INTERVIEW Carmen Ene - 3 Step IT
“With technology becoming obsolete at a faster rate than ever before, it is surprising that so many companies
overlook the importance of keeping their IT equipment up to date.”
Carmen Ene, CEO of 3 Step IT
Time to Stop Sweating Assets
In the past, a business’s IT
department would typically
consist of desktop computers,
a handful of servers, telephone
systems and software licenses and
support - meaning that keeping
budgets under control was much
simpler. However, as a company’s
technology stack becomes ever
larger and more complex, cloud
technologies, mobile devices and
ERP systems have been added.
With every new addition to an
IT department’s remit, the task
of maintaining a cost-eective
budget becomes signicantly
more complex.
Consuming roughly a third
of a typical IT budget, devices
take up a sizeable chunk of these
growing costs. It’s no surprise
then, when those assets have
been purchased, that companies
typically hold o on replacing
them for as long as they can in
an attempt to save money where
possible.
However, there is no such
thing as a free lunch. Just
because a business does not
buy replacement devices more
regularly does not mean that it
will simply save that amount of
money.
The trouble with sweating
devices
In order to counter the pressures
put on an organisation’s IT
department, one strategy that
many CTOs have taken is to
buy a business’s IT assets in one
single purchase, or a handful of
transactions. is simplies the
way the department manages
its budget by only making
purchases when needed.
However, it also means that
With big budgets, IT departments make an obvious cost saving target. At the same time
companies cannot miss the opportunities coming from new technologies. Carmen Ene,
CEO of 3 Step IT, says CIOs and CFOs everywhere are left scratching their heads trying
to work out how IT can deliver more while costing less
equipment up to date.
The Effect On Employees
Having to use outdated
technology can have a knockon
eect throughout an
organisation, and can begin to
impact employee productivity
and satisfaction.
Research suggests that 53%
of workers feel they would
be more productive if their
company gave them better
technology to use. In addition,
unproductive sta currently cost
UK businesses £22 billion each
year with an average of £4,467
per employee every year.
Complete Overhaul
Contrary to widespread
assumptions that purchasing
equipment outright simplies
budgets, it can in fact distort
priorities and make it more
dicult to invest in newer
technologies - particularly when
aging technology begins to
malfunction.
e costs associated with
purchasing and maintaining a
modern platform are no longer
practical or sustainable and
working current technologies until
their eventual death doesn’t make
business sense. Organisations
should look to a more exible
approach to equipping businesses
with the agile tools needed to
perform at their peak and drive
future growth.
Carmen Ene, CEO
of 3 Step IT
employees are often left with
slow or outdated devices due to
the pressure of sweating assets
and using technology until the
very end of its life.
is comes with a number of
costs to a business. Firstly, from
a nancial viewpoint, the cost
of an IT department providing
support to the end user as a
result of software failures, cybersecurity
problems and occasional
device collapse. Secondly, there
is a separate category of hidden
costs: the opportunity cost that
comes with not exploiting new
advances. While we may not
notice the change as it happens,
PCs get faster, their graphics
resolution improves, battery life
improves, and device-to-device
connections work better and
more eciently. ose using
outdated devices are forced to
work slower and less eciently.
With technology becoming
obsolete at a faster rate than ever
before, it is surprising that so
many companies overlook the
importance of keeping their IT
www.p-rd.com
Untangle your Billing
u Packed with powerful features
40 | Comms Business Magazine | May 2019 www.commsbusiness.co.uk
/www.p-rd.com
/www.commsbusiness.co.uk