A small note before we get started today. This isn't the normal carefully worded blog post. Today it's a passionate post fueled by coffee and deep concern. If you're running a small to medium business, this post is for you. If you're running a small to medium business and have been putting off hardware maintenance for maybe a little too long, this one is REALLY for you.
I pinged one of our customers recently. They have only just finished moving offices. We helped them to deploy an upgraded network to account for their much larger site (can anyone say seamless Wifi?). They're moving full steam ahead running their business. Just yesterday, I pinged them however, and I don't feel like I was the barer of good news. The TLDR: All those upgrades you had planned - you may need to bring them forward.
It dawned on me that "bring it forward" has been a theme as of late. I only just recently spoke of AI driven price hikes and the need to bring a business purchase forward to get ahead of it. On a personal note, I'm in the process of helping my parents install security cameras at home - we needed to bring those purchases forward as we can see the prices rise at an alarming rate. What's really blowing my mind however is that for both the security cameras and the NAS unit I mentioned in my previous post. It was significantly cheaper to order the equipment from a retailer who had some older stock on hand than it was to purchase the equipment through my own wholesale account.
Let me rephrase that - in many instances, I'm seeing whole sale cost prices for hardware purchased TODAY, that are HIGHER than retail prices for hardware purchased months ago.
Then there's my accidental series on being a "business prepper" (part 1, part 2). We called it! Back on the 11th we suggested preparing for another round of WFH, and as of the 20th the International Energy Agency is already calling for it.
Before I get to the point of all this, I want to drop one more data point. Here's a short video from a US based Managed Service Provider, Crosstalk Solutions on the insane increase in server hardware costs they're facing due to AI driven component shortages and price hikes.
So, now we're thinking about all the data I want to pose a question: If the hardware we need to run our businesses is ALREADY getting out of hand cost wise - how does it look when we add energy / fuel shortages into the mix and suddenly freight costs spiral out of control?
This is the stark reality facing Australian businesses. Unfortunately I believe we are facing down three options:
- Bring forward any hardware purchases and upgrades now, while there's still stock at a reasonable price.
- Sweat your assets and keep running with what you have for the next ~ 12 - 24 months at least.
- Make purchases as costs spiral, potentially paying many times what you would today.
This of course is against the backdrop of continually increasing interest rates, cost of living increases and an economy that's groaning under all these pressures.
We're not going to tell you want to do. Every business has its own pressures and needs to pick its own "right path". But if you want help planning your upgrades quickly while prices are decent, need assistance to stretch the service life of what you have or are seeking a critical eye to spot the "weak links" in your environment before they find you - AFSecure is here to help.