The Three Essential Technology Budget Categories

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Are you creating a technology budget? The following three key categories can often be easily overlooked.’

Technology is a critical part of any modern business, but it’s easy to focus solely on the routine services that keep the lights on. Unfortunately, this mindset can lead you to miss crucial budget categories, leaving you scrambling when unanticipated needs arise.

Keep reading to learn about three essential budget categories – projects, refreshes, and accidents/incidents – these areas are often overlooked and can impact your business.

Pay attention to these categories.

Budget for the following categories to ensure your business has what it needs to succeed. You may need to rethink your approach without these items in your budget.

Refreshes
Regularly refreshing your technology infrastructure is key to keeping up with the demands of a growing company. Upgrading hardware and software ensure that your employees are productive, and your bottom line is protected. Outdated security patches make you vulnerable to hacking, so it is essential to stay up to date. Regular updates to your infrastructure will keep your company running smoothly.

Accidents or incidents
As businesses increasingly rely on technology, they become more vulnerable to cyberattacks. For example, in the case of a ransomware attack, a “bad guy” might demand a ransom in exchange for the decryption code, which could overwhelm the business.

Without proper backup, businesses may have to pay a ransom to avoid data loss — and they still might not get their data back. These circumstances can be a financial and reputational setback for the business. To protect against these sophisticated threats, companies should invest in the right security solutions.

Projects
Organizations are vulnerable to attacks when they get busy and neglect critical IT projects. Hackers can easily access your network if your employees use unsecured Wi-Fi. Risks associated with free Wi-Fi hotspots include network compromise, evil twin attacks, and exploits. The best way to avoid these incidents is to provide your workforce with a secure VPN setup. VPNs allow employees to connect to a secure network, protecting your company from attacks.

Collaboration is key to success.

Are you concerned about cutting costs without overlooking important budget categories? Our IT service providers can help prevent this by collaborating with you to find more cost-effective solutions.

If you want more information budgeting for your IT needs, download our infographic “How to Budget for Your IT Needs.”

Common Tech Budgeting Mistakes

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As you plan your budget for the coming year, remember to set aside money for your business’s IT needs. A reliable, up-to-date technology infrastructure is essential for any company, big or small.

However, budgeting for tech can be tricky. On the one hand, you want to plan for anything, but on the other hand, you want to spend your time wisely and save valuable resources. It’s a delicate balance that many businesses struggle to achieve.

To help you avoid making common mistakes, we’ve compiled a list of the most frequent oversights regarding technology budgeting. Please keep reading to learn more about those mistakes and how to avoid them.

Pay Attention to These Mistakes

By avoiding these mistakes, you can ensure you’re making the best use of your resources and getting the most bang for your buck.

Mistake #1: Thinking short-term

Always keep your overall business objectives in mind when budgeting for IT needs. Purchasing solutions that cannot grow with you is wasteful. You will end up spending more money in the long run. You can avoid potential roadblocks and extra costs by planning as much as possible. 

Mistake #2: Last year’s IT budget will work for this year

Businesses must continuously update their technology. However, this cannot be easy to do on a tight budget. When old systems are still working, it can be hard to justify spending money on new technology.

One way to stay ahead of the competition is to assess your company’s strengths and weaknesses constantly. By doing this, you can identify areas where upgrading a new system or platform could improve business outcomes. In addition, this information can help make a case for the necessary expenditure to stay relevant and improve your company’s long-term success.

Mistake #3: The cheapest option is always the best

Technology is a critical part of any modern business. Investing in high-quality technology can improve your bottom line by streamlining workflows, increasing employee productivity, and improving customer satisfaction.

Just as you would only attempt to run a marathon with adequate preparation, you should not try to run your business with subpar technology. Instead, invest in high-quality technology and watch the difference it makes in your company.

Mistake #4: One person can handle all my IT needs

Even an IT genius needs the occasional vacation or day off. With an IT service provider on your team, you can take advantage of extra resources and support when you need a break. This action can help improve job satisfaction and employee retention, as your team members will feel appreciated and empowered to take time off, when necessary, without jeopardizing your company’s IT infrastructure.

An IT service provider can play a crucial role in assisting with areas of your business that your internal IT team may not have the capacity to cover or in which they do not excel.

Partner for Success

Partnering with an IT service provider can be an excellent strategy for IT budgeting. Working with a service provider allows you to understand your IT needs and the cost of meeting them. In addition, a specialized IT service provider like us can also help you stay within your budget by providing cost-effective solutions that meet your specific needs.

Want to learn more about budgeting for IT needs? Read our infographic “Make Your IT Needs Part of Your Business Budgeting,” which you can download by clicking here.

Tech Budgeting

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As we move into the new year, it’s a great time to examine your organization’s budget closely. Make sure your business has the financial resources it needs to keep growing and thriving in the months and years ahead.

Technology is becoming increasingly important in today’s world, so having a clear and well-defined IT budget is crucial. In addition, an unanticipated technology problem can cause severe disruptions, so it’s best to have a plan and be prepared.

Here are a few things to keep in mind as you budget for your IT needs.

Constantly assess your business needs

Assuming you’ll have the same IT budget next year is a dangerous game in today’s rapidly changing technological landscape. It’s essential to regularly reassess your company’s needs and see how upgrading or changing platforms could help you meet those goals. You’ll always stay ahead of the curve by taking the time to do this.

Just like most technology-backed businesses, you should allocate your IT budget to improve these four areas:

Projects
Many companies fail to prioritize important IT projects, such as securing their networks, leaving them vulnerable to attacks. Hackers can exploit unsecured Wi-Fi networks and easily access sensitive data. It is best to set up a secure VPN for your virtual workforce to avoid these risks.

Refreshes
As businesses increasingly rely on technology, it is critical to ensure that their IT infrastructure is up to date. Legacy systems can decrease employee productivity and leave companies vulnerable to hacking. Annual technology refreshes are essential to maintaining optimal performance and security.

Accidents or incidents
You’ll need a plan to tackle an accident or incident, such as a cybercriminal demanding a ransom. An event like this can be disastrous not only financially but also for your reputation. So, plan your technology budget, and strengthen your cybersecurity plan to manage your business risk.

Routine IT services
Hackers are always on the lookout for weaknesses in your business network. It would be best if you were proactive in identifying these weaknesses in your IT infrastructure so that your business network isn’t compromised. Ensure you continuously monitor your network with a vulnerability scanning solution to identify potential problems and develop the best preventive measures.

An IT service provider might be what you need

IT service providers can help you with a wide range of IT-related tasks, including cybersecurity, backup, compliance, budgeting, and more.

An IT service provider can help with the following:

Internal support: Internal IT department or IT team
The most common type of support is through an internal IT department or IT team. Usually, businesses with a committed IT team are enterprises, while small businesses may have only one IT staff member or none at all.

Hybrid support: A combination of internal and external IT services
If you have an existing internal IT team but have areas they cannot cover, you can outsource those areas to an external specialist.

External support: Outsourced IT service provider
An external IT service provider can support your business in multiple ways, such as assessing your IT infrastructure to formulate a plan for budgeting decisions, providing advice on the best IT solutions, and assisting with implementation and setup.

A combination of internal and external IT services
Outsourcing your IT needs or opting for hybrid support alongside your internal IT team can reduce a great deal of stress since our specialists can help lighten the load and show you the right way to prepare a budget. To get started, contact us today for a no-obligation consultation.

In addition, you can download our infographic “How to Budget for Your IT Needs,” which will walk you through the basics of IT budgeting.

How an IT Service Provider Can Help with Cyber Insurance

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When looking for cyber insurance for your small business, you may find it hard to navigate technology and insurance jargon. There are even different types of cyber coverage, and you might not be sure what you need because you’re not a cybersecurity expert. Plus, once you do have coverage, there’s always the risk of not receiving a payout in the event of an incident if you didn’t meet your policy’s requirements.

Partnering with an IT service provider can make your journey to qualify for cyber insurance easier in so many ways. Keep reading to find out how.

An IT service provider can help you

Although an expert IT service provider can bring a lot to the table on matters regarding security, backup and compliance to help you stay protected, in terms of cyber insurance, you can get assistance with the following:

Auditing and complying with insurance policies

Meeting your cyber insurance policy requirements is ultimately up to you, you can improve your chances of receiving a payout following an incident by partnering with a specialized IT service provider.

The majority of insurance policies require you to take specific actions to reduce your risk of a cyberattack. These actions may involve maintaining strict security protocols and procedures, regularly backing up data and more. An IT service provider can help handle all of these and ensure that the appropriate security measures are followed to protect your data and comply with policy requirements.

An IT service provider can also help make documenting your security measures easier.

Picking the right coverage for your business

It can be difficult to know which type of cyber insurance is best for your company out of the many available options (theft, liability, and extortion). An IT service provider can evaluate your company and direct you toward the right coverage. The drawback of not having the right insurance coverage is that you’ll have to pay the premium and get nothing in return when you really need it.

Improving your cybersecurity posture

Insurance companies are wary of taking on too much risk due to the skyrocketing rate of cybercrime. Although this makes obtaining cyber insurance coverage challenging, it is not impossible. If you have a strong cybersecurity posture, your chances of getting coverage will be higher.

An IT service provider can help you assess your cybersecurity risks and recommend ways to improve your overall cybersecurity posture. They can also help you implement security controls and monitor your network for threats. If you do suffer a data breach, an IT service provider can help you with the incident response process.

The decision is yours

If you’re hoping to qualify for a cyber insurance policy, a specialized IT service provider like us can help. We can use our expertise and experience to help you choose the right policy for your business and meet your policy’s requirements. Feel free to reach out for a no-obligation consultation where you can decide if we’re the right partner for you.

To help you learn more about cyber insurance, we created a comprehensive checklist that you can download by clicking here.