Gartner estimates that in the coming year, technology budgets will grow by 2.8 percent. It’s not shocking when you consider that budgets have been increasing each year for the past decade – and there’s no evidence of it stopping anytime soon.

As technology changes and adapts to growing needs, we’re finding new and better ways to strengthen our operations and secure customers’ confidential information. But, what trends will the coming year bring and how can you use them to your full advantage?

Here are four investments you can make to improve your business next year:

Enhance Your Setup

Most businesses think you need to completely revamp your infrastructure and processes to improve your productivity, but enhancing your workforce is sometimes as simple as adding a second, third or fourth monitor. A study by Fujitsu Siemens Computers found that additional monitors can increase productivity by 35 percent, making it one of the easiest – and most cost-efficient – ways to improve productivity and ROI.

Train Your Team

As cybercriminals become smarter at disguising viruses and scams, your team needs to be smarter too. Phishing scams are difficult to identify, but by training your employees on how to recognize threats and investing in a multi-layered security solution, you can keep your customers’ confidential information safe and eliminate the risk of downtime, data loss and interruptions.

Upgrade Outdated Tech

Microsoft is ending support for Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 and Exchange Server 2010 by January 2020. Outdated technology is not only detrimental to your productivity, but it creates gaps in your defenses and allows cybercriminals to exploit bugs in your systems. By upgrading your technology, you can ensure your operations are efficient and safe.

Migrate to the Cloud

Moving to the cloud isn’t just the popular thing to do, it’s normal and – most importantly – necessary for improving storage space, reducing operating costs and streamlining operations. From hosting files and applications like Office 365 to expanding storage with virtual and hosted servers, the cloud provides a variety of solutions that can be customized to fit your exact needs.

Don’t go into the new year unprepared. By investing in these trends and more, you can be ready for anything the new year has to throw at you. Contact us today for more information on how we can improve your existing IT solutions and keep your business safe from cyber threats like phishing scams and the dark web.