There’s more to procuring business technology than just buying the newest and shiniest hardware or software on the market. You need to clearly grasp your business’s unique needs, earnestly research industry trends, and carefully consider your options. This way, you can avoid these common mistakes when investing in business technology and ensure solid returns for your company.
Less-than-ideal solutions
Businesses make the mistake of purchasing the wrong tech more often than you might think. In fact, just 27% of companies reported having bought software that meets or exceeds their expectations without any compromise, according to a survey. Whatever the reason may be — lack of research, cost-cutting, erroneous understanding of the business’s requirements — investing in the wrong tech solution can result in significant losses for your company.
Cosmetics giant Revlon learned this the hard way in 2017. Looking to consolidate its processes with then newly acquired Elizabeth Arden, the company adopted an enterprise resource planning software which, according to sources, was still unstable and immature. This resulted in errors that prevented Revlon from hitting production targets, leading to millions of dollars in losses and lawsuits from several investors.
Redundant business technology
Before you consider buying new tech in the first place, create a list of all the equipment, devices, and software being used in your organization. This will prevent you from paying for a new solution that offers something an existing tool already does. For instance, you can forgo a photocopy machine if you already have a multifunction office printer, or a subscription with Zoom if you already have Teams via Microsoft 365 or Windows 11.
Degraded business processes
Some business tools are effective by themselves but may not function well alongside the other solutions in your company. You need to take this possibility into account when investing in new technologies, lest your tools end up hindering crucial employee and customer processes. For example, your marketing team’s data gathering tools and your sales team’s lead conversion solutions may have syncing issues, preventing customer information from being shared between the two departments. Such an error can cause failed marketing campaigns and disjointed customer experiences, leading to losses in revenue.
Consumer-grade technologies
Consumer-grade hardware and software may be cheap and serviceable, but they likely won’t be as effective, efficient, or consistent as their enterprise-grade counterparts when used for business tasks. This isn’t to say consumer-grade solutions are inferior — rather, they are simply not manufactured to fulfill the average business’s needs.
For instance, home anti-malware programs are often designed to protect a few devices, because the average user typically accesses the internet using just their computer and/or smartphone. Business-grade anti-malware solutions, on the other hand, usually offer protection not just for computers, but also cloud servers and various endpoints used by an organization.
Neglecting upgrades
Your investment in business technology shouldn’t end with the purchase; rather, you need to take future upgrades into account and allot a budget for them. Business solutions develop at a rapid pace, so you might need to replace today’s newly bought tools with more powerful ones in a few years. Otherwise, you’ll be using inefficient legacy systems that can lower the quality of your outputs, reduce your company’s efficiency, and increase your risk of suffering downtime or cyberattacks.
Lack of assistance from experts
You might think avoiding expert opinion and going into a technology investment by yourself can save you some money on consultant fees, but you may be passing up on great opportunities this way. For example, a managed IT services provider like [company_short] can help you optimize your investments in IT equipment and software. Our experts will help you identify your company’s needs, come up with a budget, and obtain tools that meet your goals and aid in your business’s growth. If you want to learn more about our services, contact us today.
