At the end of the year, many organisations take the time to look ahead. You are likely working on drafting the IT budget for the coming year, planning software upgrades or server migrations, and preparing tender processes. Smart planning at this stage can make the difference between an efficient IT budget and unexpected costs in the new year.
At Softtrader, we support businesses and public-sector organisations in optimally utilising their IT budget with pre-owned Microsoft licences, such as Office 2024 and Windows Server 2025. In this comprehensive guide, we explain how to deploy your IT budget efficiently, reduce costs, and modernise your infrastructure at the same time.
Licence planning: get more value from your IT budget
Planning software licences is one of the most important components of the IT budget. By mapping out all your licensing requirements, you can anticipate future software upgrades and avoid unexpected expenses.
Pre-owned licences offer an excellent opportunity in this regard. These licences are fully legal and compliant, yet significantly more affordable than new licences. This allows you to use your IT budget far more efficiently. At Softtrader, for example, you can choose Office 2024, enabling your organisation to remain productive while reducing costs. Pre-owned Windows Server 2025 licences are also available, allowing you to upgrade without unnecessarily burdening your IT budget.
By approaching licence planning in this way, you can not only save costs but also ensure a better distribution of licence expenditure throughout the year. This prepares you for unexpected growth requirements or additional users within your organisation.
How do you calculate and structure an IT budget?
Calculating your IT budget starts with gaining insight into your organisation’s total IT requirements. Begin by mapping all existing systems, software, and infrastructure. Then determine which investments are necessary to ensure continuity, security, and efficiency in the coming year.
A structured approach helps make the budget transparent and predictable. For example, you can divide the budget into categories such as software, hardware, cloud services, and personnel costs. In addition, it is useful to distinguish between operational expenditure (OPEX) and capital expenditure (CAPEX), giving you a clear overview of both one-off investments and recurring costs.
When calculating the budget, it is advisable to take into account:
• Current licences and contracts
• Expected upgrades or migrations, for example to Windows Server 2025 or Office 2024
• Potential growth in user numbers or new departments
• Risks such as security updates or the need to replace outdated hardware
By introducing a clear structure to your IT budget, you can set priorities more effectively and allocate your expenditure efficiently.
Which cost items should be included?
A complete IT budget includes more than just software and hardware. It is important to account for all cost items to obtain a realistic view of total IT expenditure. Key categories include:
• Software licences: new or pre-owned licences, such as Office 2024 and Windows Server 2025. This often represents a substantial portion of the budget.
• Hardware: servers, workstations, network equipment, and peripherals.
• Cloud services: SaaS subscriptions, storage, hybrid cloud solutions, and maintenance costs.
• Personnel costs: IT management, support, consultancy, or external specialists.
• Security: firewalls, antivirus software, monitoring, compliance tools, and regular audits.
• Training and adoption: training for users and IT staff to effectively implement new systems.
By including all these items, you avoid overlooking critical expenses and can deploy your IT budget effectively to achieve both short- and long-term objectives.
Server and infrastructure upgrades within the IT budget
A modern and reliable server infrastructure is crucial for business continuity. Many organisations are considering an upgrade to Windows Server 2025 due to its improved performance, increased scalability, and stronger security features.
With pre-owned licences from Softtrader, you can carry out this upgrade in a budget-friendly manner. You can migrate in phases, ensuring that daily business processes are not disrupted, while still benefiting from the latest technologies. Moreover, smart planning of server upgrades makes it possible to spread and optimise your IT budget across multiple projects.
A well-planned server upgrade also delivers advantages in terms of hybrid cloud integration. This allows you to flexibly distribute workloads between on-premises servers and the cloud, resulting in both operational efficiency and cost savings.
View our Windows Server 2025 licences and optimise your IT budget intelligently.
Tender and procurement advice for maximum efficiency
For organisations that procure via tenders, such as government bodies and educational institutions, accurate IT budget planning is crucial. Softtrader supports you in making strategic choices: which licences are best suited to your tender projects, and how can you reduce costs without compromising compliance?
By seeking advice now and selecting the right pre-owned licences, you can avoid inefficient spending and prepare quotations more quickly. IT managers can respond flexibly to changing tender requirements while making maximum use of their IT budget. This makes us the ideal partner for organisations that want to prepare and execute tenders efficiently.
Request advice on pre-owned licences for tenders and make optimal use of your IT budget.
Budgeting and cost savings with Softtrader
Effective management of your IT budget means purchasing licences in a timely and strategic manner. Pre-owned licences make this possible. By choosing licences through Softtrader, you can achieve immediate savings on acquisition costs while simultaneously reusing existing licences.
We support you in creating a complete overview of the required licences, including Office 2024 and Windows Server 2025. This enables you to spend your IT budget efficiently and compliantly, while ensuring your organisation is prepared for the challenges of 2026.
In addition, sound budgeting helps with planning future upgrades and expansions, allowing you to scale your IT infrastructure flexibly without overburdening your budget.
Schedule a conversation with Softtrader about licence planning and make full use of your IT budget.
Benchmarks for your IT budget
Benchmarks help you assess whether your IT budget is realistic and aligned with other organisations in your sector. Commonly used benchmarks include:
• Percentage of revenue: organisations typically spend between 4% and 7% of their revenue on IT. For fast-growing companies or organisations that are highly dependent on technology, this percentage may be higher.
• CAPEX vs OPEX: a healthy balance between capital expenditure (such as hardware and servers) and operational expenditure (such as cloud services and licence subscriptions) is essential for predictable costs.
• Cloud versus on-premises: hybrid IT environments require a different budget allocation than fully on-premises environments. Cloud solutions involve predictable monthly costs, whereas on-premises environments require higher initial investments but may result in lower operational costs in the long term.
By comparing these benchmarks with your current spending, you can identify areas where optimisation is possible and where your IT budget can be allocated more effectively, for example by investing in pre-owned licences through Softtrader to reduce costs.
Start the new year with an efficient IT budget
By planning now and deploying your IT budget strategically, you lay the foundation for a successful and cost-efficient new year. Softtrader supports you by offering pre-owned licences, enabling budget-friendly server upgrades, and efficiently preparing tender processes.
With this approach, you are assured of a flexible, secure, and future-proof IT environment in which your IT budget is used optimally. Start the new year smartly and efficiently with Softtrader. Contact our team or request a quotation.
FAQ
1. What are pre-owned Microsoft licences and how do they help my IT budget?
Pre-owned Microsoft licences are fully legal, second-hand licences that organisations can reuse. They are significantly cheaper than new licences, allowing you to deploy your IT budget efficiently without compromising on compliance or functionality. Softtrader offers a wide range, including Office 2024 and Windows Server 2025.
2. Why should I start my licence planning for next year now?
December is a crucial month for IT managers to define the IT budget for the new year. By starting your licence planning now, you can avoid unexpected costs, plan upgrades in phases, and deploy your budget optimally across both software and server infrastructure.
3. Can Softtrader help with server upgrades within my IT budget?
Yes, Softtrader supplies pre-owned Windows Server 2025 licences, enabling you to carry out server upgrades in a budget-friendly way. You can migrate in phases without disrupting business processes, while benefiting from modern performance, security, and hybrid cloud capabilities.
4. How does Softtrader support tenders and procurement processes?
Softtrader advises on which pre-owned licences are best suited to your tender projects. This helps you reduce costs, remain compliant, and prepare quotations more quickly. We also provide support with implementation and upgrade planning, ensuring you make optimal use of your IT budget.
5. Are pre-owned licences legal and compliant?
Absolutely. All licences offered by Softtrader are fully legal and compliant with Microsoft’s terms and conditions. This applies to both Office 2024 and Windows Server 2025, allowing you to reduce your IT budget without risk.
6. How can I make optimal use of my IT budget with Softtrader?
By starting your licence planning now, choosing pre-owned licences, and strategically planning server upgrades, you can reduce costs and deploy your IT budget efficiently. Softtrader supports you with advice, clear overviews of required licences, and practical implementation.
7. Where can I find more information about Softtrader’s products?
You can view all available pre-owned Microsoft licences, including Office 2024 and Windows Server 2025, on our product page. For personal advice, you can contact one of our specialists directly.
