Why you shouldn’t delay budget planning for 2022

This year was not the return to normal that many people were anticipating. The combination of the Delta variant and vaccine hesitancy kept many return-to-office plans up in the air. While, it may be mid-2022 before return-to-office plans really get underway, one thing that’s for sure, is that IT budgets for 2022 need to be in place soon. 

TechRepublic’s 2022 IT Budget Research Report found that the pandemic caused 43% of  IT departments to tighten their budgets. One positive sign was that the number of companies postponing major IT projects dropped from a high of 17% in 2021 to 11% in 2022. Also, fewer survey respondents were unsure about their company’s IT budget with that number falling from 20% to 16%.

SEE: 2022 IT Budget Research Report: COVID-19 prompts organizations to tighten budgets

Whether your budget is growing, shrinking or holding steady, you’ll need the right tools to manage forecasts, expenditures and other changes. These plans will need to be robust enough to respond to unexpected shifts in business needs and department priorities. These TechRepublic Premium resources will give you a head start on the process.  

Year-round IT budget template

Managing a budget isn’t the most exciting task on any to-do list, but it’s essential to fulfill obligations, support the business and keep users productive and efficient. The TechRepublic Premium Year-Round IT Budget Template provides everything you need to get the job done. 

This comprehensive document covers the basics of budgeting as well as more detailed information. You can use the categorized budget, spending calendar, spending by business unit, spending by priority and budget vs. actual tabs to manage and track whatever is the most important to your business.

Budget planning tool

This Excel template and related guide is the best place to get started if you’re new to the budget process. You get a file you can customize to fit your needs and advice about how to use it. The guide walks you through the process of setting up a budget, complete with examples of how the completed fields should look. 

Both of these TechRepublic Pre