there to help our customers.
If you like the sound what we’re doing, why not reach out for a chat to see how we can help you?
Don’t be a stranger. Feel free to drop us a line, anytime.
