With cyberattacks at an all-time high, it’s not enough to review your IT costs when you’re planning your technology budget. A truly effective budget is a flexible one that takes account of the worst-case scenario.
The past two years have radically changed the way we work. From fully remote to hybrid and even cross-border working, we’ve all had to become much more flexible in order to cope with the demands of the pandemic. But is your budget as flexible as your office culture?
You might be used to thinking of a budget as a spending threshold you have to set and then stick to, no matter what. That kind of traditional, static budgeting isn’t just old-fashioned these days. It can even be actively counterproductive. In 2022, a good budget has flexibility built in – just like your working style.
Optimise, don’t cut
If you’re running a business, it’s always a good rule of thumb to keep your outgoings as low as is reasonably possible. That’s a lesson many people learned the hard way when their income was seriously disrupted by the chaos of COVID-19. If you’re combing through your budget for expenses to cut, it’s only natural to turn your attention to IT costs.
And there may well be areas where you could save some money. It’s always worth reviewing your licenses to see whether you’re paying for services you don’t really need, or software that is no longer supported. Perhaps you could find some more cost-effective hardware solutions, too.
But intelligent IT budgeting isn’t just about pruning your costs back as far as possible. It’s about building in flexibility, so that if the worst happens, you’re prepared. And the worst is more than likely. In the last 18 months, 98% of businesses suffered at least one data breach. With odds like that, it’s almost certain that your business will be affected, too.
Be proactive, but prepare to react
With cyberattacks growing more frequent – and more sophisticated – all the time, top-class cybersecurity is a budget item you can’t do without. The same goes for regular training, to keep each member of your team up to date with the latest security issues and best practices. These two things will do a lot to protect your business from harm.
However, even the best proactive planning won’t reduce your risk of cyberattack to zero. Human beings are the last line of defence against hackers – and human beings are fallible. The only truly watertight budget is a flexible one. One that factors in the potential cost of a successful data breach, and allows for remedial measures to rescue your business, retrieve its data, and repair its reputation with clients and the public. It’s far harder – and potentially far more expensive – to try to fix catastrophic damage after the fact than it is to implement an existing plan, with resources you’ve already set aside.
Planning for the worst outcome is no easy task. But a knowledgeable IT support partner, like Perigon One, can save you a great deal of time, risk and money. We can help you work out a flexible budget that really does cover every eventuality. If you’re thinking about your ideal IT budget, why not get in touch for a free 15-minute consultation about your needs?
