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- Cybersecurity Threats Haunting Businesses in 2024
- Microsegmentation: Protecting Data from Cyber Threats
- Retail shoplifting and loss prevention: How to protect your business
- Generative AI Cost Optimization Strategies
- Why Do I Need to Protect My Cloud?
- 10 Reasons for Engaging Outside Experts to Manage Your Cybersecurity
- Why Hiring a 3rd Party MSP Expert Makes Sense and – and Cents (MANY cents!)
- Brand and Network Considerations When Adopting AI Corporately
- Integrating XDR, SIEM, and SOAR
- 3-2-1 –Go? Not so quick, this time.
- 5 Things a CISO Shoud Know
- 10-Step Patch Management Checklist
- Penetration Testing vs. Breach Attack Simulation
- Current big cyber breaches and impact on businesses
- Smart Infrastructure Gets Lit Up!
- Securing Industrial IoT: The Missing Puzzle Piece
- 7 Common Cybersecurity Mistakes Made by SMBs
- The Future of Physical Security: Cloud-Based Systems
- Autonomous and Sensor Technology Use Surging
- 2024 Facilities Trends Will Require Facilities and IT Teams to Work in Tandem
- NGFW vs. WAF. What’s the Right Firewall for You?
- Chris Hadfield’s Words To Live By
- Industrial Revolution 4.0 + IIoT
- Digital Fluency Drives Innovation
- Your Cloud Needs Protecting, Too
- Your building alarm systems could become obsolete. In 2024!
- Zero Trust 2.0: Zero Trust Data Resilience (ZTDR)
- We just got, or got used to, Wi-Fi 6. What is Wi-Fi 7?
- What Does the Board Need to Know? Business Metrics that CISOs Should Share – 4th and Last in a Four-Part Series
- Why 2024 is the Year for AI Networking
- International Women’s Day is Tomorrow – Great Time to Think About…
- Data-Centric Security Step One: Classifying Your Data
- The Network – Unsung Hero of Super Bowl LVIII
- What Does the Board Need to Know? Business Metrics that CISOs Should Share – Third in a Four-Part Series
- Boosting IT Team Performance by Fostering Intuition, Curiosity and Creativity
- Breach Remediation Costs Can Wipeout Bottom Line and Business
- Hoodied Hackers Now Favour Hugo Boss
- What Do You Need to Tell the Board? Business Metrics that CISOs Should Share – Second in a Four-Part Series
- How to Get People to Re-Engage After the Holidays
- What Does the Board Need to Know? Business Metrics that CISOs Should Share – First in a Four-Part Series
- Android Devices MUST be Updated + IT Departments Being Cut as Privilege Escalation Escalates
- Today’s Common Cloud Migration and Management Concerns
- Protect Your Healthcare Network from Cyberattack – Lives are at Stake
- Happy Halloween: Black Cats Lead to Boo….Hoo.
- Insurance Underwriters are Protecting Their Flanks
- Insurance Companies Cracking Down as Cybercriminals Become Better Business Builders
- Scary Cyberattacks Stats
- Parents, Profs and IT Professionals Perceive Back-to-School Through Different Lens
- Zscaler’s new IDTR and other tools that leverage generative AI
- Vanquish Vaping, Vandalism and Villainy
- Fabric for Fast-Paced Environments
- Changes to Cyber Insurance Requirements – What you Need to Know
- Cybersecurity Readiness – Newly Released Report
- Passwords Leaked…Again
- 10-Step Patch Management Checklist
- Remote – Again – For Now… and Still Maintaining Engagement
- Protecting Pocketbooks, Passwords and Property from Pilfering
- Raspberry Robin: Highly Evasive Worm Spreads over External Disks
- Cisco Introduces Responsible AI – Enhancing Technology, Transparency and Customer Trust
- Managing Customer Trust in Uncertain Supply Chain Conditions
- Hope on the Horizon
- Toys of Tomorrow… What will spark your imagination? Fuel your imagination?
- Protecting Purses and Digital Wallets
- The Password that Felled the Kingdom + MFA vs 2FA
- The MOE’s RA 3.0 and Zscaler
- 7 Critical Reasons for MS Office 365 Backup
- Penetration Testing Important, but…
- Social Engineering and Poor Patching Responsible for Over 90% of Cybersecurity Problems
- Breach Incidence and Costs On the Rise Again + 5 Ways to Reduce Your Risk
- Cybersecurity Insurance Policies Require Security Audits and Pen Testing
- Wireless strategies for business continuity gain importance as enterprise expand IoT, cloud, and other technologies
- How Cybercrooks are Targeting YOU
- Enabling Digital Transformation with Cisco SD-WAN
- WFH Post Pandemic – What It Will Look Like. What You’ll Need.
- Leaders to looking to the IoT to improve efficiency and resiliency
- Cyber Security Vernacular – Well, some of it, for now
- Why You Need Disaster Recovery, NOT Just Back-Ups
- 10 Reasons Why Having an Expert Manage Your Cybersecurity Makes Sense and Saves Dollars
- Converting CapEx IT Investments into Manageable OpEx
- The Hybrid Workplace – Planning the Next Phase
- Cisco Cloud Calling: Empowering Customers to Thrive with Hybrid Work
- When You Can’t Access the Cloud
- How to Keep On Keeping On
- New Cisco Research Reveals Collaboration, Cloud and Security are IT’s Top Challenges
- Threats from Within on the Rise
- Cloud Covered? If Not, Take Cover!
- Zero Trust and Forrester Wave Report
- Password Based Cyber Attack: Like Leaving Keys Under Doormats
- So, What’s Up With Sensors?
- Sensors and Systems Create a Digital “Last Mile” and Help Skyrocketing Costs
- Scanners Provide Peace of Mind for Returning Students and Workers
- Sensors Improve Operations and Bottom Line… Easily and Cost-Affordably.
- Cisco Meraki Looks at 2021
- 2020 Holiday Shopping: Cybersecurity and Other Tips to Safeguard Wallets and Systems
- How to make the most of the technology you have
- Personnel, Planet and Business Progress: More Interdependent Than Ever Before
- Sure… you can get them all in the boat – but can you get them to work well together?
- Pushing the Zero Trust Envelope – Cisco is Named a Leader in the 2020 Forrester Zero Trust Wave
- Cloud Data Must be Protected, Too!
- Don’t Let Anyone Get the Dirt on You – Make It Instead!
- How IoT Devices Can Help You and Your business
- WebEx – A World of Possibility
- Creating Your Breach Response Plan Now Will Save You Thousands Down The Road
- Been hacked? Here’s what you must do next.
- The Need for Pen Testing is At an All-Time High
- 5 Ways an IT Reseller Improves Your Performance and Peace-of-Mind
- 5G and Wi-Fi 6: Faster, more flexible, and future ready. Are you?
- Network and Data Security for Returning and Remote Workers + Disaster Recovery Symposium
- Collaboration and Cisco WebEx: Protecting Your Data
- Thursday’s Virtual Conference Tackles Today’s Supply Chain Trials and Tribulations
- 10 Tips to Reduce Cloud Storage Risk
- COVID-19 Crisis Fuelling IT Spending
- Supply Chain/Logistics Experts Share Their Expertise
- Cisco Breach Defence Overview
- Announcing Our New Website and Blog
We all experienced the sales declines that characterized 2020; it was a year in which gardening tools, cooking “toys”, home gym equipment and electronics with the only categories in which there was real growth. According to Gartner, despite last year’s IT spending decline, 2021 is expected to see increases of 6 – 7% or more.
Yet, we’re all being asked to do more and more, with smaller and smaller budgets, at a time when costs are going up and up.
To make their dollars stretch further, increase product procurement flexibility and increase cash flows, IT decision-makers are exploring new options. Current trends include:
- Leveraging cloud computing
- Staggering payment schedules by adopting the “As-a-Service” model wherever possible
- Using Managed Services as a means of outsourcing and/or expanding IT capabilities
- Leasing equipment, rather than acquiring the asset out right
- Exploring Enterprise Agreements as a means of planning and controlling cash flow
The Difference Between CapEx and OpEx
Traditionally, IT expenditures, especially new equipment and some software, have been classified as capital expenditures (CapEx) because they are considered fixed assets, intended to be of service for 12 to 18 months or more. Servers, routers, Universal Power Systems and other similar items are typically purchased upfront, and depreciated over time.
For purchases such as real estate, there are significant advantages to these assets being capital expenditures. The rapid pace of progress is, however, prompting experts to rethink this approach in terms of IT expenditures.
Until now, operating expenses (the OpEx budget) have been used for items such as yearly service and maintenance contracts, licenses, insurance and the like. These expenses show up as part of your P&L statement and get deducted from your taxable income. They become part of your COGS, whereas it’s only the depreciation of capital expenditures that gets factored into tax return.
Purchasing equipment out right: Capital Expenditure. Leasing the equipment: Operating Expenditure.
Why IT Procurement Teams Are Opting for OpEx
Thanks to new cloud hosting capabilities, the increasing availability of “As-a-Service” models, and flexibility within leasing programs, it has never been easier to procure IT equipment and services using OpEx.
A couple of reasons why IT decision-makers are going this route:
- Just as CapEx and OpEx items get treated differently for tax purposes, they usually have different budgets, with different approval processes. An Accenture study suggests that approval for OpEx expenditures is easier and quicker than it is for capital expense items, which often require multiple levels of management approval.
- This approach reduces upfront costs, enabling more initiatives to be undertaken more quickly.
Why Various Forms of Leasing Have Growing Appeal
- Purchasing equipment outright requires accurate forecasting of future need; studies suggest that nearly 50% of companies “overbuy”, investing more money than they needed to.
- IT products have a limited lifetime. Compound this with rapidly changing technologies, and it’s easy to understand why organisations frequently find themselves wanting/needing to replace equipment before it is been paid in full. Unfortunately, once the asset has been paid for in full, many organisations will try to prolong its life to maximize the ROI of the initial investment. This can be a real problem in the IT world.
- At Cloud Managed Networks, we also have a program that lets you put everything – hardware, software, licenses, and all costs associated with assessments, installations, deployments, etc. – into a lease equivalent that can make 100% of your expenditure become part of your OpEx budget. This can it easier for IT departments to get the solutions they desire.
Why Enterprise Agreements Make Sense
- When you enter into an Enterprise Agreement (EA), you are securing a price for the length of the agreement, and you have the flexibility to scale as your company demands require.
- An Enterprise Agreement will cover upfront purchase fees and maintenance over a specific period, often three or five years. Licenses and features acquired have full portability.
- Many of our partners offer Enterprise Agreements, including Cisco which has revamped its program to make it easier and more attractive for customers.
Top Reasons to Adopt Software Subscriptions
In addition to being able to move costs into OpEx budgets, giving you linear predictable expenditures, this move enables you to:
- Have the latest features your fingertips.
- Ensure your network is protected with the most up-to-date technology solutions against the latest and most sophisticated security threats.
- Refresh your software independently of your hardware, increasing the longevity of owned equipment.
- Port company licenses as needed across various deployment models – cloud, on-premises or new hardware.
- It’s easily scalable, so you can shorten planning cycles and avoid long-term capacity planning errors leading to overspending.
- With some subscriptions, it is possible to scale up and down, which can be helpful if you need to make seasonality adjustments.
- It’s easier to measure ROI on a monthly amount, than it is to make the calculation against an asset that continues to age over time.
To view the infographic, please click here
How Leveraging the Cloud Helps
This discussion probably belonged earlier in this post, but there didn’t seem to be a logical place to put it – and it needed to be included, as it ties into cost savings.
In addition to the massive visibility, agility and access advantages provided by cloud, there is a cost advantage.
- When you have on-premises infrastructure, you also have the expense of supporting items such as your office data centre, related HVAC costs, UPS systems and generators, ongoing maintenance, insurance and personnel. When you move operations to the cloud, most of these expenses are replaced by a lower monthly cost.
- This move also enables you to avoid some of the ongoing system upgrade expenses, along with repair costs.
Clearly there are many options to help you acquire the hardware and software you need to achieve your desired business outcomes, in a way that works for your budget and cash low requirements. To learn about the various options that could work for you, please contact us at [email protected] or (416) 429-0796 or 1.877.238.9944 (Toll Free).