Call it technophobia or a hesitancy to spend in an area where there is no finish line, but a number of businesses are having what David Krauss, partner in The Stolar Partnership LLP, sees as a major difficulty in handling the new electronic age.
The issues of security breaches, sharing information and safeguarding personal information are on companies’ minds now more than ever.
Krauss says the expenses to have current technology and to keep it safe are adding to the stress.
“The concern keeps coming back from businesses that say, ‘No. I don’t have the money in the budget for it. I’d say things are probably OK, and I’m willing to roll the dice to just kind of see what happens.’”
The result, however, may bring unwanted consequences.
“As the technology requirements get more sophisticated here, it’s possible that some of our businesses are just going to have a harder time competing in this kind of more global intellectual society.”
If your company is sitting on the fence about spending for technology, prepare yourself for a routine of constant business decisions.
“It’s kind of a double-edged sword,” Krauss says. “You may know what you want and what you need, but then if your bottom line is not quite as good as you had hoped it would be, then you are always making business decisions as to what to do: ‘Should we do this? How much is this going to cost? What kind of tech knowledge do we need? What happens when we buy something today in order to protect our system but probably 30 days from now there’s going to be something better out there?’”
David Krauss, partner in The Stolar Partnership of St. Louis, specializes in a variety of tax matters at all levels ― federal, state and local. His expertise includes both tax planning and involvement in tax controversies, including business law, nonprofit organizations, taxation, employee benefits and executive compensation. One of his favorite topics to discuss is how to attract new business to the area and stop playing checkers to move businesses from one retail shopping center into another.
