Now that we are in the month of July, we are on the downhill for 2016. It’s probably time to plan your IT budget for the rest of the year. Historically, July is a slow month for IT purchases. People are on vacation, things are rolling along, and everything that was put in place earlier in the year is humming along. The mistake some people make is complacency. You can’t sit too long on your IT budget. You have to keep it moving. The time to plan is when things ARE working, not when they are not. Let’s take a look at a few simple things you can start doing now to plan your IT budget.
What to look for
- The age of your PC’s. Is it time to swap out the ones that are over 3 years old? Don’t wait for them to break. Replace them now because they are most likely out of warranty, and you will end up replacing them anyway. This is a great place to be proactive.
- Review your antivirus and antispyware. Is it time to add some features, like email scanning? Are you protected against the cryptovirus?
- Re-evaluate software. Do you have any file sharing programs? Messenger programs, or anything else you use to run your business? As you plan your IT budget, small utilities like this often get overlooked.
- Is it time for a security assessment? When was the last time you did disaster recovery planning?
- How old are your servers? When migrating servers, it could take 3-4 months to plan, so start now.
Even though it may seem like your network is humming, it requires constant maintenance and upgrading. Don’t be afraid to put a few dollars into your infrastructure. Think about the cost of downtime. How expensive is that? Constantly plan your IT budget, and most importantly, be PROACTIVE. The worst thing you can do is wait for things to break. Meet with your IT department on a regular basis, and put action items in to place.
Plan your IT budget. It will save you!!
