The cost of productivity: building tech budgets

With the global economy still in turmoil and fears of a downturn looming large, IT leaders would do well to temper their expectations when it comes to budgets. More importantly, now’s the time to identify future priorities, consider new solutions and further cement IT’s worth as an essential partner to the business.

The global pandemic has taught us the value of preparation. Below are four considerations that should be top of mind for IT leaders and their teams.

Adapt to the ever-changing language of business

Most IT leaders should already know this, but it’s worth repeating in this climate. Old rules still apply — aligning pitches or arguments to business priorities like profitability, bottom lines and efficiency remains a sure-fire way to grab and hold attention. But also be mindful of emerging concerns: cybersecurity, data regulations, breaches and other risk topics are dominating boardroom conversations — and are worth the attention of savvy IT leaders.

Additionally, adopt a results-based approach when talking to top leadership: focus on the technical ‘how’ of a solution and explain its benefits to the business — like reduced licensing costs, improved CSAT scores or faster resolutions. This line of argument lands better with an audience concerned about rising costs and shorter ROI timeframes.

The need for extended visibility is paramount

Accelerated digital transformation, tool sprawl and the remote workforce have caused IT complexity to rapidly spiral out of control. The latest SolarWinds IT Trends Report shows IT teams are increasingly worried about the lack of visibility, with 55% of respondents stating they only have visibility into half their apps and infrastructure. This has led to rippling effects, from project delays to impacted returns on investment.

With every dollar being precious, this trend can’t continue. The imperative is clear: increase visibility across every endpoint device, cloud platform and application, then build connections giving IT teams the data they need for a full picture (and control) over every disparate or siloed system. Only then can they adopt a more proactive stance on performance issues, improve SLA compliance and minimise downtimes that cost the business time, money and reputation.

Never, ever scrimp on monitoring and security

Last year saw a triple-digit increase in cyber attacks, a 68% jump in data breaches and hourly downtime costs shattering the million-dollar barrier for 44% of leading enterprises. These headlines alone make a strong business case for heightened monitoring and stronger cybersecurity measures. Increasingly complex hybrid IT environments, tighter SLAs and an expanding threat surface due to a growing remote workforce should seal the need for greater budget allocations towards monitoring and security in 2023.

With better monitoring and extended visibility, IT teams can also conduct meaningful assessments of their entire IT infrastructure. By looking at available network data, they can determine if pandemic-era solutions still meet the needs of the current workforce. Similarly, they can also identify business areas benefiting from greater automation or security, allowing IT teams to more strategically allocate and maximise their IT budgets for greater, long-term effect.

Lastly, pick the right battles to fight

IT leaders could do everything right and present the most convincing argument possible, but sometimes the answer might still be a disappointing “no”. Don’t expend more time and energy pushing for an upgrade or new investment; move on. IT teams would do better to identify opportunity areas where consolidation, optimisation and automation could result in more significant ROI, lower costs or improved performance.

This approach is sensible because IT budgets aren’t the only things shrinking. The time, energy and resources of most IT teams are at a deficit due to the growing demands of expanding hybrid IT infrastructure. Forward-thinking leaders can’t go wrong when they prioritise upskilling or expanding their teams because people are key — whether they’re keeping a legacy system alive or supporting the implementation of a new solution.

An unwavering focus on building teams, strategic priorities and speaking the language of business should prepare IT leaders and their teams for the year ahead. Whether it’s going to be a rocky ride or smooth sailing, the above considerations will be vital in ensuring the continued productivity and effectiveness of not only the IT team but the larger business they support every day.

Image credit: iStock.com/Melpomenem