Budget Approval Tips in a Slow Economy
The network is so congested that the routers have put up deli counter "take-a-number" ticket dispensers for files waiting to be transferred. Several trade journals have called wanting to feature your organization in articles about "legacy" software systems. And the hum of fans in the server room is starting to sound more like a geriatric wheeze. There's no question in your mind: you need to spend some money.
There's just one problem: the CFO. He or she is standing between you and the equipment that you are so sure that you need like an NHL goalie, and has blocked every shot so far this season. You need a master plan a masterful plan to get past that obstacle and keep the wheels of IT turning.
You need to get behind the idea that not everyone in the world intuitively understands how important it is that the IT department be adequately funded. Heck, not even everyone in your organization thinks that your budget is more important than theirs, and that was before the economy took a deep breath and forgot to exhale. In the current environment, every dime spent will need to be justified, and IT expenditures almost never have a ROI profile that benefits the bottom line. You're going to have to do some homework in order to get your budget approved this year.
Cater to your customers
It is a difficult truth that in many organizations, the services that IT provides are seen as little more than infrastructure. If the employees are warm enough in Winter and cool enough in Summer, then no one is interested in the latest models of HVAC systems; that can wait until the current unit stops working. Similarly, the networking gurus are likely to be the only ones interested in a speedy new switch, and no one but the Systems Administrators are going to be very excited that the new version of the operating system provides a ton of helpful utilities for managing user accounts: it simply does not impact them or the company at large. That is, it doesn't unless you can explain to them that it actually does.
A "speedy new switch" in the network is not just cool, it allows the nightly backups to be completed in four hours instead of six. This means that the branch offices have two more hours for entering orders, or that you now have a maintenance window in which systems can be shut down without impacting users. Better tools for managing user accounts means that the Admins can be more responsive, setting up new users in less time than ever before, or perhaps that the risk of attacks through accounts that should have been disabled can be reduced or eliminated.
The point is that IT is a service and support organization, and you need to "sell" the need for new tools and equipment by promoting their value to others, not just your own department. You may be tired of coaxing that cranky last-generation server along, but as long as it is running, it will be difficult to get approval for a new one unless you can make the problem of its slow performance and frequent crashes a burden that others must share, too. Document jobs that failed because of problems with that server, calculate lost productivity in terms of man-hours or other cost-based factors, then show how a one-time outlay of cash for a new server will improve those metrics. Don't forget to include such factors as reduced maintenance costs for a server that will be under warranty instead of a service contract, but do make sure that the "problems" that you document are in fact problems caused by that piece of equipment itself and not operator error or other problems.
Be creative, but above reproach
For it is a given that budget requests will be examined this year, and that means that questions may be asked. If you request an expenditure and it gets turned down, you can always try again the next time. If, however, you give false or misleading information as "justification" for a purchase and get discovered, you will have lost your credibility, and maybe even your job. It is tempting to get so "creative" in re-wording your purchasing justifications that you bend or even "invent" the truth; this is not the way to get your budget approved. If you cannot think of any way in which an expenditure benefits anyone other than yourself, then there are three steps you should take before including that purchase in your budget:
1.
How badly is it needed? It may be that you can live without it for now, or do almost as well with something that is better than what you have but not necessarily the top model. All of the Sales reps want to drive new Cadillacs and R&D wants their annual retreat to be in Honolulu. In fact, the reps are going to get new Malibu's and R&D is going to Atlanta (and having a Luau Friday night!). Can your existing equipment or software make it another year? Can you upgrade to a model or version that is less expensive than the one that you want? If so, ask for it instead, and be sure to point out in your justification that you wanted the Cadillac, but will be saving the company a lot of money by making the Malibu work for you.
2.
Can something else be done to mitigate the problem or eliminate the need for this purchase? The load on your servers increased so much after the company bought out that Midwest competitor that your staff must constantly monitor the server farm, trimming working sets, balancing loads, killing runaway processes. If you could get the money for another ten servers, things would go back to the way that they were, but you doubt that you can get it approved. Are there faster servers running another application but being under-utilized? Perhaps these could be swapped, giving more horsepower where it is needed for minimum expenditure. Are you making good use of virtualization technology? The cost of a week of training and some software is likely to beat the cost of ten new boxes, and you can include the money that would be saved on power consumption in your justification.
3.
Am I missing something? In considering your department's needs, have you actually spoken to key personnel in other departments? You may not like to admit it, but often people in the company have technology-related needs but are hesitant to come to you and discuss those issues. Perhaps they are not sure how to ask for what they need, or are too intimidated to talk to "the computer guys", in much the same way that many people avoid taking their car to the shop until they simply have no choice. If you can keep in regular contact with department heads, project leaders, and other key people, you will be more likely to know what projects and priorities they face, and can incorporate those needs into your own plans. You may think that you are the only one who is interested in the new features in the latest version of the server operating system until you discover that Finance really has a need to accomplish something that cannot be done in the current environment. It might never occur to them to ask you if what they want is even possible, but if you stopped at step #1, you would have missed a real opportunity. In the process, you will be seen as proactive and a real team player; these are bonuses that pay dividends well beyond the budget approval cycle!
In short, be thorough in your needs analysis, be creative in your thought processes, but do not go beyond what is right and true.
Be part of the organization
Ultimately, the key to getting a budget approved for a department that is seen as a cost center and (at best) a provider of services to other, "real" departments is going to be your ability to demonstrate the usefulness of your requests to the organization as a whole. It only takes one key person who thinks that all that IT really wants is cool new toys, and you're stuck with sneakernet and hamster wheels for yet another budget cycle. Trust me; that hamster is only fun for the first couple of days!