Ironic Newsflash: Small Businesses Can Be Cheap When It Comes To Technology
New HP study finds more than 90 percent of small businesses have tried to save money buying less technology than they need. And almost all of them have paid a price for it.
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PrintIt should come as no surprise to anyone that many small businesses are -- how can I put this? -- cheap. But a new study claims that small businesses pay a price for trying to save a few bucks on technology.
The Wakefield Research study queried 500 small business for Hewlett Packard, so you're forgiven for taking it with a boulder of salt, but the results are still revealing. Almost every small business surveyed (a whopping 93 percent) admitted to trying to save money instead of buying the equipment they really wanted. And of those pikers, 89 percent reported at least some IT-related problems as a result.
IT managers surveyed listed faster processors (35 percent)and more reliable components (19 percent) as the most needed upgrades (energy efficiency was a concern for only 9 percent of respondents.)
To find out more, I spoke to Curtis Hutcheson, U.S. Commercial Country Manager for HP’s Personal Systems Group, who couldn't tell me whether the cost savings outweighed the productivity losses, but felt that it didn't really matter. "In my view," Hutcheson said, "personal productivity effects are unacceptable. There are ways to ensure that doesn't happen without spending a lot of money."
Truth be told, I happen to agree that it's almost always more efficient to spend a little more money on technology to get more out of your workforce. But I also understand that when times get tight, small businesses become wary of every penny of spending, no matter what the long-term savings or payoff on the back end. And to be fair, small businesses are typically spending the owner's money, and that makes signing every check a personal decision.
I asked Hutcheson about that issue, and he came back to the idea that "when it's about employee productivity, it's worth it," adding that "downtime costs a lot... Businesses that are winning in this new economy are those that leverage technology. If you're going to look at investing in technology, don't buy a $350 PC that will break in three months and cause a hell for your workers."
He's right, I think. If you can't afford what you really need, you're probably better off holding on to what you have until you can. And remember, prices for most technology products continue to fall. Heck, many of us remember when a "decent" laptop cost $2,000 -- and it would look underpowered next to any modern smartphone.
The Wakefield Research study queried 500 small business for Hewlett Packard, so you're forgiven for taking it with a boulder of salt, but the results are still revealing. Almost every small business surveyed (a whopping 93 percent) admitted to trying to save money instead of buying the equipment they really wanted. And of those pikers, 89 percent reported at least some IT-related problems as a result.
IT managers surveyed listed faster processors (35 percent)and more reliable components (19 percent) as the most needed upgrades (energy efficiency was a concern for only 9 percent of respondents.)
To find out more, I spoke to Curtis Hutcheson, U.S. Commercial Country Manager for HP’s Personal Systems Group, who couldn't tell me whether the cost savings outweighed the productivity losses, but felt that it didn't really matter. "In my view," Hutcheson said, "personal productivity effects are unacceptable. There are ways to ensure that doesn't happen without spending a lot of money."
Truth be told, I happen to agree that it's almost always more efficient to spend a little more money on technology to get more out of your workforce. But I also understand that when times get tight, small businesses become wary of every penny of spending, no matter what the long-term savings or payoff on the back end. And to be fair, small businesses are typically spending the owner's money, and that makes signing every check a personal decision.
I asked Hutcheson about that issue, and he came back to the idea that "when it's about employee productivity, it's worth it," adding that "downtime costs a lot... Businesses that are winning in this new economy are those that leverage technology. If you're going to look at investing in technology, don't buy a $350 PC that will break in three months and cause a hell for your workers."
He's right, I think. If you can't afford what you really need, you're probably better off holding on to what you have until you can. And remember, prices for most technology products continue to fall. Heck, many of us remember when a "decent" laptop cost $2,000 -- and it would look underpowered next to any modern smartphone.
