3 Reasons Your Next Budget Should Include Updating Tech

publish date: October 19, 2016

The time of the year has come again for many businesses. The time for budgeting. Budgets can often create headaches for those who decide where the dollars go. With all the different matters pressing, many times there are opportunities missed. One such instance is an aspect of a business that’s often overlooked, but no less important; your hardware and software technology.

Many businesses don’t realize that when you invest in hardware and software, the rewards last much longer than the initial purchase and can often affect your business positively in more than one way.

Reoccurring Costs
There are several ways that dated hardware and software can cost you in the long run through reoccurring costs. One of these are the warranties that are tied with certain products. It will progressively cost you more and more for the warranties on your products as they get older. So when you update your tech, you aren’t only getting the perks that come with newer technology (we’ll cover this next), you are also saving money by easing the repeated cost of warranties.

Not many companies think about the operational costs that come with aging tech. For the most part, the more modern your equipment is, the better features you are going to have and some of these will save you big in operating costs, namely energy consumption. Now, energy consumption may seem like something that isn’t going to affect your budget enough to make a dent, but if you take something like servers and workstations that are constantly running, energy efficiency can add up.

Productivity
There are some obvious reasons for increased productivity from updating hardware and software and then there are some not-so-obvious ones. One of the reasons for increased productivity after updating your equipment is because the new and more efficient features that many times accompany new releases. Despite the learning curve that sometimes factors in, the features can pay off in no time with a more efficient office.

With this being said, there should be a word of caution for companies that only update certain parts of their business with new equipment. Sometimes newer technology only operates successfully with other new technology. For instance, if you purchase new computer monitors but have dated printers or scanners, there is a chance that there will be compatibility issues. That’s why it’s equally important to do your research before making these decisions.

Security
At Intellicom, we regularly highlight the importance of online security because it’s absolutely vital to the longevity of your business. Well, updating the technology in your office is going to directly influence the level this security, particularly with software.

One of the large issues that plague many businesses with older software is the lack of support that is available from the vendor after the software reaches a certain age. Much like warranties, vendors tend to allocate more resources around maintenance and security to the newest versions of their products. The result is that you may eventually be left without the necessary protection or support. With one attack or extended amount of downtime having the possibility of seriously damaging a business, it’s imperative that you make sure account for the latest security software (and hardware) in your budget.

The time to budget can often sneak up on businesses and, as a result, it’s treated as a chore and many opportunities are overlooked for the staples of the budget. Although there are more, these three examples are an excellent place to start turning that annual planning exercise into a lasting investment.