October 27, 2014
With dollar amounts spent on IT projected to increase by 3% in 2014, CEOs must partner with IT and financial teams to ensure funds are allocated to the appropriate resources. Spending on IT can support your business and make it grow. The question on everyone’s mind: where can you afford to scale back? Where can cutting corners hurt you? Here are some tips for where that extra money can be found – and where it can go.
Save Money – Go Virtual
Going virtual – that is, moving tech resources and support into a virtualized environment (i.e. the cloud) – is one of the forefronts of the tech-budget-trimming movement. Virtualization has surpassed half of all server workloads and will continue to increase exponentially. Apps are deployed on virtualized infrastructures. More than 70% of senior executives whose companies go virtual say that virtualization had a significant impact on both efficiency and cost savings.
Spend Money – Stay Secure
Virtualization doesn’t ensure security. Some virtual systems aren’t patched – and those that are often have signatures that can be easily removed, even by accident. Data attacks are at an all-time high. As consumers become more informed, they’re more invested in the security of their apps and personal information. With malware, attacks, and identity theft on the rise, hiring good security people will prove invaluable over time. When security does go down, you need to have a plan to recover what you’ve lost. Whether you decide to use a data recovery service or back up your own work to the cloud, it’s money well spent.
Save Money – Augment Your IT Staff
Staff augmentation is an outsourcing strategy. While “outsourcing” may be a dirty word in the tech industry, as more and more jobs are being pulled from overseas back in-house, this strategy can save money long-term without other ill effects. When a specific set of skills is needed for one project, use contract staff. Whenever possible, use in-house skills to get the job done, but when you do need to go outside, spend on people who’ve already got the skills you need.
Still feeling overwhelmed? A free IT assessment with ITS, Inc. can help you get on track and stay there. Call us today (888) 264-7852!
Thanks for reading,
Rob Connary, President - COO
