Despite the pandemic bringing businesses into the digital age, many have been reluctant to invest in tech due to budget and economic constraints these past two years. However, the end of the financial year presents an ideal time for businesses to review their digital tech investments, to see where processes and hardware could be improved.
While EOFY can be a stressful time for business owners, it’s also a great time to review operations at a strategic level. If you have any funds left in the budget this year and are looking for ways to distribute them back into the business, start with your tech. Here are five areas you could improve to enhance operations this EOFY.
Five tech investments for your business ahead of EOFY
- Upgrade your hardware
The average lifespan for IT systems is three to four years, so if you’ve been operating with old tech in order to save money, now might be the time to consider an upgrade. Older hardware and tech are usually slower, require greater support for upgrades and bug fixes and need new software to remain current, all of which also compromise your security. What’s more, with the government’s instant asset write-off, you might be able to write off assets which cost less than $30,000 too, as a part of your business tax return. - Invest in better tech for your work and home office to adhere to hybrid working
With most of the workforce now operating in a hybrid model, it might be time for your business to reassess both your office workspaces and those in your employees’ homes. Consider changing your office layout to include more creative spaces harnessing tech for collaboration and/or create hot desk stations instead of permanent workspaces. Likewise, with staff regularly working from home, investing in better tech such as speakers, monitors, hard drives and even equipment like standing desks, for your employees is a must.
- Review your IT, services and business subscriptions
As a leader, it can be easy to forget the many subscriptions your business is signed up to. However, how often do you actually audit your services and subscriptions? At the EOFY, it’s a good idea to do a business review of where your money is going and assess the investment it’s bringing back into the business. You might find you can replace a service or software with something better or more up-to-date, likewise, it might be time to dial up your investments in IT services or add on business subscriptions.
- Reassess your business fraud and cybersecurity tech
Did you know last year, Australians lost over $851 million to scams? The reality is many business owners aren’t aware of the risks, or security measures required to protect their businesses. Likewise, many operate on the assumption it will never happen, until it’s too late. To protect your business and customers make sure you use reputable online payments providers, secure virus protection software and have implemented the right processes internally to protect data.
- Review your digital marketing and comms spend and strategy
With more consumers online than ever before, now is the time to dial up your digital marketing. Digital marketing and technology should be a business priority, so if you haven’t already, put some budget aside for your marketing tech. For busy founders, look for software that makes your marketing easier like MailChimp for eDM automation, Hootsuite for social media scheduling or HotJar for website heat mapping. Likewise, if your website isn’t up to par, put some funds into redoing or revamping it.
