Day 12 – 12 Days of Unscripted with SST

Technology Budgeting

For Day 12, we revisit Episode Twelve of Unscripted with SST, featuring Beau Elston and Troy Tobin, who joined the discussion to help business leaders rethink how they build and manage their technology budgets. This episode focused on a simple idea: a tech budget should not just keep systems running. It should drive momentum, improve decision-making, cut hidden costs, and position the business for growth. Too many organizations still see IT as an expense, but modern budgeting requires treating technology as a growth enabler.

The discussion started with the idea of digital drag. Beau described how legacy tools, manual workflows, and disconnected systems quietly slow down the organization. These hidden inefficiencies increase support time, cause errors, and limit output. Removing digital drag often offers the quickest return on investment because it immediately frees up capacity. Troy added that hidden costs like delayed decisions, compliance risks, and aging platforms rarely appear as line items, but they accumulate quarter after quarter and diminish both productivity and profit.

The episode also explored how shifting from a cost mindset to a growth mindset transforms budgeting. Instead of asking how little can be spent, leaders should ask which outcomes new investments will support. This shift enables more thoughtful planning, faster operations, and the ability to scale without friction. Beau then outlined the four-step smart budgeting framework: assess posture, align spending to business goals, prioritize impact, and stay flexible. This approach ensures that technology investments remain tied to measurable outcomes and can adapt when opportunities or challenges arise.

The conversation concluded with the emphasis on making ROI tangible. By setting clear metrics before funding an initiative, leaders can measure outcomes like time savings, higher customer satisfaction, fewer incidents, or increased revenue enablement. If a project doesn’t improve these metrics, it should be reassessed or cut. Episode Twelve highlighted that future success relies on the IT decisions made today. When organizations plan their budgets strategically and purposefully, technology shifts from being just a cost to a growth driver.