Over the last two years, the pandemic has made it increasingly difficult for small businesses to grow and thrive. They’ve had to acclimate to remote working and virtual meetings, as well as adhere to stricter health and safety protocols.
Some even had to shut their doors, with only approximately 70% of small businesses in the United States staying open through the coronavirus.
In order to keep their companies running on a budget, many small business owners have slashed IT service budgets. In fact, over 41% of small businesses have cut their IT service and cybersecurity budgets since 2020, and hackers have taken notice. In 2021 alone, 43% of data breaches involved small businesses.
[Related: Strengthen Your Online Security]
While business owners everywhere are scrambling to find ways to cut costs and keep their company afloat during this unprecedented time, we want to assure you that decreasing the IT budget isn’t the way to go. IT and cybersecurity services are essential to any company’s safety and success.
Outdated Devices Aren’t Saving You Money
You may think holding on to old devices and outdated software is saving your company money. After all, the saying goes “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”—especially if it’s expensive.
This type of thinking is actually costing you more in the long run.
Old software and hardware don’t have the critical security updates your business needs to protect itself against data breaches and malware attacks. They also require more maintenance, which can cost you lots of money and unnecessary downtime.
Using outdated systems also doesn’t look great in the eyes of employees or customers. In a 2017 study, 70% of employees reviewed their company’s security solutions as inadequate and out-of-date, and over 90% of respondents in a separate survey by Microsoft said they would reconsider doing business with a company that uses outdated technology.
Personal Identification Information Is at Risk
Cutting your company’s IT budget and shopping around for the least expensive option is not only putting your company’s data at risk, it’s also endangering the personal identification information (PII) of your employees and clients.
Your job as a small business owner is not only to run a successful company, but to protect your customer and employee’s PII. This means keeping up with the latest and highest quality cybersecurity practices.
[Related: 4 Cybersecurity Tips for Every Business]
Your Company’s Reputation Is On the Line
A company with a history of excellent customer service that provides top-quality tech support and security is one that will get recommended again and again. Cheap IT that doesn’t do its job can damage this reputation and cost you existing and potential customers.
80% of consumers will stop doing business with a company if their information has been compromised in a security breach. Additionally, social media can spread news of a badly handled security breach far and wide, costing you customers and harming your company’s reputation even further.
Find Another Way to Save Money
Another option to increase your bottom line is to find areas where instead of cutting budgets, you can gain more revenue. Slashing costs should only be done if you can accomplish something just as well (or even better) with less expensive resources.
Otherwise, and especially when it comes to IT services and cybersecurity, you should avoid looking for cheapskate and knock-off solutions just to save a few bucks. It could irreparably damage your business.
[Related: Safeguard Your Business Against Ransomware Attacks]
Connect With IT Professionals like CMIT Solutions of Bothell
Looking for IT support and cybersecurity services that won’t break the bank? CMIT Solutions of Bothell can help you with quality IT solutions that are perfect for your unique small business. From cloud hosting and network security to data protection and backup—we’ve got you covered.
Contact us today and let’s get started.
Featured image via Pexels
