As technology becomes essential for most businesses, some companies feel pressure from their employees, customers, or their competitors to adopt the latest tools. While this may sound good, just because a new technology exists doesn’t mean it’s the right choice for your business right now. We’ve put together some tips on how to make smart decisions about technology to get the best return on your investment.

Let’s first take a look at where businesses typically use IT. The main goal of IT is to make things run smoother, help teams collaborate, automate tasks to save money, and protect the business from disasters. IT also plays a key role in how employees interact with their work, as many workers are already comfortable with digital tools, which makes it easier for them to be productive and collaborate.

This seems like an ideal scenario: more productive workers and streamlined processes. Many small business owners say that their tech investments don’t always meet their expectations, unfortunately. Some of the reasons they cite are:

• Ongoing maintenance costs
• Payroll impact
• Technology becoming outdated quickly
• High upfront costs making it hard to see fast returns
• Complex solutions
• Unreliable technology

With these issues in mind, how can businesses ensure they get a good return on their tech investments?

• Set realistic expectations - Every new piece of technology comes with a learning curve. It’s often marketed as a quick fix, but adjustments are needed before you see a strong return on investment (ROI).
• Evaluate your current operations - Are you looking at new technology because it will make you more profitable, or would updating your existing systems be a smarter move? Sometimes, businesses get caught up in shiny new tools and overlook practical upgrades that would offer a better ROI.
• Consider cost-effective options - These days, cloud-based services like Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), and hosted communications can provide powerful solutions to your problems without high upfront costs. 

What’s the Goal?

Upgrading just for the sake of it is nice if you can afford it, but most businesses can’t. It’s important to make sure each new technology helps you meet your goals. For example, are you expanding your data analytics to get clearer insights? Will a new communications platform save money? Will end-to-end management software save enough time and money to improve customer service?

In the end, many technologies promise to make your business more efficient. The key question is: will this investment help solve a specific problem? If you choose technology that addresses an issue, it will likely be worth it.

There’s a lot of technology out there that could benefit your business. Our IT professionals at Compudata can help you find and implement solutions to your most pressing operational challenges. Call us today at 1-855-405-8889 to talk to one of our consultants.