BY DENNY FISHER, Chief Client Experience Officer, ACS

It’s that time of the year again, budget season. With the end of 2021 fast approaching, your team is rapidly closing out IT projects and initiatives and looking forward to 2022. Planning for the year ahead gives your organization the strategic vision to accomplish its business goals; forgetting the following key spending areas could negatively affect your bottom line come December 2022. Here are our “Top 3 Things to Include in Your IT Budget” for 2022.

End of Support (EOS) Notices

End-of-service announcements are often the most overlooked when evaluating IT spending for the upcoming year. Having unsupported systems means your organization runs the risk of a potential system failure or security breach. Properly tracking the assets in your IT environment allow you to recognize when products and services reach the end of their support cycles. By monitoring your asset life cycles, you’ll know well in advance which technologies need to be upgraded. Accounting for these costs in the budget now saves you the headache of trying to find budget midyear after realizing support for your server ends in September.

Managed Services

Increase the reach of your IT budget with Managed Services. It’s difficult to employ all the expertise you need in-house. Organizations find great value in employing the expertise of many for the cost of one individual. Managed Services also free up time and resources for your IT team, allowing them to implement more strategic and effective initiatives. Whether your internal team is large or small, with a steady monthly cost, Managed Services are a budget-friendly way to ensure your systems are up to date and monitored 24/7.

Innovation

It’s not always clear what opportunities will be available to you throughout a given year. Include a budget line for innovation to provide a little wiggle room in the budget. This will allow you to take advantage of new technologies or custom applications that allow your organization to better engage with consumers, pursue a new market, increase process efficiency, and more. Having a budget poised to jump on new opportunities builds resilience and innovation into the organization.

Bottom line, no one likes surprise expenses. Unexpected charges or changes to your plan midyear can derail important projects. Keep your strategy for 2022 on track by remembering these items when planning your budget.

Denny Fisher, Chief Client Experience Officer, ACS View Bio 515-223-0078 contact@acsltd.com acsltd.com/br