Small Business IT mistake 3: Buying bad equipment

Just as frustrating as old equipment for the tech guru or IT guy is bad equipment. By bad equipment, I mean cheap kit that isn't up to the job.

The problems with bad equipment are numerous; they won't last as long, the warranties will be poor, the after sales support will be awful and they will have lots of downtime.

Probably the biggest trap is buying consumer equipment. Not only are business needs different to households but the driving factor in consumer IT is price. Consumer equipment often doesn't have features that businesses need.

You should also keep in mind the local computer superstore aims squarely at the home market. The stock at the computer superstore is rarely designed for business use and even if it was, the staff couldn't support it.

Price is the killer for any home or business IT purchase. You pay peanuts, you'll get something even monkeys won't use. Because the IT industry knows price is so important to much of their market, they sell some very poorly specced product to meet price points.

Strangely though even if you pay a lot, you don't necessarily get what you pay for either. Some expensive products are as disappointing as the cheap stuff. This is why it's important to do your research.

Of course, research is time consuming and there are still plenty of traps awaiting the inexperience player. That's why you should find a trusted advisor to help you with your IT purchases.