Treat every business social media account as a business system. Keep ownership and recovery details under company control, give each person their own access, require MFA, and remove former employees and agencies promptly. Review connected apps regularly and have a written recovery plan in case an account is compromised
If your IT budget only covers computers, Microsoft 365, and the occasional repair, it is probably missing several costs. Your business may also be paying for software subscriptions, cloud storage, backups, security tools, internet services, phone systems, websites, network equipment, staff training, and outside IT support. Some of those costs appear every month. Others arrive once a year or only when equipment needs to be replaced. Without a complete budget, an annual renewal or failed computer can become an expense the business did not prepare for. A detailed IT budget shows what you are paying for now, what will need to be replaced, and which improvements are planned for the year. There Is No Standard IT Budget for Every Small Business Online benchmarks often suggest spending a certain percentage of revenue on technology. That percentage may have little connection to what your business needs. A ten-person law firm, a retailer, and a manufacturing business can have similar revenue but completely different systems. The number of employees, business locations, devices, cloud services, security requirements, and customer obligations all affect the budget. Consider how much the business depends on each system. If losing internet access would stop customer payments, the internet connection needs more attention than it would in a business that can continue working offline. If employees work with sensitive financial or health information, security and compliance costs may be higher. Calculate the cost of the systems your business needs first. Revenue-based benchmarks can then provide context, but they should not determine the budget. Start With a Complete Technology Inventory You cannot budget properly if you do not know what the business owns and pays for. Create an inventory of computers, phones, tablets, printers, servers, network equipment, software, cloud services, websites, domains, backup systems, and phone services. Record who uses each item, what it costs, when it renews, who manages it, and how important it is to the business. Include the supplier, contract term, billing frequency, and account owner. The NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0 Small Business Quick Start Guide recommends maintaining an inventory of hardware, software, systems, and services. It also recommends recording the effect on the business if an important asset becomes unavailable. Check invoices, company credit cards, bank statements, app stores, and department expenses. Software purchased directly by an employee may not appear in the main IT records. The inventory may reveal duplicate services, licenses assigned to former employees, equipment that no longer receives updates, or subscriptions that no one uses. Budget for Computers and Other Equipment Include every physical device the business expects to purchase or replace during the year.
Employees often use personal devices for work before the business has made a decision about it. They add work email to a phone, download a file to a home laptop, or sign into a company app from a computer shared with family. Once business data is stored on a personal device, you have less control over updates, installed apps, backups, and who else uses the device. You also need a way to remove company data when the employee leaves or the device is lost. Personal devices can be allowed, but the business should decide which devices, applications, and types of work are permitted. What BYOD includes Bring your own device, usually shortened to BYOD, means an employee uses a personally owned phone, tablet, or computer for work. That can include: Adding work email to a personal phone Signing into Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace Joining online meetings Opening customer or company files Using a business messaging app Accessing accounting, CRM, or project management software Downloading documents to a personal computer Depending on the application, business information may remain in the cloud or be downloaded to the device as messages, attachments, cached data, or files. What you cannot fully control on a personal device Your IT team can set and monitor security on company-owned devices. With personal devices, employees choose which apps to install, when to update the operating system, who else uses the device, and where files are backed up.
Treat every business social media account as a business system. Keep ownership and recovery details under company control, give each person their own access, require MFA, and remove former employees and agencies promptly. Review connected apps regularly and have a written recovery plan in case an account is compromised
If your IT budget only covers computers, Microsoft 365, and the occasional repair, it is probably missing several costs. Your business may also be paying for software subscriptions, cloud storage, backups, security tools, internet services, phone systems, websites, network equipment, staff training, and outside IT support. Some of those costs appear every month. Others arrive once a year or only when equipment needs to be replaced. Without a complete budget, an annual renewal or failed computer can become an expense the business did not prepare for. A detailed IT budget shows what you are paying for now, what will need to be replaced, and which improvements are planned for the year. There Is No Standard IT Budget for Every Small Business Online benchmarks often suggest spending a certain percentage of revenue on technology. That percentage may have little connection to what your business needs. A ten-person law firm, a retailer, and a manufacturing business can have similar revenue but completely different systems. The number of employees, business locations, devices, cloud services, security requirements, and customer obligations all affect the budget. Consider how much the business depends on each system. If losing internet access would stop customer payments, the internet connection needs more attention than it would in a business that can continue working offline. If employees work with sensitive financial or health information, security and compliance costs may be higher. Calculate the cost of the systems your business needs first. Revenue-based benchmarks can then provide context, but they should not determine the budget. Start With a Complete Technology Inventory You cannot budget properly if you do not know what the business owns and pays for. Create an inventory of computers, phones, tablets, printers, servers, network equipment, software, cloud services, websites, domains, backup systems, and phone services. Record who uses each item, what it costs, when it renews, who manages it, and how important it is to the business. Include the supplier, contract term, billing frequency, and account owner. The NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0 Small Business Quick Start Guide recommends maintaining an inventory of hardware, software, systems, and services. It also recommends recording the effect on the business if an important asset becomes unavailable. Check invoices, company credit cards, bank statements, app stores, and department expenses. Software purchased directly by an employee may not appear in the main IT records. The inventory may reveal duplicate services, licenses assigned to former employees, equipment that no longer receives updates, or subscriptions that no one uses. Budget for Computers and Other Equipment Include every physical device the business expects to purchase or replace during the year.
Employees often use personal devices for work before the business has made a decision about it. They add work email to a phone, download a file to a home laptop, or sign into a company app from a computer shared with family. Once business data is stored on a personal device, you have less control over updates, installed apps, backups, and who else uses the device. You also need a way to remove company data when the employee leaves or the device is lost. Personal devices can be allowed, but the business should decide which devices, applications, and types of work are permitted. What BYOD includes Bring your own device, usually shortened to BYOD, means an employee uses a personally owned phone, tablet, or computer for work. That can include: Adding work email to a personal phone Signing into Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace Joining online meetings Opening customer or company files Using a business messaging app Accessing accounting, CRM, or project management software Downloading documents to a personal computer Depending on the application, business information may remain in the cloud or be downloaded to the device as messages, attachments, cached data, or files. What you cannot fully control on a personal device Your IT team can set and monitor security on company-owned devices. With personal devices, employees choose which apps to install, when to update the operating system, who else uses the device, and where files are backed up.