Here at AFSecure, we often delve into the nitty-gritty of cybersecurity, network architecture, and the kind of robust, future-proofed solutions that keep your business humming. But today, I want to take a slight detour. This post is a bit more of an opinion piece, a collection of observations and war stories, if you will, about something I've come to call "False Economy" in small business.
It all started with a news blurb that caught my eye – Frankie Muniz, yes, the Malcolm in the Middle star, took a tumble off a ladder. The reason? Replacing the battery in a Ring security camera. Now, setting aside the various other limitations of battery-powered security cameras (which, let's be honest, are numerous), the irony struck me. The idea behind these devices is often to save on the cost and complexity of cabling that a Power over Ethernet (PoE) camera requires. Yet, for Frankie, that "saving" ended up costing him much more – not to mention the potential impact on his burgeoning NASCAR career!
While I haven't seen our clients taking spills off ladders to change batteries, I've seen the fallout from battery-based security cameras plenty of times: struggling with flaky Wi-Fi signals, missing crucial context because recordings are motion-triggered (gotta save that battery life!), or just plain not working because the time, complexity, and cost of constant battery replacement become a pain to live with. It’s that classic short-term solution that looks brilliant on paper, until you actually have to live with it day in and day out.
This got me thinking about other instances of false economy I've encountered – those seemingly savvy choices that, while tempting at the outset, ultimately end up costing a business far more in the long run.
Now, I've already touched on the perils of using consumer-grade hardware to run your business in a previous post (you can read more about it here). The short version is that security, performance, manageability, and resilience all take a hit. So, I won't rehash that here. Instead, let's dive into some other common traps.
Cable Right, Cable Once
This one hits close to home. Years ago, a friend of mine, long before AFSecure was even a glimmer in my eye, made a decision for their business network. They opted for Cat5 network cable instead of the slightly more expensive Cat5E. For those unfamiliar, Cat5E is rated for Gigabit speeds, while standard Cat5 is not. My friend was trying to save a few dollars per metre of cable laid. At the time, 100 Megabit speeds were the norm, and Gigabit felt like an extravagant, costly upgrade. It seemed like the sensible choice at the time, but today it's not enough to get the job done.
The problem with network cable, however, is that it's notoriously expensive and disruptive to upgrade. Today, his network often runs slower than many NBN internet connections, and the only real solution is a costly, time-consuming cable replacement. Those few extra dollars per metre back then would have saved a massive headache and significant expense now. Sometimes, the initial outlay for quality infrastructure is an investment, not an expense.
The Cheapest Laptop in the Shop
A few years back, a family member who also runs a small business needed a new laptop. Their approach? Walk into a big electronics retailer and pick the cheapest machine running Windows 11. Oh, how I wish AFSecure had existed then, or that they had just asked me!
I was recently asked to take a look at this laptop because it was so painfully slow they barely used it, instead relying on their older desktop (which, incidentally, is rapidly approaching its end-of-life, as discussed here). What did I find? A paltry 8GB of RAM – simply not enough for Windows 11 to run smoothly – on a laptop where almost all components are soldered down. The only saving grace is that while the 8GB is soldered, there's a second RAM slot for a removable module. Any further RAM upgrades, an SSD upgrade, or indeed any significant maintenance, will necessitate replacing the entire laptop.
The takeaway here is crucial: business-grade laptops are often a couple of hundred dollars more than their similarly spec’d consumer counterparts for a reason. Manufacturers design them for maintainability and upgradability, not as cheap, disposable (and heartbreakingly wasteful) devices. Investing a little more upfront for a machine designed for business use will save you countless hours of frustration and the inevitable cost of premature replacement.
Short-Sighted Storage
My final example comes from one of our anonymous customers. During the pandemic, they implemented a Network Attached Storage (NAS) solution to manage their growing data. To save costs, they opted for a 2-bay unit, which offered all the storage space they needed at the time and saved the (marginal) upgrade cost of a 4-bay (or greater) unit.
I'm sure you know where this is going.
Fast forward to today, and they're completely out of space. Instead of being able to make an incremental, cost-effective upgrade by adding more drives to a larger NAS, they are now staring down the barrel of a full NAS replacement – a far more significant investment in both hardware and migration time.
The Bottom Line
These stories, while varied in their specifics, all point to a common theme: the allure of short-term savings can often blind us to long-term costs. In the world of small business technology, "good enough for now" often translates into "a massive headache and expense later."
It pays to think ahead, to consider not just today's needs but tomorrow's growth, and to invest in solutions that offer scalability, maintainability, and true value, rather than just the lowest sticker price. Because, as Frankie Muniz might tell you, sometimes trying to save a few bucks on a battery can lead to a much bigger fall.
If you need help to plan your technology needs for the future, not just the now - Contact AFSecure for an obligation free chat.