The Importance of Identifying IT Wants versus IT Needs for Business Success

For UK micro or small businesses, identifying the difference between “IT wants” and “IT needs” can be crucial for staying within budget and ensuring that your business is running smoothly and efficiently.

Our way of defining the difference is

• “IT wants” refers to the latest technology or software that a business may desire, but may not necessarily be essential for the business’s day-to-day operations. 
• “IT needs” refers to the essential technology or software that a business must have to function effectively, legally and efficiently.

Business Budgets and Costs

A UK micro or small business needs to identify the difference between “IT wants” and “IT needs” to help with running costs. 

New technology and software can be an expensive aspect of running your business and may not always provide a significant return on investment. 

By identifying and prioritising IT needs over IT wants, i.e the items and services that are essential, your business can allocate its IT budget more effectively and support the business’s overall goals and objectives.

Business Agility

Another reason it is important to identify the difference between IT wants and IT needs is that it can help a business to be more agile. By focusing on IT needs, your business can ensure that they have the necessary technology and software to adapt to changes in the marketplace and stay competitive.

This is especially important for small businesses that may not have the resources to keep up with the latest technology trends.

Business Security

It’s also important to identify the difference between “IT wants and IT needs” when it comes to security. 

“IT needs” in terms of security are things like firewalls, antivirus software, and intrusion detection systems that are necessary to protect a business’s sensitive data. 

On the other hand, “IT” wants in terms of security are things like intrusion prevention systems or advanced threat protection, which may not be essential but can provide an additional layer of protection.

Business Resources

By focusing on essential IT items and services, your business can ensure that it is running as efficiently and effectively as possible.

One of the main challenges for UK micro or small business when it comes to IT is that you may not have the internal resources or expertise to effectively identify and manage your IT needs. This is where using an external IT company can help.

An external IT company can provide your business with the expertise and resources it needs to identify the “IT needs and wants”. They can help your business to understand which IT items and services are essential for its operation, and which are not. They can also help develop an IT strategy that takes into account budget and resources and prioritises its IT investments.

Additionally, an external IT company can help your business to stay up-to-date with the latest technologies and to help ensure that its IT infrastructure is secure. This is important for small businesses, which may not have the resources to keep up with the latest IT trends and best practices.

In conclusion, identifying the difference between “IT wants” and “IT needs” is crucial your UK micro or small businesses. By focusing on IT needs over IT wants, your business can stay within budget and prioritize its IT investments

Using an external IT company can help as they can provide expertise, and resources and keep your business up-to-date with the latest technologies and security standards.

This helps your business to be more agile, stay competitive and secure its sensitive data.

In conclusion, identifying the difference between “IT wants” and “IT needs” is crucial for UK micro or small businesses. It helps them stay within budget and prioritise their IT investments, but it can be difficult for them to do it alone. That’s why using an external IT company can help, they can provide expertise and extra resources to help keep your business up-to-date with the latest technologies and security standards.

This is why Hightrees Organisation came to be, we want to provide cost-effective, practical IT help and resources to allow your business to grow.

Contact us today to see how we can help with your IT Wants and IT Needs.

References:

• Gartner, “IT Needs vs. IT Wants: How to Prioritize IT Investments” (2019)
• Forbes, “Why IT Needs Should Take Priority Over IT Wants” (2018)
• TechRadar Pro, “Why differentiating between IT wants and IT needs is crucial for small business success” (2019)