As we prepare our budgets for 2011 and evaluate the business needs, there are some extenuating circumstances that should be considered. The Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 allows for greater write-off of capital expenses, which means less tax for your business. Please see the following links to get complete understanding of the ramifications of this legislation.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/09/27/president-obama-signs-small-business-jobs-act-learn-whats-it
http://www.sba.gov/jobsact/
Unfortunately, computers and networks do not care about the economy. They age and fail regardless of the economic climate surrounding them. There are options that should be considered so that your business is not left with failing infrastructure during difficult times.
- Leasing is often a forgotten option. Equipment and certain services can be leased over time eliminated the upfront cash expenditure.
- Cloud-based services such as Software as a Service or Backup as a Service also can help reduce the upfront costs by eliminating the hardware expenditures and using the cloud for that purpose.
- Virtualization can also reduce on-going maintenance costs by reducing hardware and better utilizing the existing hardware. For example, in our own office we have reduced the number of physical servers by 50% by virtualizing which has reduced our hardware maintenance costs.
In uncertain economic times it can be difficult to justify upgrading your technology infrastructure, but it can be even more costly when equipment fails when your business needs it most. There are responsible options for organizations who cannot afford to have that happen.