Lowering the TCO of technology upgrades: a guide for growing businesses

Midsize businesses are at a critical crossroads. While the technology landscape offers immense opportunities for increased efficiency, productivity and customer satisfaction (55% of businesses already see digital transformation as crucial according to IDC), many struggle to keep pace. ¹

Outdated systems, tight budgets and skills gaps prevent them from harnessing the power of cloud, edge computing, AI and 5G. This article will guide you through overcoming these challenges and unlocking the potential for reduced costs, lower total cost of ownership (TCO) and enhanced scalability.

Looking to the future: why your business needs to adapt now

Business and technology are constantly evolving, creating new possibilities for companies to enhance their cost structure through greater efficiency, productivity and customer satisfaction. Most growth-minded businesses understand that modernizing their IT systems and processes is essential to seizing new opportunities for revenue and cost reduction.

If you manage IT for a midsize company, however, you know it’s not that simple. You may find it hard to keep pace with technological change, grow your budgets fast enough to address that change, and justify the expense of updating your technology stack. You may also be struggling with inflexible legacy systems, security threats and skills shortages—factors that can have a tremendous impact on your company’s profitability.

Yet the truth is that you need to upgrade and future-proof your technology if you want to remain competitive. With the right approach, you can reduce operational expenses, lower your total cost of ownership (TCO) and enhance your efficiency and scalability—all without breaking the bank.

Assess your IT environment strategically

If you are running an outdated or legacy system, you may be missing out on the benefits of modern technology that can lower your (TCO) and improve your business performance.

TCO is a measure of the direct and indirect costs involved in acquiring and maintaining a product or service over its lifetime. It includes not only the initial purchase price, but also the ongoing expenses for maintenance, support, upgrades, security, integration and training.

Before investing in and migrating to new technology, you need to assess your current IT environment in relation to your business goals. This includes considering factors such as:

• The current and projected costs of maintaining and upgrading their existing systems
• The compatibility and integration of the new technology with their existing systems and processes
• The security and compliance requirements of their industry and customers
• The availability and reliability of the new technology and the potential downtime and disruption during the migration
• The skills and resources needed to implement and manage the new technology

47% of midmarket companies indicated they would use employee productivity as a metric to gauge the success of their cloud voice communications solutions in an IDC survey on cloud- based voice and UC&C services.

Based on these factors, midsize businesses can choose the best solution for their needs and budget. They can also plan and execute the migration process with minimal risk and maximum efficiency. However, they may need external help and guidance from a trusted partner who can provide them with the right tools and expertise.

How integrated technologies help reduce TCO

By implementing modern technology such as network, edge cloud, security and communication services, you can lower your total cost of ownership in several ways. For example, you can:

• Eliminate the need for expensive hardware, software and licenses that require constant updates and maintenance.
• Provide flexible and scalable pricing models that allow you to pay only for what you use and adjust your capacity as needed
• Offer seamless integration with your existing systems and applications, as well as with third-party cloud services and platforms, improving your productivity
• Enhance your efficiency with built-in security and compliance tools that are easy to learn and use, while protecting your data and communications from cyber threats and breaches
• Help improve your productivity and efficiency with advanced features and capabilities that enable your hybrid workforce to communicate and collaborate from anywhere, anytime, and on any device

Each organization will prioritize some of these items differently, but the overall benefits of this integrated approach include lower costs.

The Right partner for migration success

Lumen knows that you may be hesitant to upgrade or migrate to new technology when everything seems to be working just fine. But does “fine” provide the agility you need to respond quickly to changing demands?

Many business leaders couldn’t have predicted the unprecedented reallocation of resources they faced a few years ago. And the business climate is still in recovery as companies work to overcome challenges brought on by higher interest rates, inflation, healing supply chains, staffing shortages and a potential recession. With so many unknowns, resiliency is imperative to successfully weather whatever the future brings

When you partner with Lumen to implement new technology, you benefit from our decades of experience in delivering network, cloud, edge, security, collaboration and communication solutions for expanding businesses. Leveraging our combination of tools, resources and expertise can help you reduce costs and lower your TCO because we focus on:

• Matching a solution to your budget by offering flexible and scalable options that can adapt to changing business demands and customer expectations
• Driving efficiency and cost-conscious services by providing end-to-end support and guidance throughout the migration process—from planning and design to implementation and optimization
• Providing security and addressing compliance to mitigate potential risk and financial loss through our advanced threat detection and mitigation capabilities
• Maximizing your return on investment by delivering fast and reliable connectivity and performance using our extensive network and edge infrastructure
• Enabling innovation and transformation through our cloud, AI and 5G solutions

Don’t let migration costs and complexity prevent you from investing in critical technology upgrades. Learn how Lumen can minimize the challenges today.

_{¹IDC, How Midmarket Organizations Can Overcome Legacy Voice System Challenges, November 2023.
²IDC, The State of Digital and Network Transformation in U.S. Enterprises, December 2023.}

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