You’re paying for software you barely use. Staff laptops crawl on Monday mornings. Wi-Fi drops during calls. And every “quick fix” seems to create another problem.
An IT Assessment cuts through the noise. It shows you where money is leaking, what’s slowing people down, and which improvements will make the biggest difference first.
In this blog, you’ll get nine practical checks you can use in a real NZ business. You’ll also learn how to turn findings into a simple plan you can action without disrupting day to day operations.
Why IT spend creeps up in NZ businesses
Most cost blowouts are not caused by one big purchase.
They happen in small steps.
A new tool gets added because it’s “quick”. Then it becomes permanent. A team trial turns into a yearly renewal. A couple of laptops limp along because replacing them feels expensive, even though they cost more in lost time and support.
Over time, you end up with:
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Too many apps doing the same job
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Old devices that create constant friction
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Cloud subscriptions that grow quietly
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A support queue full of repeat issues
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People creating workarounds that make things worse
That’s why an IT Assessment is so useful. It gives you a clear view of what you have, what you actually use, and where the biggest savings are hiding.
What a cost-focused IT Assessment should look at
A practical IT Assessment is not a 40-page technical report that nobody reads.
It’s a structured review of your IT environment with one goal in mind.
Make IT cheaper to run and easier to use.
That means looking at:
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Your hardware fleet and how it’s performing by role
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Your network and Wi-Fi health, not just the internet plan
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Your core productivity stack and how it’s licensed
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Your SaaS footprint and duplicated tools
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Support patterns, including repeat tickets and time sinks
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Standardisation and onboarding, so you reduce complexity
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Backup and recovery readiness, so downtime costs less
This is also where you can decide what to stop doing. What to simplify. And what to standardise.
If you want more visibility into how technology impacts productivity, our article on Employee Efficiency adds helpful context.
9 checks that cut waste and lift performance
These checks are designed for owners, GMs, and IT Managers who want practical improvements.
They’re also the areas where we see the fastest returns.
1. Find unused licences and duplicate tools
This is often the quickest win.
Many businesses are paying for licences that aren’t being used. Or they’re paying twice for the same outcome.
Common examples include:
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Two project tools because different teams “prefer” different platforms
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Extra video conferencing subscriptions even though Microsoft Teams is already in place
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Paid add-ons that nobody turned off after a trial
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Licences still assigned to contractors or leavers
What to check:
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Licences with zero logins in the last 30–90 days
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Users assigned to premium plans who only need basic features
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Teams using different tools for the same workflow
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Renewals that auto-roll without a review
What to do:
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Reclaim licences before you buy more
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Standardise where possible so training and support gets easier
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Set a quarterly licence review, even if it’s only 30 minutes
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Align renewal dates so you can negotiate and rationalise properly
A helpful mindset here is “prove value before renewal”. If a tool can’t show clear usage and benefit, it becomes a candidate for removal.
2. Review cloud subscriptions for spend creep
Cloud costs are sneaky.
They tend to rise through small changes. Storage grows. Users increase. Security add-ons get stacked. New apps get connected. Nothing looks big on its own.
Then a year later, your monthly bill is a shock.
What to check:
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Month-by-month spend trend over the last 6–12 months
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Storage growth and what’s driving it
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Paid licences assigned to shared mailboxes or inactive accounts
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Duplicate services that overlap with your core platform
What to do:
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Set cost alerts and simple budget thresholds
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Reduce storage growth by cleaning up stale data
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Remove inactive accounts and shared licence waste
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Review add-ons annually, not once, then never again
If cloud is a key part of your environment, Cloud Solutions can help you improve performance while keeping spend predictable.
3. Measure device performance, not just device age
Device age is only a rough guide.
Performance is what actually affects the business.
Slow devices create hidden costs every day. People wait for logins. They re-open apps. They restart machines. They avoid updates. They delay tasks. Then they call support.
A simple way to frame it is this.
If a staff member loses 10 minutes a day to slow tech, that’s close to an hour a week. Multiply that across 20 people and you’ve got a cost problem that’s bigger than the hardware.
What to check:
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Login and startup time
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App load times for key tools
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Memory and storage health
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Warranty status and repair history
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Support tickets by device model
What to do:
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Set minimum specs by role (admin, finance, leadership, field, design)
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Standardise device models to reduce “special cases”
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Replace the worst devices first, not a full fleet refresh
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Build a refresh plan so replacements are predictable, not reactive
If cashflow matters, IT Hardware Leasing can help spread cost while keeping staff on reliable gear.
4. Fix Wi-Fi and network bottlenecks that waste time daily
Network problems rarely look like “network problems” to staff.
They look like:
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“Teams is glitchy today”
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“The share drive is slow”
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“The POS froze again”
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“The call dropped”
Wi-Fi is often the quiet culprit. Especially in offices that have grown, moved, added walls, or increased device count.
What to check:
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Coverage and dead zones
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Peak-time congestion
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Access point load (too many devices on one point)
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Roaming issues between zones
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Stability during voice and video calls
What to do:
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Map the office and test where people actually work
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Separate guest traffic from business traffic
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Use modern access points with proper management and monitoring
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Prioritise voice and video where needed
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Remove old network gear that can’t keep up
This is one of the best “staff happiness” fixes you can make. When Wi-Fi improves, complaints drop fast.
5. Reduce support noise by eliminating repeat issues
If your support queue looks busy, ask a simple question.
How much of this is repeat work?
Recurring tickets are expensive. You pay in support time, plus staff downtime, plus the slow drain of frustration.
Repeat issues usually come from a handful of causes:
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Inconsistent device setups
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Poor patching and update hygiene
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Underpowered hardware
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Unstable Wi-Fi
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Too many apps with too many logins
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Workarounds that become “how we do it here”
What to check:
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Your top 10 ticket categories over the last 3 months
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Which issues keep coming back
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Which teams or roles are impacted most
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Whether fixes are permanent or temporary
What to do:
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Choose the top 3 repeat issues and remove them at the root
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Standardise configurations so fixes stay fixed
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Document the solution and apply it across similar devices
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Track ticket volume monthly to measure progress
This is where proactive support pays off. Not by doing more tickets, but by reducing the need for tickets in the first place.
If you want that approach, Managed IT Services is designed to reduce repeat incidents through standardisation and preventative maintenance.
6. Standardise to reduce complexity and hidden labour
Complex IT is expensive IT.
Every exception adds labour.
Different laptop brands. Different printers. Different login processes. Different ways to connect remotely. Different apps used for the same job.
This creates friction for staff and workload for IT.
It also makes onboarding slower and offboarding messier.
What to check:
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How many device models are in your fleet
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How many business-critical apps you support
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How many “ways” staff access files and systems
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Whether new starters get a consistent setup
What to do:
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Create standard builds by role
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Reduce variation where it doesn’t add business value
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Decide on a small set of approved apps for common tasks
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Make onboarding repeatable, so it’s quick and reliable
Standardisation is not about limiting people. It’s about removing avoidable complexity so the business runs smoother.
7. Check printing, scanning, and “small systems” that cause big pain
These are the issues that make people roll their eyes.
But they waste real time.
Printing and scanning problems are often caused by:
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Old printer drivers
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Multiple print paths and shared printers configured differently
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Devices switching networks and losing settings
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Poor Wi-Fi in areas where printers sit
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Legacy scanner workflows that rely on one person knowing the steps
What to check:
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How many printers you support and how they’re connected
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Whether scanning destinations are still valid
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Whether staff have consistent printer setups
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Whether printing issues are a top ticket driver
What to do:
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Standardise printer deployment and drivers
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Remove unused printers and reduce sprawl
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Document scan workflows so they don’t live in someone’s head
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Consider managed print options if printing is business-critical
This isn’t glamorous work. It’s just high ROI because it removes daily irritation.
8. Ensure backups and recovery reduce downtime cost
Most leaders think about backups as a security issue.
It’s also a cost issue.
Downtime is expensive. Not just for lost sales. Also for staff time, missed deadlines, and the scramble to rebuild systems under pressure.
A cost-focused review should answer:
How quickly can we get back to work?
What to check:
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Restore time for your key systems
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Whether backups cover everything you assume they cover
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Whether recovery steps are documented
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Whether access to backups is protected from accidental deletion
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Which systems you need back first to operate
What to do:
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Test restores on a schedule, not only after a scare
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Document a simple recovery runbook
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Prioritise the systems that keep revenue and operations moving
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Store backups in a way that reduces tampering and accidental loss
This supports business continuity, even if you never have a major incident.
9. Create a prioritised plan that fits budget and capacity
This is the step that turns insight into outcomes.
A good IT Assessment should not leave you with a long wish list.
It should leave you with a short plan.
One that balances cost, performance, and operational reality.
What to check:
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Do you have a ranked list of actions with effort vs impact?
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Do you know which changes reduce cost quickly?
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Do you know which changes prevent future spending?
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Are owners assigned to each item?
What to do:
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Sort actions into now (0–30 days), next (30–90), later (90+)
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Tie each action to a business result (save money, reduce downtime, speed work)
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Set a monthly cadence for progress, even if it’s 20 minutes
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Turn the plan into a simple technology roadmap that you can review quarterly
This is also where you can choose your approach. Do you fix everything internally? Do you outsource some parts? Do you phase it in across the year?
If you want guidance on building steady improvement into operations, Proactive IT explains how proactive management reduces ongoing cost and disruption.
Signs you’ll get strong value from an IT Assessment
If any of these are true, the savings and performance gains usually justify the effort:
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You’ve added tools quickly over the last 12–24 months
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Your cloud bill has grown but usage clarity is low
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Staff complain about slow devices or unreliable Wi-Fi
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Support requests feel repetitive and never-ending
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Onboarding new staff takes too long
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You’re not confident you’re getting value from every subscription
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You’re planning growth, hiring, or opening another location
Even one of those is often enough to find meaningful wins.
IT Assessment vs IT audit
An IT Assessment is improvement-focused. It helps you identify waste, bottlenecks, and practical upgrades.
An IT audit is usually more formal. It often focuses on evidence, controls, and meeting a specific standard.
Both can be useful. But if your goal is to cut costs and boost performance, start with an assessment.
What you should get at the end
You should finish with clarity.
Not overwhelm.
A solid outcome looks like:
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A clean inventory of devices, key apps, and subscriptions
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A list of quick savings, like unused licences and duplicated tools
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A shortlist of performance fixes that reduce daily friction
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A staged plan over 30, 90, and 180 days
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Practical recommendations that fit your people and budget
Most importantly, you should feel confident you’re spending in the right places.
How Exodesk can help
A strong IT Assessment gives you a clear path to saving money and making work smoother.
We help NZ SMEs identify wasted spend, reduce complexity, and improve performance with a practical plan your team can actually follow.
If you want to move from “patching problems” to steady improvement, this is one of the most effective starting points.
To get started, book an IT assessment.
FAQ
How long does an IT Assessment take?
For most New Zealand businesses, an IT assessment can be completed within days to a couple of weeks, depending on system complexity and access to key information.
What’s the most common cost saving you find in an IT assessment?
Unused licences and duplicated tools are usually the fastest wins found in an IT assessment, followed by reducing repeat support issues.
Will this disrupt staff work?
A good IT Assessment should be low disruption. Most data gathering is done through reporting and scheduled checks.
Do we need an internal IT Manager for this?
No. Many businesses use an external provider to run the IT assessment, then decide what to handle internally versus outsource.
What should we do straight after the IT assessment?
Choose the top 3 actions that reduce cost or downtime quickly, assign owners, and set dates. Momentum matters.
Contact us today to discuss how we can help your business or connect with us on LinkedIn to stay updated with more insights.
