Helping businesses budget for IT in 2021

How much do you plan to spend on your IT this year? Have you found yourself reassessing your budget – or maybe even really thinking about it for the first time. A recent survey of 1,000 technology buyers in companies across North America and Europe found that 76% of businesses are planning on long term IT changes and 80% anticipate tech spending to stay the same or increase.

There is no doubt that businesses are looking at IT differently now. Where it was often seen as an expensive overhead that needed regular updating and improving, Covid-19 has changed the way we work and IT is now being seen more for the necessary business tool that it is.

“At TwoPointZero IT we are often asked how much clients should budget on their annual IT provision” comments Director Billy Brundle, “the truth is that there is no one-size-fits solution and no way of standardising the calculation. The best way to plan for the future is to identify what your business needs to achieve – whether that be growth, data protection, collaborative working, or something else and then build these priorities into a functional and affordable plan”.

A recent article from Spiceworks Ziff Davis acknowledges that businesses will likely operate in a hybrid environment in the future – ‘alternating between home and office based working’. To enable this to happen ‘IT support will change to support this multilocation workforce – creating disaster recovery plans’ and ‘an increased priority placed on technology that enables business continuity’.

“Your IT spend should provide your business with the best solutions possible to enable your team to work as efficiently and productively as possible – wherever they are based” Billy continues, “Whilst the amount you budget will depend on each individual business it is worth prioritising and evaluating your IT needs”.

Billy recommends that businesses ask themselves “will your IT provision do the following…?”

• Enable you to grow your business by reaching more potential customers?
• Streamline and automate your day-to-day operations to maximise efficiency?
• Protect your business and customer data and finances with reliable cybersecurity preventing expensive breaches and lost downtime?
• Improve your business performance – customer and staff experience?
• Train your staff to get the best out of remote working?
• Provide proactive support to all of your workforce and systems regardless of geography?

“As part of our support packages we work with clients to help them best plan their IT for the future – depending on their individual business aspirations, industry and budget” Billy explains, “we recognise that every one of our clients is different and we look to find the right solutions for them; we can even help arrange financing to suit their needs”.

If you think that your IT provision would benefit from a review contact TwoPointZero IT on 01473 851460 to discuss your options.