How Thinking Short Term About Technology Hurts Your Bottom Line

Those in the business sector in charge of making decisions can often break down the choices they face as follows: benefit the short term vs the long term. If you’ve got experience with decision making, then you realize that planning for the long term works out better for all parties involved, including your bottom line. This is especially the case when it comes to big decisions involving technology.

A classic example of this is seen when procuring new technology. There’s a reason why some laptops cost $200 while other models run $2,000. When buying computer hardware, the more money you’re willing to invest will get you technology that’s more reliable, more powerful, and provides better functionality. Short term decision makers will experience sticker shock when encountering high-end equipment, causing them to gravitate toward inexpensive models. While a move like this may save some cash at the time of purchase, long-term thinkers know better.

Managers that choose to spend extra on hardware do so because they know it’s well worth the expense. When you go with technology that’s reliable, your company experiences significantly less downtime, which quickly adds up. When workers can’t do their jobs, that lost time equates to time that can’t be billed. When one considers such a discrepancy, it doesn’t take much in the way of downtime prevention to cover the financial gap between cheap hardware vs equipment that’s more reliable.

The same logic can be applied to how technology affects employee productivity and morale. By going with inexpensive hardware for the sake of saving a few bucks, you’ll end up equipping your staff with equipment that’s not as reliable, and as such, may even experience frequent breakdowns.

Now, a short-term thinker may not see this as a big deal and just expect their workers to suck it up and appreciate the tools they’re provided for doing the job they’re being paid for. Whereas a long-term thinker understands how equipping staff with reliable technology can dramatically benefit the bigger picture. InformationWeek explains, “better devices lead to higher productivity and morale. According to a UK survey, more than two-thirds of workers felt negatively about their workplace, in part due to outdated technology and practices, with the average worker being frustrated with office tech around three times per day.” Considering just how much more productive an employee is that feels positive about their job, as well as the absurd cost of employee turnover, it’s clear why long-term thinkers don’t think twice when it comes to paying extra for procuring reliable technology.

Of course, this same money-saving principle applies to how your business goes about the maintenance of its IT systems. If you view your company’s technology as an expense, then you’ll spend your money fixing problems as they crop up, which can quickly add up. Whereas long-term thinkers view their company’s technology as an investment, which translates to being proactive about IT maintenance and preventing problems before they surface. In the end, this long-term approach saves companies significant time and money, and that’s a decision everybody can feel good about.

To learn about how managed IT services from Macro Systems can benefit your company in the long term, call us today at (703) 359-9211.