10 Smart Ways to Save Money and Get More out of Your IT Budget

How To Get More out of Your IT Budget

From strengthening security within your organization, to moving to the cloud, it’s possible to stretch your IT budget to meet all your needs, no matter what the size of your business – IF you know what areas to invest in. We’ll show you the best way to stretch your IT dollars and get more out of your existing budget by cutting hardware expenses and investing in these smart IT solutions.

Effective IT Budgeting & Forecasting

As IT becomes more demanding, so does the ability to effectively budget and forecast for future IT needs and spending.

Our skilled account teams and service tools allow Ontech to assist you in asset management, inventory tracking, and life cycle of network components, device and software renewals, and a 5 year forecast that we work on together with our clients on an annual basis.  This allows our clients to build trust with our account teams and create a true understanding of how IT plays a role in the financial aspect of their business.

Our forecasting tools allow our clients to understand where their investments are going in the various areas of IT and their network.  The ability to effectively understand and manage the budget, has vaulted our clients to services and solutions that at one time, may not have been possible.

From strengthening security, to moving to the cloud, it’s possible to stretch your IT budget – IF you know what to invest in. Invest in these solutions for the best return on your IT investment.

1) Invest in Managed Services

It’s easy to see why more and more businesses are moving toward managed services rather than a break/fix IT approach.

Managed services such as desktop care, server care and mobile device management (MDM) can greatly reduce security risks within your organization.

These unobtrusive preventative maintenance solutions quietly monitor your system to prevent vulnerabilities and address issues before they impact your network. In addition, managed services allow businesses to effectively budget for fluctuating IT expenses.

Through a managed service approach, technical issues are minimized and when problems do arise, they’re dealt with quickly – often without you even realizing there was an issue.

2) Migrate to Office 365

If your organization hasn’t jumped on the Office 365 bandwagon just yet, take a moment to consider this powerful suite of tools before the year is over.

Office 365 is a powerful suite of cloud-based productivity tools. If even a portion of your workforce is mobile based, the file sharing and collaboration tools within Office 365 can help you enhance employee collaboration and efficiency.

Did you know Office 365 can help you trim down your IT budget? In a recent study, 57% of businesses stated the greatest benefit of Office 365 was reduced IT support costs due to elimination of hardware or software.

If employees within your organization use multiple devices throughout their workday, they’ll love Office 365’s mobility-based email capabilities. For example, through Office 365, you could start typing an email on your desktop, head out to a meeting and pick up where you left off on the same email through your mobile device – no more lost emails or redundant email administration tasks!

Since Office 365 email is cloud based, you don’t have to worry about transferring a bloated PST data file from one PC to the next. If security is a concern, you can rest easy knowing this powerful software was designed from the group up with security in mind. Office 365 is reliable, secure and Microsoft guarantees 99.9% up-time.

3) Invest in Preventative Security

At Ontech Systems, we encourage our customers to conduct an annual security assessment to ensure their network is truly secure. If your organization needs to adhere to HIPAA compliance guidelines or any other regulatory requirements, it is important to implement a layered security approach to ensure your business is in compliance at all times.

4) Update and Test Your Data Backup

Investing resources in data backup is always a wise decision. When you consider the risk of losing your valuable data or experiencing days of downtime and hours of lost productivity, at minimum, perform a test to confirm your data backup method actually works. From data recovery solutions, to calculating the true cost of downtime for your business, contact Ontech Systems by phone at (262) 522-8560 or by email to discuss the best backup solution for your organization.

5) Invest Time into Creating an IT Budget

Often times, businesses don’t have an IT budget in place at all. This puts their infrastructure at elevated risk for unexpected expenses due to a security risk or network failure.

The best (and most cost effective) approach to IT is a proactive one. We encourage you to contact Ontech Systems to schedule a budget meeting. Together, we’ll discuss your immediate concerns, future goals for growth and define a 5-year outlook on your IT budget so you can stretch your dollar and maximize your IT budget to the fullest extent.

6) Invest in VoIP Phone Systems (and Save Money)

It’s hard to believe there was a time when a business landline was the only option. Today, the reality is that switching from analog or digital phone systems to true VoIP service can save your organization a significant amount of savings.

Getting started is easy – no large investment in hardware is required. Depending on the number of local and long distance calls your organization makes, transitioning to VoIP could save you 20-50% off your monthly phone bill!

With the Allworx VoIP solution, you no longer need to be a slave to your phone company. Allworx features affordable, flexible, feature rich, reliable phone service. What’s great about VoIP versus traditional analog systems is that your monthly rate stays the same regardless of the number of calls or long distance calls you make. Contact us to find out what kind of savings VoIP can offer your business.

7) Look for Ontech’s Current Promotions

It’s easy to save money IT products and services when you take advantage of special promotions offered through Ontech Systems. View our latest offer and reduce your IT costs today!

8) Invest in the Cloud

Save energy, save space and lower your IT costs by moving to the cloud. One of the great things about moving to the cloud is you can scale up or down as your business needs change and your organization grows. In terms of security, the cloud gives you a great deal of flexibility, based on your unique security needs.

If you have mission-critical workloads, the private cloud might be an ideal option for you. If your business doesn’t require the level of infrastructure and security offered by the private cloud, the public cloud offers you a pay-as-you-go option where you pay only for what you use. No matter what type of cloud service you select, this is one of the best ways to reduce your IT costs overall.

9) Explore Microsoft Azure Cloud Solutions

If you’re new to Microsoft Azure, it’s definitely one area to consider when evaluating the best use of your IT budget. In fact, if you’re an existing Office 365 user, you’re already running on Azure.

Azure can help small to mid-sized businesses maintain compliance standards and put enterprise level technology within reach of those organizations who might not otherwise be able to afford it. From analytics, to mobile networking and data storage, Microsoft Azure makes it possible for your business to adapt and scale your resources as needed.

10) Infrastructure Refresh

Finally, assess your existing network equipment and replace outdated, aging equipment that has reached its end-of-life and become a security risk to your business. If your network is running slow, consider an infrastructure refresh. Many organizations are taking full advantage of the cloud, and replacing outdated equipment with the modern convenience of the cloud.

Bulky servers, slow routers, and redundant switches can serve as a source of frustration. After all, your network is your workhorse – it’s the central foundation that helps your business seamlessly run from day to day.

In order to effectively reduce your costs and plan for the future, we encourage you to contact us online or call us at (262) 522-8560 to request a budget meeting where we will identify ways to reduce your IT budget.

Alternatively, you can schedule a 100% Free, no-strings-attached Network Discovery as a next step. Whether you’re looking for more of a general audit of your network or you have a specific concern you need addressed, contact us today and we’ll get all your questions answered – minus technical jargon.

Through our Free Network Discovery, our Network Consultant will conduct a full audit of your network and discuss with you, ways your business can fill in any gaps and resolve potential vulnerabilities or loopholes that might compromise your business and potentially cost you thousands of dollars down the road. Request a free Network Discovery today or call us at (262) 522-8560 to learn more.