Will Your 2025 IT Budget Be a Trick or Treat?  

This time of year, some seek out thrills by watching the latest horror movie or visiting the local haunted house, but IT leaders are facing a different kind of terror: planning their 2025 budgets. Economic uncertainties and the constant pressure to do more with less can make budgeting scary for even the most experienced CIOs. But fear not: there’s a better path forward. You can shine light on whatever is lurking in your dark IT estate with complete visibility based on the industry’s best endpoint data. Make the switch from reactive to proactive IT tonenhance your organization’s digital employee experience (DEX) strategy before it’s too late. 

The Skeleton IT Costs in the Closet 

The scariest thing about IT budgets is not knowing where your money is going. Unfortunately for a lot of CIOs, there are hidden costs throughout their IT estate – from unused software applications and overprovisioned devices to the high-cost of help desk tickets and risky shadow IT.   

“To uncover any waste, though, you need full visibility across all costs, including line items that are taking away from more strategic investments in digital transformation projects that will propel the business forward,” said Lakeside Software CEO David Keil in a recent Fast Company article. “By knowing precisely what is in the IT estate and affecting the digital employee experience (DEX) with endpoint devices, you can decrease expenses related to reactive or even wasteful activities and instead fund digital innovation and business growth.” 

Don’t let your 2025 IT budget give you a fright. With the right DEX strategy, you can turn those budget discussions from a horror show into a success story that would make even the ghostliest of CFOs smile. 

Don’t Be Scared of IT Budget Planning. Four Tips to Help You Save in 2025.  

1. Banish the Hardware Haunting 

When it comes to hardware, IT teams often struggle to gain visibility into the performance of these assets from a user perspective, not to mention how they’re actually being used. Derive the most value out of devices across your organization by understanding exactly what end users need and when they need it. 

With data on endpoint health and performance from the Lakeside SysTrack platform, you can:   

– Extend device lifecycles by identifying performance issues before they become critical 

– Make data-driven decisions about hardware upgrades  

– Predict and prevent system failures with AI-powered anomaly detection  

– Right-size your VDI environment based on actual resource consumption 

2. Slay the Software Spend Vampire 

Software can be a significant expense for many companies, but how do you know if you’re overpaying for software licenses that may not be needed or may not even be used? With accurate, real-time data from every endpoint in your estate, you gain a better view of shelfware and software bloat. With the right data and tools, you can quickly see how much a dynamic software rationalization strategy can save your organization and: 

– Track application utilization down to the minute 

– Identify unused or redundant software licenses 

– Monitor application performance to ensure ROI 

– Right-size expensive enterprise software agreements based on actual usage patterns 

3. Ward Off Help Desk Horrors 

How much could you save by decreasing help desk tickets? Or better yet, avoiding them altogether? With the right endpoint data, you can identify trends in the issues driving help desk tickets. Using the most accurate and real-time data from SysTrack, you can proactively resolve common issues before the employee submits a ticket. 

We help organizations make IT service delivery more efficient and less costly by: 

– Reducing Level 1 support tickets through automated root cause analysis 

– Enable faster resolution with comprehensive system diagnostics 

– Provide end-user experience scoring to prioritize issues 

– Support automation and self-healing capabilities 

4. Trap Shadow IT Gremlins 

Did you know that about a third of workers use shadow IT, which refers to “IT devices, software and services outside the ownership or control of IT organizations,” as per Gartner’s definition. 

DEX tools with robust data collection help solve users’ pain points and minimize their need to engage in unauthorized practices in the first place. With the complete visibility delivered by SysTrack, you can:  

– Detect unauthorized application usage 

– Understand user behavior and needs 

– Make informed decisions about sanctioned alternatives 

– Track application dependencies and usage patterns 

Turn IT Horrors into Success Stories with Lakeside’s IT Budgeting E-Book 

While the thought of next year’s IT budget might send shivers down your spine, remember Lakeside is here to help you create measurable cost savings and transform user experiences. In our new IT budgeting e-book, we explore 7 ways IT leaders can navigate budget constraints while also building a more resilient IT organization, maintaining a strong focus on digital employee experience, and propelling business growth through digital innovation.  

By investing in DEX, you’re not just avoiding tricks; you’re securing treats that will pay dividends throughout the year.