Technology has occupied a large part of our daily lives both at home and at the office. Major advancements in computers, smart devices, cloud storage, software, backups, and disaster recovery options has made the decision on how to allocate business funds for technology increasingly difficult each year. Many business owners make the mistake of relying on the same IT budget model year after year, without considering the advancements or changes in technology that could benefit their business.
Information technology is an integral part of every business in 2018, with extensive and lasting benefits. It’s important to view technology as both a cost of doing business, as well as an opportunity to do more – an asset versus an expense.
Let’s take a quick look at just a handful of benefits well-invested IT dollars can bring:
- The ability to reach and develop better business relationships with customers.
- Provide better service and support to customers.
- Stronger relationships with partners and vendors.
- Using data to make better decisions and guide the business.
- Streamlining business operations, reducing costs, improving efficiency, and maximizing profit.
- Competitive advantage.
According to CIO Magazine, businesses tend to spend between 4-6% of their revenue on IT expenses. In a study comparing business size and IT spending, ROI consultancy Alinean Inc. compared the IT spending and performance ratios of publicly traded U.S. companies. The study found that small and medium-sized companies often outspend larger ones. The average small company spends 6.9% of revenue on IT. Midsized companies spend 4.1%. Larger companies spent 3.2% of revenue.
In order to properly come up with an IT budget for your business, it’s important that your business go through the assessment phase to review the network and its related systems from several angles including users, hardware, backups, DR, and current IT vendors.
Looking to have an audit done on your IT systems? Contact Miken today!
