What Does Your 2015 IT Budget Look Like?

As we near the end of 2014, the topic of IT budgeting is on everyone’s minds. How much are you willing to spend, and on what? In order to provide optimal figures for the new year, you need to take some time to plan out what you think you need to spend, versus how much you’re willing to spend, on IT. Thankfully, you don’t have to do this alone.

SMART Services has a lot of experience when it comes to helping businesses save money in the technology department. By providing quality consultation services to those in need, we help our clients save money and put this capital toward other, more important aspects of business, like marketing campaigns or other revenue-generating causes. As such, we believe that IT is one of the most important parts of your budget. One overlooked fact can cost your business and break your budget.

According to InfoWorld, IT expenditures are increasing. More businesses are investing in cyber security and productivity tech solutions than ever before. Among them are several which we believe are of the utmost importance, including:

• Security.
• Cloud computing.
• Big data analytics.
• Mobile technology.

Security is Key to Success
According to ComputerWorld’s annual IT budgeting report, 46 percent of all businesses involved with the report planned on increasing expenditures in the security department. This is a given, especially considering how dangerous some of the threats 2014 saw were. Businesses don’t want to become the next Target or Home Depot, and your business shouldn’t either. Thankfully, with the advent of managed services, powerful security solutions don’t have to break your budget. For a monthly, flat-rate cost, you can reap all of the benefits of an exceptionally powerful security solution without the high price tag.

Our Unified Threat Management solution (UTM) is designed to keep your company’s network secure with a firewall, antivirus, spam blocking, and web content blocking. The threats that your business encounters can be minimal and easily dealt with, thanks to this solution.

Send Data to the Cloud
Some companies are finding their large corporate infrastructures difficult to handle, but the cloud is changing the way they deal with their network. The future is looking promising for cloud computing, as depicted by ComputerWorld’s report: over 40 percent of businesses will be implementing a variety of different types of cloud infrastructures next year, such as a public, private, hybrid, and even community clouds. Due to the sheer versatility of the cloud, businesses are able to find exactly what they need to accomplish their goals, and we’re right there with them.

SMART Services can help your business set up the public, private, or hybrid cloud solution that’s just right for your needs. Your business can have greater access to important information, and it can be in one secure location whenever you need to access it.

Big Data Analytics
Being able to analyze masses of data quickly and efficiently is a growing business trend, and it can help your business find new avenues for sales or even marketing endeavors. According to the ComputerWorld survey, 38 percent of IT leaders will be increasing their expenditures on big data analytics in 2015. Thus, businesses are investing in tools which will help them decode the sea of raw data that big data analytics brings about.

SMART Services can find the right business analytic tools for your needs. You’ll be able to find trends in data which will help your company stay on top of new developments in the industry.

Mobile Technology is Imperative
It’s no surprise that business is growing more mobile, and CIOs want their workers to have the ability to work from anywhere, anytime. Consequently, 35 percent of ComputerWorld’s respondents will increase spending on making their IT infrastructures more mobile. This includes remote access tools, secure WiFi networks, and mobile device management systems.

While adding mobile devices to your IT infrastructure, it’s important to emphasize the importance of security. Not all mobile applications will be secure, and public WiFi networks aren’t ideal for dealing with sensitive information. SMART Services can equip your business with Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) for secure browsing while out of the office, and
whitelist/blacklist allowed and restricted applications for optimal productivity and security.

The Verdict is In
Businesses will be spending more on IT in the coming year, but you don’t have to follow in their footsteps. By outsourcing IT through SMART Services, you’re actually saving money in contrast to spending more through hiring IT personnel to handle your company’s IT needs. Our services are monthly, flat-rate solutions which can fit into any budget. This makes our services operating expenses, helping your business save money and using that cash on other parts of business.

For more information about these services and more, contact SMART Services at 586 258-0650 . Not only can we provide quality services and support, but we can help you create an IT roadmap to help you prepare for the future.