3 IT Expansions Worth Your Dime

                So you’ve got a little bit of extra funding in your IT budget. Sure, you could eat at a fancy restaurant for the next few weeks, redistribute the funds, or get yourself that dirt bike you’ve had your eye on for the last few months. But since things went a little bit better than you expected on the IT side of things, why not take the money and re-invest it in the department? There is always work to be done and improvements to be made, and investing in your IT department has one of the highest potential returns when it comes to your business’s working efficiency and productivity. But that doesn’t mean that you should just blindly dump your money into some aspect of your IT sector. You want to aim for something which will produce a notable improvement in your company. Here are three ideas for tech expansions which will actually be worth your time and dime.

Computer Deployments

Many small businesses that are just starting to build up their IT resources start out with a number of different computers supplied by different manufacturers. These computers are often different models, separated in capacity by a few years of technological innovation. It’s not uncommon for employees to bring their laptops from home to work on. A good alternative to this is supplying your employees with one standardized computer model stocked with the same programs and configurations. Large scale computer deployments are proven to be affective in streamlining the collaboration process and minimizing the headache for IT coordinators. Networking is made easier and manageability is a breeze; computers with management tools and a networked connection let IT coordinators manage, diagnose, and fix problems without chasing around the entire building.

A Dedicated Server

This dovetails from computer deployments. If you don’t have your own server already, consider this one of the most valuable investments you can make in your IT sector’s success. A dedicated server is great for a variety of reasons. First, the security benefits are unparalleled. You know where your data is and who can access it, cutting out the middleman of third-party hosting. Second, a dedicated server can store data and network individual computers, allowing for increased accessibility, collaboration, and data sharing. Third, a server will eventually return the investment by cutting the cost of third party hosting.

Increased Server Ram

Increasing your server’s RAM (once you have one!) can be the quickest way to jumpstart your IT department’s core system. Increasing RAM will allow for faster hosting services, increasing the amount of digital workspace you and your employees have to work with on the server. Our IBM I-Series server greatly benefitted from the addition of two eight gigabyte memory modules. Oftentimes, these modules are sold as sets. Our EM16-8202 modules allowed for a full 16 gigabyte memory increase, which is a great benefit for servers. So there you have it, three great ways to reinvest that excess budget back into your IT department.