Cost-Effective IT Solutions for Small Businesses on a Budget
A managed service provider can help you to walk before you run
The story is told of a small business entrepreneur who was giving a tour of his new office to a former coworker. He wanted to impress his friend with his new digs, which included a waiting room with a sky light, a small fountain, and half a dozen Ficus plants. The interior had newly laid carpets and freshly painted walls. Workstations had the latest computer equipment. The boss’ own office was richly decorated with dark oak furnishings. Finally, the boss pointed to his desk and said, “I’ve even got an electric pencil sharpener.” The friend just nodded, before quietly asking, “Got any clients?”
As a small business owner, you probably recognized this fellow’s mistake early on. When you’re building a company from the ground up, the bells and whistles have to wait. You need to manage expenses so that every penny spent is going towards pennies earned. This is true in every area of operations, including your investment in technology. In this article, we’re going to discuss IT options for companies on a tight budget.
Important steps toward cost-effective IT solutions
Finding the right IT solutions for your business requires discernment and planning. Here are a few necessary steps you must take:
- Inventory your IT needs — Take a look at how you’re doing business now to see where your immediate IT needs lie. Then think about where you want to be in six months to two years. This “need inventory” will indicate your starting points for equipment, network capability, data storage capacity, security requirements, and other essentials.
- Prioritize your acquisitions — If you can’t have your dream network on day one, where do you start? What individuals or departments absolutely must be on the network right now? Who comes online next? Set a schedule for growth and work your IT expansion into your budget.
- Get good advice — Consult with an experienced IT professional who can design an appropriate plan that meets your current needs, but allows you to grow as your business expands.
- Be patient and disciplined — It’s tempting to want to fully implement your technology plan all at once, especially if you have the resources at the moment. But overspending at the beginning can drain resources you might need for business development in the coming weeks and months. Stick with your schedule unless your technology needs change and you have to accelerate implementation.
- Explore managed IT options — If you’re building and launching your digital network, it’s tempting to want your own IT specialists on site, working on nothing but your network for the full business day. But for many reasons, hiring a full-time IT expert might not be your best option. After the initial build, there might not be enough work for a full-time specialist, so you’ll be overpaying for the service you’re getting. And if you engage in e-commerce or have other reasons to use your network outside of regular business hours, you might need ‘round the clock service, which you likely wouldn’t get from in-house IT.
This last point is so important, it’s worth expanding upon.
How managed IT services can be your most cost-effective option
Managed service providers (MSPs) are generally the best option for small businesses on a budget for the following reasons:
- Expertise on call — You can consult an IT specialist who can craft a technology plan to meet your needs and grow with your business. Once your network is up and running, help is only an email or phone call away, 24/7.
- Network monitoring — MSPs deliver great value by monitoring your network for efficiency and security.
- Software simplified — MSPs can take the confusion and complexity out of licensing software. They can install programs and update them whenever necessary.
- Cloud capacity — Instead of buying numerous servers and renting the space to store them, you can access the cloud through your MSP. This spares you the cost of purchasing and maintaining hardware and allows you to add capacity whenever you need it. It also facilitates remote backup as part of a disaster recovery plan.
- Scalability — You can grow your network more easily or scale back as the situation warrants.
For these reasons and more, contracting with a managed service provider can be the cost-effective solution you’re looking for. At KMF Technologies, we provide a full range of IT services for our small business clients. We tailor solutions to your operations, so you don’t pay for more than you need. If you’re looking to build an efficient, secure network on a budget, give us a call today.
