How to get more $$$ for your IT budget

It’s that time again…IT budgeting season. No one likes it, but the fact of the matter is, it’s a critical part of our IT leader duties. For some of us who loathe numbers or the justification process, it can be easy and tempting to tweak last year’s budget. BUT, this is surely a way to succumb to your firm’s arbitrary cuts. Here’s how to turn that frown upside down: Try to see IT budgeting season as a time to tweak your IT strategy to make sure it fits your business’ needs. A well developed and presented budget should be the numeric manifestation of your IT strategy that's well communicated and understood by your peers.

What should you prioritize for this year? In short, prioritize what is important for the company. If your company talks about digital experience, but there’s no budget to back up the talk, then it’s not important enough. Here are some areas we see as essential areas to focus, based on our research:

• SECURITY. In a recent survey by Tech Pro Research, 69% of tech leaders said they'll be focusing on improving security for IT systems in 2017. With major security threats like Wannacry, and SOREBRECT, it’s imperative to stay vigilant and increase your security measures.
• IMPROVE EFFICIENCY & BUSINESS PROCESSES. Improving efficiency and business processes through technology. We recommend investing in clean, elegant solutions that help the business grow. In fact, this is one of our core principles. Our process for our clients is rooted in automation and proactively managing systems. A strategic way to fund your IT initiatives is to design your solutions to save time and money in your IT operations so those savings can then fund projects that empower your business through technology.
• INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY. All businesses are geared to funding areas which will provide a return on investment (ROI) whether in the short run or long run. Focus on technology that will both improve processes and the staff’s productivity and show how it will do so. In some cases, there is a quick ROI, like moving a business function from an internal application to a SaaS. Increases in productivity could be twofold: Your company could be more productive AND your IT staff will not spend time managing that application, server, storage, backups and security and can spend time moving the business forward.

A carefully crafted IT strategy and roadmap CAN come to actualization. Need help? We can help you craft the roadmap that works best for your business, with ROI and TCO calculations for your budget.