- June 14, 2023
It’s no secret that in an increasingly more digitalised world, companies are forced to invest in state of the art technology in order to stay relevant and keep their competitive edge.
Technology just for the sake of technology is money down the drain. Technology for the sake of efficiency on the other hand, is the way to go. But what should you invest? How much is too much – or too little?
Technology is usually a big, not to mention necessary, investment that requires planning in both execution and resources. According to Entrepreneur.com there are five ways to determine what technology you actually need:
1. Make a plan and map your milestones – Every business needs a business plan as well as a technology plan. By mapping out milestones in terms of employee number and revenue, you can plan ahead and predict the needs for technology investments throughout the company.
With a strategy for increase/decrease in technology needs, the company can easily handle change at the point of need. To keep track of the assets already acquired, it is a good idea to keep data in an up-to-date and complete asset register, containing data about all your assets, where it is, who’s using it and what it costs.
2. Recognise the strategic value – Don’t look at IT as an expense, but as a strategic investment. In order to become an attractive workplace for the millennial wave, companies must realise the true value of technology as efficiency tools.
Sweating your assets is not a good idea. Using assets until they shut down will probably cost the company more than replacing it at an earlier stage, through costs like IT support, down time and inefficient end-users.
3. Benchmark against your physical space – What the physical workspace looks like, and how your employees use it, tells a lot about how much and what kind of technology you need. By assessing the physical space against the employees day-to-day tasks, including their execution methods, you can map out and meet their needs – making your employees more efficient.
Isn’t that why we use technology in the first place? To assist us in our tasks and make us more efficient? Too much technology, or the wrong kind, can easily affect the work in a negative way causing more challenges than benefits.
4. Make rules and follow them – There is a fine line between flexibility and dysfunction. Agreeing on technology standards allows the IT department to do their job more efficiently, and in turn make the user experience that much better. Solutions such as “bring your own device” often creates support challenges, both time and resource consuming.
Technology guidelines helps the IT department specialise their support to a given technology selection, and in turn execute their support services with ease. An alternative to the 'bring your own device' model, is 'choose your own device'. By letting your employees choose their preferred tool from an approved selection, IT can ensure excellent support.
5. Consider options other than buying – Buying IT equipment is not necessarily economically beneficial. Not only is technology expensive, but it quickly decreases in value. Leasing is an option to buying that spreads the costs and offers residual value, which in turn can save your company a lot of money. The company does not own the equipment, but simply pays for access in an agreed upon period of time.
There are many things to consider when it comes to technology acquisition and needs. In addition to these five points, every company should also have a strategy for replacement of old equipment.
Using leasing as an acquisition model lets you off the hook when it comes to challenges in upgrading your equipment. When the lease period is at its end, you can decide whether to upgrade, buy out or extend the lease – as the company sees fit.
Leasing with 3stepIT provides flexibility and is tailored for the specific needs of each customer. We are supplier independent, which means you are free to choose the equipment you need – when you need it. IT doesn’t get any easier than that. Learn more here.
