IT budgets often leak silently due to hidden inefficiencies and indirect costs that businesses are often unaware of. Coupled with businesses finding 55% of software projects failing to deliver their expected return on investment (ROI), this highlights a widespread issue of inefficiency, leading to businesses losing opportunities for growth.
Leak 1: Redundant or Overlapping Software Tools
A common issue is where individuals or departments independently purchase software, leading to paying twice for the same capabilities. Another reason the issue frequently occurs is that individuals do not know existing software has the capability they are willing to pay for third-party software. For example, many businesses pay for Miro, an online whiteboarding software; however, Whiteboard is included within their Microsoft 365 subscription, which largely has the same functionality.
Another issue with subscription software is redundant subscriptions. This is where a subscription is active, but the service subscribed to is not being actively used. UK Government research found that unwanted subscriptions cost consumers £1.6 billion annually, with 26% of UK adults accidentally taking out a subscription. This trend is also becoming increasingly an issue for businesses, with a new statistic stating that around 53% of software as a service (SaaS) subscriptions are unused in a given month.
These factors contribute to direct costs for businesses to incur.
However, indirect costs can be more substantial and often not noticed by businesses. These include wasted employee time due to the inefficiencies of switching between systems, additional training expenses and data silos due to poor integration. This fragmented solution not only leads to operational drags, manual data entry and data inconsistencies but also to an increased cyber risk. The cyber risk is increased by data being stored in more locations and the company’s estate being larger and therefore more difficult to manage.
Performing a comprehensive audit of your business’s subscriptions can help reduce these costs and also ensure that your data surface area is minimised as much as possible.
Leak 2: Outdated, Underperforming or Overpowered Hardware
Finding the balance between price and performance when purchasing hardware is a challenge many business owners encounter. They either purchase the cheaper, more consumer, option to save on upfront cost which often leads to a shorter lifespan, paid upgrades, decreased performance and increased IT workload or will purchase overly powerful equipment just in case it is required or by miscalculating the performance its intended task will require, costing more upfront and lasting no longer than a cheaper alternative.
The cost of ageing or inadequate hardware is significant. In the UK, small businesses lose over 12 working days annually due to faulty technology. This technical debt is where maintenance costs outweigh the cost of an upgrade. Partnering with CTRL-S allows us to monitor your hardware, ensure it is running at its best and procure the right replacement when required, ensuring your end of life (EOL) process is seamless.
Leak 3: DIY Fixes and Downtime Costs
The we’ll fix it ourselves mentality seems cost-saving, but typically leaves significant hidden expenses. Attempting IT issues internally results in lost time as your team troubleshoots issues. Patchy and reactive support causes recurring problems, a dependence on individuals within your team and increased security vulnerabilities. This can lead to downtime, a hugely costly and potentially disastrous occurrence.
For small businesses attempting complex tasks they can also produce misconfigurations that whilst not affecting day to day operation, leave their infrastructure hugely vulnerable to cyber attacks or data breaches. Partnering with CTRL-S would ensure proactive monitoring of your systems and expert configuration, often preventing issues before they occur. It would also provide reactive support to get you back up and running as fast as possible when something goes wrong.
How CTRL-S Can Plug These Leaks
CTRL-S offer a range of services and experience to plug your IT budget leaks, including:
- Business process review: Our business analysis team can review your processes and software packages to reduce clutter and unnecessary applications to align your day to day operations with your business’s goals.
- Subscription and licensing management: Leave the licensing to us! We can identify redundancies, consolidate licenses and optimise renewals to ensure you only pay for what you use.
- Strategic Hardware Procurement: We can advise and procure appropriate business grade equipment from devices used by individuals, such as laptops and smartphones, to network equipment such as firewalls and servers.
- Proactive Monitoring and Support: We can prevent downtime and inefficiencies by identifying and resolving potential issues before they escalate into a costly emergency.
Plugging these overlooked tech leaks can be daunting, but with CTRL-S, we will plug the gaps for you, leaving you to focus on running your business. We can help you proactively analyse your IT spending and shift your business from reactive problem solving to a strategic approach, freeing up resources and reducing stress, all whilst smoothing operations and reducing security risks. Get in touch to see where your business’s gaps are.
