It’s that time of year again and no, I’m not talking about Christmas shopping (yet)… it’s time to start thinking about your 2021 budgets – and specifically your IT budget. IT budget planning may seem like a stressful task to begin given all of the things that may have changed in 2020 due to COVID-19. Has COVID-19 affected your IT priorities and spending? Will COVID-19 influence any decisions or purchases in 2021?
The biggest influence for 2021 budgets is the amount of uncertainty that the COVID-19 crisis presents. While you may not be spending less on IT in 2021 because of COVID-19, are you planning to postpone some larger projects until you have a better idea of how 2021 will unfold? It has been estimated that IT will begin spending more in the third quarter of 2021, is that in your plan too?
It is important to recognize that remote workers, including those in IT, are here to stay. With COVID-19, are you looking to invest more in cloud services, network, and security? This may be the case for you, however it has been shown that spending on internal IT hardware and software has declined since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
In a survey done by TechRepublic Premium there was some interesting stats determined:
- 62% said that they will tighten their 2021 IT budgets as a consequence of the COVID-19 crisis. This number is dependent on IT budget planners deciding how much COVID-19 impacts the budget and if the crisis changes their priorities.
- 26% said that they will be spending more on remote technology to allow employees to work from home.
- 22% said that network and internet security would become a high priority.
Setting up your IT budget the right way helps your annual spending, as well as gives you a better outlook of what 2021 could mean. Contact our managed services team at CHR Solutions or download our free IT Budget Spreadsheet to start planning today.
