For many small businesses, IT or any kind of technology is considered as a cost center. Often, we hear from business executives that “everything is working fine, why should we upgrade?” Or can we do part of the upgrades this year and the rest next year? Also, as part of the justification to authorize any upgrades, they look at the total cost of IT as a whole and not individually. These may include software applications, LOB (line of business) applications (the main program related to their industry), various subscriptions, online backup, hardware and infra-structure such as internet and in some cases, power and cooling. Of course, there is also IT maintenance and support.
That is why, all the involved vendors are subjected to the fact that business owners always look at the lump sum IT expenditure, and mention it when it comes to upgrading any of their hardware, software and infra structure. They say this year we have spent this amount of money on IT, so we do not have any more money for the server upgrades or online backup etc. Therefore no upgrade gets done. Which by itself has a domino effect and in the long run causes more problems and it becomes more costly. The weakness & vulnerabilities stay, the staff remains unproductive and the system will remain incompatible or unsupported until the upgrades are done.
The main cause of this reluctance is the fact that many small businesses have not set aside any budget for IT costs. They purchase on an as needed basis and only as part of an emergency or the last resort. Mid-size and large businesses practice what is known as “Refreshing”, which means replacing and recycling the equipment in their office every three or four years. This causes the equipment to be amortized and have zero dollar book value. The IT budget is set in advance and the main concern is matching it or reducing it slightly. They also like to deal with vendors that offer predictable IT support and maintenance costs.
Introducing the cloud solution to the small business owners and showing that the cloud solutions meet the above stated criteria (lower and predictable maintenance and support costs). For example, if small businesses are convinced to move their servers to the clouds or if the vendor for their main LOB applications offer the cloud version, the result will be big savings. Once the expensive servers are eliminated, their maintenance and cost of upgrades are eliminated. Hence the cost of space, electricity and future upgrades are all eliminated.
By leveraging the right technologies, setting up a realistic IT budget and becoming familiar with the shelf of the hardware and software, small business owners achieve their goals and keep the costs at bay.
At IT21ST, we take all of these factors and more into considering our own company culture and your long-term success. Call us at: 855-448-2178 or visit us at: www.it21st.com to discuss your IT and Managed Services today.
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