Tips for Managing your I.T. Budget
You know having proper I.T. and tech support is important for keeping your business operating smoothly, but budgeting for it can be tricky sometimes. How much support do I need? What if everything is running smoothly? Do I need to hire someone to be in the office full-time? So many questions!
We know arranging for and setting up tech support can be tricky, confusing and sometimes, expensive – so here are a few tips for helping keep costs down, while ensuring you get the best bang for your buck.
Take Advantage of a Fixed-Price Monthly Solution
While a pay-as-you go solution might feel like it saves you some money, realistically, in the long run it’s going to end up costing you much more. A lot of the common issues that occur with viruses, spyware, email delivery and spam in our inbox, and general hardware/software malfunctions can be remedied with proper monitoring and management. Here at Info-Tech Montreal, our monthly Remote Monitoring and Management services ensures there’s always someone watching over your network, so we can actually catch and prevent problems from happening before you even notice anything is wrong! This is much more cost-effective than waiting for something to crash and then fixing it.
Not only does this help save you money by preventing problems from happening in the first place, but it also makes budgeting easier because you’ll have a fixed monthly cost. Think of it like evening out your electricity bill. Most folks prefer to pay the same monthly cost all year round, instead of paying much more in the hotter and colder months than in the fall and spring.
Get Your Computers on a Replacement Cycle
It can be an expensive day when all of your computers suddenly need repair and none are on warranty anymore. To prevent these pricey scenarios, we work with our clients to set-up a 3 -to – 5 year replacement cycle for their computers (based on the length of the warranty).
What does that mean? It means that, supposing you have 15 computers nearing their end of life, we’ll replace 5 in the near future, 5 more next year, and 5 the year after that, all with 5-year warranties. In 5 years, we’ll start the cycle again. This way you’re never faced with having to replace all of (or the majority of) your computers in a short period of time. We’ll also be able to get you a better bang for your buck than you would receive at a local computer shop.
Managing I.T. can sound expensive – and it certainly can be, if there’s no plan in place and it’s a reactive measure! But luckily, we have programs and services in place designed to keep your costs down without compromising on service. Reach out today and let’s chat about your unique case, and see what we can do for you!
