Needed capacities or functions - Budgeting
- The Board of Directors should budget adequate funds for the following:
- the ongoing maintenance and upgrading of hardware and software;
- cloud-based technologies and systems integrations, identity management, security, and backups;
- security-related expenditures, such as data and security recovery services, email security, and cybersecurity training (see Security section);
- the personnel/consultants necessary to manage, support, maintain, and secure systems and endpoints;
- adequate support for remote and/or mobile work and supervision; and
- ongoing training on the use of existing and new technologies.
- Technology costs should be included in the budget of every project, program, and initiative. Organizations should work with funders to ensure that new initiatives include sufficient funding for technology.
Important Considerations and Best PracticesThe organization should develop a plan as to how it will fund necessary technologies. Replacing equipment on a consistent cycle vastly improves efficiency, support, budgeting, and planning. Organizations should maintain a clear equipment lifecycle policy or workstation replacement plan to inform the hardware planning process and to replace or upgrade equipment in the future. Additionally, organizations should consider standardizing the equipment being purchased and creating an IT Capital Budget to ensure budgeting and planning are in place for new equipment. Budgeting should include other equipment, such as servers, printers, scanners, docking stations, monitors, etc. Useful websites, resources, and other tools |