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20
Co m m E n tA r y
MAKE THE RIGHT IT
INVESTMENTS
Maximising IT for SMEs during
economic uncertainty
Almost every SME in Singapore today uses information
technology (IT) in one form or other. However, many SMEs
grope in the dark to find the right mix of infrastructure
and applications in order to make IT work best for them; during
uncertain economic times, it then becomes easy for IT to
be overlooked in the quest for survival. How then should an
SME view IT during challenging times, and what can it do to
maximize IT investment?
IT, if deployed correctly, should improve efficiency, productivity,
while reducing costs
for the organization.
Hence, making the right
IT investments is still
essential, even when
markets are trending
downward.
Leasing your
infrastructure
Seldom does any IT
product stay fresh in the
market beyond a year,
and seldom do IT users
themselves keep the
device beyond five years.
Outright expenditure
may not be your only
option when belts are
tightening; all good system
integrators work with leasing companies to give SMEs on
budgets the option to save on upfront purchasing costs.
However, be sure to factor in medium term expansion plans
(3-5 years) and business needs when making the decision;
increasing the number of leased arrangements does not
correspondingly increase company assets under balance
sheets, and depending on the equipment, comparatively lower
total cost of ownership (TCO) can be achieved if the company
simply stretches hardware lifecycles further, for example by redeploying
older notebooks to more junior or temp staff.
Cloud
Singapore is a connected state, which means software-as-aservice
(SaaS) platforms – in which software and connected
data are centrally hosted on the cloud – are viable alternatives
Ju l | Au g 2012
En t r E p r E n E u r s’ Di g E s t
to large scale IT infrastructure for SMEs, whilst reducing inhouse
manageability in the long term.
Outsourcing IT support
Outsourcing does not have to extend to the complexities of
cloud; something as simple as maintenance of IT systems can
be outsourced. Keeping in-house IT support can be expensive,
and in many SMEs staff in other roles often fall back as IT
support, impeding productivity. Everyone’s busy, so leaving it
to the experts also means better allocation of resources.
Think big picture
Find a preferred IT partner
that you can trust and
work well with; the usual
process of obtaining
three quotes is important,
but upfront price should
not always be the only
consideration and you
cannot put a price on
advice that will lower your
entire TCO. One tip - if
your IT partner sells more
of a particular brand,
chances are going with
that brand as well will
save you more money
than going with a similar
product from another
brand, due to economies of scale that allow your partner better
price negotiations.
Government grants
It is little surprise that SMEs are able to offset investments in
some of these areas, including investments in IT, by utilising
government grants providing rebates on corporate tax or even
upfront reimbursements. There are several grants out there,
such as the Productivity and Innovation Credit (PIC) Scheme,
so make use of these to save money in the short term and
ramp up business productivity in the long run.
Specify needs and objectives to IT partner
IT today does not reside solely within the server room, and
likewise is not an isolated function within the organisation.
Enabling IT to work for your business productivity can be a key