Looked in the old-tech drawer lately?
When I visit customers and hear of their experiences I often get to see first-hand just how fast technology has changed. Inevitably, no matter the business or industry, the owner will have an old mobile sitting in a drawer ‘just in case of emergency’, or is still using an outdated piece of software because they aren’t yet ready to invest in the latest version.
Technology plays an obvious role in driving business improvement and remains key to keeping costs down and staying competitive. However, often for small businesses (and especially sole operators) the cost and upfront investment for the latest devices or other technology can seem extravagant.
The reality, though, is that these days almost all business technologies (particularly software with cloud computing), can be purchased and paid for on a ‘pay as you go’ basis, without hefty upfront payments. This means you can throw out the relics and have an affordable way to access the best technology tools and support – without hurting cashflow.
Using expense budget for technology
There are multiple benefits of using operational expenses to buy technology, rather than large outlays upfront. Upfront investments use up valuable working capital, are subject to depreciation and are often harder to upgrade on a regular basis. By making technology purchasing part of your regular expense budget, it’s easier to meet budgets, as well as free up resources for other business priorities that need to be paid outright.
For example, the mobile repayment option is an interest-free way to pay off your phone or tablet device monthly over the course of your plan term. Monthly cloud services and bundled services enable your business to get the most out of the technology while receiving a consolidated bill, so you know what you have to pay each month. And the rapidly depreciating technology relics stay off the asset register.
Technology should be regarded as a stepping stone to achieve a greater business objective – for example, would your business benefit from swapping from on-premise Microsoft Office to cloud-based Office 365 that allows access on your phone or tablet, not just at the office? Would enabling your staff to share access to email, calendar, documents and presentations on-the-go reduce administration, improve productivity or provide better customer service?
Now is the time to plan ahead and make decisions that will put you on the path to achieving great results. Don’t wait for another year to roll around to make another ‘new year’s resolution’ – this time next year, you could be reaping the rewards from the business decisions that you make now.
This time next year, you could be reaping the rewards from the business decisions that you make now.
By the way, for anyone still holding onto a Nokia 3210, original Motorola Razr or BlackBerry Pearl (great devices in their day, but no longer sensible business tools nearly 15 years on!), it really is time to help the environment and give their materials a new lease of life by recycling them through an organisation like MobileMuster. Your next smartphone and the planet will thank you!
Will Irving
Group Managing Director, Telstra Business
