Tip of the Week: 3 IT Tips Your Budget Will Thank You For

Staying on top of your company’s budget is a key component to increasing your revenue. By failing to do so, major expenses will blindside you and cancel out any progress that might have otherwise been made from increased sales. For many companies, one of the worst budget busters comes from their IT.

IT expenses have a tendency to wreak havoc on a budget when they’re not planned for, especially when something major happens like a server going down. Plus, IT problems seem to happen at the worst possible time, like in the middle of the day, which leads to expensive downtime for your staff. One of the best ways to get a grip on unforeseen IT expenses is to implement technologies and IT services that are intentionally designed to aid your company’s budget.

Here are three IT solutions that will help you get a handle on your company's budget, AND improve productivity. Basically, these technologies are a win-win for your business:

Managed IT Services/Co-Managed IT
The advantage of managed IT services is that it takes a highly unpredictable expense (like IT maintenance) and turns it into something that can be budgeted around with a regular fee. Additionally, because managed IT takes a proactive approach to IT maintenance, your system will experience far fewer breakdowns than if you only took care of IT problems whenever they surfaced (an expensive approach known as break-fix).

Managed IT allows you to budget around maintenance for your company’s IT systems, as well as these other IT services:

• Remote hardware monitoring and management
• Network security
• Helpdesk support
• Data backup and recovery
• Vendor management
• Business technology reviews and consulting

As a bonus, with managed IT you’re getting professional IT technicians to monitor your systems, instead of simply bringing in a break-fix technician whenever something goes wrong. Obviously, managed IT is the better way, which makes it so astounding that it actually costs less than traditional IT support!

Cloud Computing
Why withdraw precious capital from your budget to purchase and maintain in-house computer hardware when you can instead host your data and applications in the cloud? Essentially, the more of your IT infrastructure that you migrate to the cloud, equates to more savings for your company’s operations budget (an expense that can be budgeted around). Plus, many business owners that have moved to the cloud have found that cloud services actually allow them to do more with their IT by allowing their entire staff to easily access it from anywhere with an Internet connection. The cloud is a classic example of how utilizing the right technology can let you do more, for less!

Voice Over Internet Protocol
Another easy way to bolster your budget is to switch to VoIP. If your business is using traditional phone lines and paying for long distance fees, then you’re using an outdated technology that’s draining your budget. VoIP takes a modern approach to communications by using your company’s Internet connection and network infrastructure to make phone calls, as well as provide other tools like instant messaging, video conferencing, and much more. Plus, like with the previous two examples, your company’s VoIP solution can be managed and hosted by Preferred so that you don’t have to be bothered with it. This will save you time and money, allowing you to focus more of your company’s energy and resources on more profitable ventures.

Preferred can set up your business with all three of these money-saving IT solutions. Contact us at 708-781-7110 to find out how you can do more with your technology, AND save money. Once your company’s budget is under control, your revenue will actually end up going where you want it to--your bottom line!