As the owner of a small or medium-sized business, one of the decisions you will be tasked with is setting a budget for ongoing technology costs – costs that I’m sure you are well aware can be high. With that being said, if you are well-prepared and efficient in this goal, in the end you can save some well- earned money.

Entering into budget-mode may at first seem rather overwhelming, however by first identifying what it is you will need to budget for – this should help you ease into situation. When it comes to IT and technology – you will need to pinpoint which areas will be key to the success of your business as well as which tools can help you along the way.

Computers & Laptops

Central to your business is likely to be all of the many devices you rely on to ‘get the job done’. Of course, as we all know these items can be pricey – and will be a major budgeting priority. Regarding whether or not you will need to budget for extended warranties for these devices – this will be up to you – however it is a good idea to keep in mind that business desktops and laptops, should be expected to perform well for three years – when used for up to 40 hours of work each week.

Therefore, when it comes to warranties, if you want to extend this beyond the 3 year mark versus replacing them – be sure to include these additional costs in your budget. Most notably are the additional 2 year warranty packages that can help to satisfy this demand.

Firewalls & Servers

As far as computers and laptops can take you, they are often only as good as the servers and firewalls that are installed. In terms of firewall protection, most manufacturers provide a 3-year limit for these programs so as you budget for this tech-area, definitely factor in this time-frame and these added costs.

For small-to-medium businesses, it can be ideal to set up your firewall program as a service that is classified under an operating expense versus a capital expense. Doing so can provide you with the peace of mind that your firewalls will continue to receive security updates over time without failing to be supported beyond the manufactured set-time frame.

Servers, on the other hand will typically operate over a timeline of 3 to 5 years, as the hardware itself, will not be supported any longer than beyond the 5th year. As such, budgeting for a physical-server replacement every 5 years – or even 3 years to be on the safe side should also be reflected in your projections.

Software & Service Renewals

Also central to the proficiency of any tech-savvy company are the many software programs and services that aid in the management of ongoing daily tasks. Many of the business applications you will use are commonly purchased for a term of one-year, at which time they will need to be renewed. The design of your budget therefore should include annual renewal costs for these applications.

However, as you near the end of each program subscription, you will hopefully have identified which services and programs were the most fundamental to your business approach that year.

As a result, during that time you will have been able distinguish between the programs you actually want to renew as well as those that you may think unnecessary – not to mention a waste of money. Here you can then move on to the next stage of the budgeting process – which can include – identifying programs and service that can help you save money.

Enter Microsoft Office 365 . . .

Take Microsoft’s Office 365 , for example. With the Office 365 program, you are subscribing to a service that can allow you to control the costs and improve business efficiency in many ways. From organization to communication & sharing practices – 365 offers a flexible approach to your ongoing business methods.

Not only will you and your employees have access to numerous tools and applications, the level of increased mobility you can achieve from utilizing the various device platforms can be easily adaptable for all. An added bonus of this Microsoft multifaceted program is that it can be smoothly integrated into your current systems without skipping a beat.

When all is said and done, what 365 can offer you is the ability to save money by freeing up time – time that can instead be better spent growing your business.

If your goal is to design and implement a technology budget for your business, factoring in key expense areas – and methods of refining your current level of efficiency will present you with the scope you need to be as effective and proactive as possible.