Businesses worldwide have been through one of the major catastrophes that we’ve witnessed since the past century. As a result of the lingering fallout of the pandemic, and understandably so, companies have had to tighten their belts and make every dollar count when it comes to their IT budget. This doesn’t leave a lot of room for error, and so the pressure is on them to get it right and as soon as possible.
Today, improving margins are everything. With increased competition and a logistics system struggling with global demands, companies need to eke out every bit of their budget to remain competitive.
Improving Your IT Budget Utilization
There are a few strategies that businesses can use to help stretch their IT budget. Here are a few of them:
Understand the IT Equipment Life Cycle
The need of the hour is for businesses to understand the IT equipment life cycle. Every IT equipment moves through the installation, replacement, decommission, and salvage phases. Companies can extend any technology’s life cycle through ongoing maintenance, upgrades, and updates. But the problem here is that OEM brands dictate the terms of the equipment life cycle.
Most of the time, the hardware “life cycle” for any equipment is what is set by the OEM brands selling them. Buyers of their equipment are forced to upgrade because the OEMs no longer support their equipment. This becomes a vicious cycle of planned obsolescence which significantly cuts into the budget of the end-user and, not to mention, is unsustainable in the long run.
The problem here is that they’re trading in equipment that hasn’t reached the end of their actual life cycle. With proper updates and maintenance, they can still perform as well as new unless the application requires a massive leap in technology, though this is rarely the case.
If you’d like to read more about the hardware life cycle, you might want to check on our earlier post here – Hardware Lifecycle: Should you pull the Plug?
Hybrid Approach to IT Equipment Maintenance
Another strategy to deal with restrictive budgets is to have a hybrid approach to maintenance. Equipment maintenance can take away a good chunk of your IT budget, especially when your OEMs carry it out. Third-party maintenance can offer improved coverage at significantly less cost to your business, especially after the OEM-provided warranty period. But most businesses don’t want to void the coverage on their in-warranty equipment.
A hybrid approach includes both OEM and third-party maintenance processes. Opting for this hybrid methodology greatly improves your ability to work with minimal budgets. Equipment that is in-warranty is maintained by the OEM, and post-warranty hardware is maintained by a professional hardware service provider through their third-party maintenance program.
This is a great option to have because you can avoid expensive post-warranty maintenance charges levied by OEMs. Third-party maintenance is also a lot more flexible for businesses because maintenance service providers ensure the availability of spares and parts for a lot longer than OEMs. It is also a reason why many bigger businesses are moving to a more hybrid equipment ecosystem.
Aliter offers comprehensive third-party maintenance solutions that can solve your budgetary problems. Take a look at how we can help you overcome budgetary constraints.
Integrating Refurbished Equipment Into Their Existing IT Infrastructure
A majority of businesses are integrating their existing IT infrastructure with equivalent or superior refurbished equipment. This reduces overheads like expensive maintenance costs and spending on buying new equipment. And since buying refurbished options also allows for customization, businesses are free to choose options that are compatible with their current IT infrastructure.
This makes upgrading a more viable option even in these times of limited IT budgets. Buying refurbished makes sense here as a long-term solution not just because of cost savings but also the availability of replacement parts. When a piece of equipment fails, it takes significantly less time to get it up and running again. Businesses don’t suffer losses while having to wait for replacement parts to ship from OEMs.
Find out more about how we can support your IT infrastructure upgrades and integration through our services.
How We Can Help Align Your Budget
Budgetary constraints are an issue for businesses and more so today, as we recover from an unprecedented global event. Now is a great time for companies to take a closer look at their pipelines and optimize them for the challenges tomorrow.
Refurbished equipment is a step in the right direction for big and small businesses alike. It cuts down procurement and maintenance costs, saves lead time, and improves the profitability of a business.
Find out how you can make reduced budgets work for your business by talking to our team at Aliter Networks. You can reach us at (+31 20 240 0600) or leave a message for us on our website, and our team will get back to you.
