Securing Business Continuity and Innovation in Technology Expense Management

With rising technology costs, supply chain issues, and global security threats, enterprises must evaluate their business continuity plans to prevent disruptions in business and stay on top of innovation so they are not left behind in the technology dust. If a network goes down unexpectedly, or there’s a cyber-attack, companies are exposed to enormous risk that can affect their reputation and bottom line.

We will explore a few ways that a Technology Expense Management (TEM) solution can help reduce IT risks and minimize daily technical issues to ensure smooth and efficient business operations.

Business Continuity Planning & TEM

As defined by Gartner, “Business continuity planning (BCP) is a broad disaster recovery approach whereby enterprises plan for recovery of the entire business process. This includes a plan for workspaces, telephones, workstations, servers, applications, network connections and any other resources required in the business process.”

To prevent emergency situations, like an interruption in phone or internet service, it’s crucial to have a continuity plan in place. A TEM solution can help in the following areas:

• Maps your entire network of assets to visualize discrepancies and quickly manage and resolve problems
• Tracking and maintaining accurate asset inventory leading to better decision-making and planning
  
• Ensures all invoices are paid on time to prevent accounts from being disconnected due to a missed payment
• Reviews and resolves account level charges, balance forwards, and past due amounts, so that a carry-over balance doesn’t lead to suspended service
• Stabilizes spend and prevents unexpected charges from occurring on invoices to prevent missed payments, which could also lead to disconnected service

Managed services help enterprises stay at the forefront of innovation in tech by trusting industry experts to work smartly instead of trying to solve it internally with hard, manual work. Using advanced data and analytics, a good TEM provider is able to forecast and predict needs, access and work with vendor disputes, and implement a cost savings plan across the organization.

The benefits of TEM go beyond just risk mitigation. It allows for a comprehensive approach to technology expense management, whether that’s providing visibility of inventory, control of your technology estate, or optimization of expenses.

Securing Network Information

From an innovation perspective, companies must keep their networks and devices current to prevent security risks and ensure employee access. TEM solutions have all of the asset, inventory, and billing information at their fingertips, which allows them to choose the best devices and vendors, navigate supply chain issues, and support the latest IT infrastructure.

If a network goes down, enterprises risk losing EBITDA and maybe even customers due to poor health. Imagine you are about to check out at a store and the point of sale (POS) system stops functioning. Your only option is to pay with cash or not make the purchase, effecting guest experience, sales, and company reputation. Having a TEM solution both prevents this and quickly solves any unexpected outages.

Planning the Future with TEM

Beyond basic expense management and cost savings, TEM helps secure the future by preventing technology disruptions in business. Staying online has become increasingly important in our fast-paced digital world, where e-commerce and consumer transactions are happening every day. Not only does TEM help with continuity planning, but it also helps enterprises stay at the forefront of innovation each and every day.