Hardware can be expensive to upgrade and easily become redundant if you don’t make the right decisions when purchasing. With such a significant investment, BEFORE you spend is a great time to jump outside the box and look at how you can do what you do better and save on costs by investing in the latest solutions.
Don’t Make These Mistakes When Buying Hardware for Your Company
First, let’s have a quick look at the biggest mistakes that businesses like yours make when looking at updating computers and other technology.
Failing to Complete a Comprehensive Network Analysis
It’s advisable to regularly conduct a network analysis, especially before purchasing, to ensure that you have an understanding of what works and what doesn’t work in your current setup. It helps to chart your data flow through your core technology, so it is easy to identify issues.
Skipping this step could mean spending money in the wrong areas.
Not Discussing User Needs
The best people to ask about the effectiveness of your technology are the employees. They use it every day and will be able to tell you about its successes and failures. This information can inform the plan that you make to update your system.
Only Buying When Things Break Down
It’s better to use a proactive plan for your technology rather than buying ad hoc as needed. This way you can get the most benefit out of your budget and have the leverage to negotiate discounts when you buy.
Only Buying the Cheapest Equipment
Being smart when buying is essential but with your technology, the cheapest option is not always the best option and a good long-term investment. Sometimes you need to spend a little more initially for the best solution that saves money over time.
Not Consulting Experts
If it’s not your job to maintain networks, then talking to experts that have all of the latest information is recommended. An IT expert can help you to understand the latest in technology and how you can make it work for you.
SaaS as an Alternative to Expensive Computer Updates
SaaS applications are run in the cloud. For a regular fee, as a business, you can access the latest software and hardware, via an internet connection, without the significant upfront expenditure.
The SaaS provider is the one that maintains the servers, software, and databases that permit you to use their product/services remotely. SaaS can be tailored to fit your requirements and you only pay for what you use, and you can scale up or down depending on the season and your turnover.
This allows you, as a business, to focus more on your core products and redirect the budget that would usually be spent on software and infrastructure to other areas of the business.
A Few Last Words
SaaS is worth serious consideration for any size business. It offers considerable savings and access to software and hardware that you wouldn’t be able to use otherwise. The first thing you do is audit your network and determine your needs.
Once you have done this you can talk to a number of providers to determine who would be best for your business.
