Budget Zen

Many of you, like me, will have recently spent an inordinate amount of time on budgets. Everyone's favorite task, right?

There was a time when I treated budgets as an annoying task to be gotten out of the way, but I had a zen-type breakthrough when I realized that the budget was the tool I could use to influence technology change.

Discussions on technology are most focused during budget time, you have the business's attention as they recognize that their needs and feedback greatly influence your numbers (and consequently their's). Its a good time to bring up new initiatives, new technologies, replacement plans, disaster recovery and new investments.

It also allows you to gauge the appetite for change in technology in the coming year. Some years are big investments years, others steady as she goes. A well-planned budget is the springboard for a productive year of technology projects. Spend your time wisely here, you'll get back to technology soon enough.