Every business owner is aware of the fact that upgrading their IT infrastructure with regularity is a priority. Despite this, some businesses fail to upgrade their systems while others try to defer it as much as possible, because they find the process expensive and disruptive overall. But IT upgrades aren’t something you can afford to overlook.
Refreshing your IT infrastructure allows you the flexibility to facilitate new business processes and initiatives whilst keeping up with ever-changing market conditions. In order to achieve cost reduction and IT optimisation, it’s important to take into account the overall lifespan and value of each component. At times, it’s more about maximising investments you already have, while at others it’s about upgrading now in order to avoid costs in the future. Read on below to learn more on how to manage your IT infrastructure costs effectively.
Why it’s important to upgrade?
A strategic and targeted approach will help your business meet both existing and future needs; it can be very risky to run your business on out-dated infrastructure. As your business requirements change and the volume of data grows, outdated infrastructure can throw performance issues that affect your business operations. Aside from this, you may also be opening up your system to various security risks. The older the application or OS, the easier it is for a hacker to take advantage of the vulnerabilities.
Always keep in view that your IT plays a vital role in your business as it effectively supports all of your company’s business initiatives and operations. By continuously upgrading these systems, you are, in fact, enhancing your company’s productivity, efficiency and its security.
Develop an inventory
In order to effectively monitor and manage your Information Technology assets, you need to maintain a detailed inventory. Create a detailed list of all the existing software and hardware such as:
- CPU, hard drive and memory capacity
- OS version
- Software installed
- Year purchased
- Warranty status/ expiration date
Once this list is completed, you would be able to determine which items require upgrading. The key to reducing infrastructure upgrade costs is about knowing exactly when and how each of these components will be upgraded. The different options are:
Component upgrade
If you are working on a very tight budget, and your business isn’t expanding at a good pace, this temporary solution may work better for you. By upgrading memory, hard disks, networking equipment and processors, you can extend the lifespan of your infrastructure by many years.
Get new hardware
While replacing all your hardware is generally the best solution, businesses that are just starting out may feel it’s an expensive option. But when planned well, these solutions should last you between 4 and 5 years; the total cost can be spread across the equipment’s useful life with financing. Alternatively, the individual items can also be replaced once they reach the end of their useful life.
Consider Cloud options
Using cloud technology is a great way to host networking components, servers, hardware and storage online; these are hosted by their party Cloud service providers and you have the option to upgrade whenever you need to. You rent only the service and the rest of the administration tasks such as maintenance and keeping everything secure is all taken care of for you. This is a great option if you are a startup and you don’t need to invest in any conventional IT equipment or even wait for weeks to deploy services.
For effective and sustainable cost reduction opportunities & efficiencies that will increase your bottom line, contact the experts at Benchmark Cost Solutions at this number – 02 9525 0777. If you prefer, write to us at this email address, and we will revert quickly.
Thanks for reading,
Benchmark Cost Solutions Team
02 9525 0777
