Most IT surprises are not really surprises. The server that “suddenly” needs replacing was old last year. The license renewal that jumped in price was announced months ago. The laptop that died in March was on its last legs in November.
That is why November is the right time to plan next year’s IT spending. You know how this year went, you can still act on anything urgent before year-end, and next year’s deadlines are already published. Here is a practical way to build a 2027 IT budget.
Start with what you have
Before any numbers, get three lists together:
- Equipment: every PC, laptop, server, firewall, switch and battery backup, with its age and warranty date.
- Subscriptions: Microsoft 365, security software, backup, website hosting, phone system, line-of-business software, domain names. Include renewal dates and who uses each one.
- This year’s problems: what broke, what was slow, what kept people waiting. Your help desk tickets are a good record.
If your IT provider cannot produce these lists quickly, that is the first thing to fix.
The five buckets
1. Hardware
Budget for a steady number of replacements each year rather than waiting for failures. If you do not have a replacement cycle yet, this is the year to set one. Put any Windows 10 PCs at the top of the list. Business Extended Security Updates (ESU) for Windows 10 are sold one year at a time, and Microsoft’s ESU page states that the per-device price “doubles every consecutive year”. Every Windows 10 PC you carry into late 2027 means a Year 3 purchase at the highest price, for a machine that still has to be replaced.
2. Licensing
Microsoft 365 is a real line item now, and it changed in 2026. Microsoft’s pricing and packaging update raised prices on most business plans from July 1, 2026, with Business Premium the exception. According to Microsoft’s FAQ, existing customers see the new prices at their next renewal, so if your renewal falls in 2027, check which price applies.
Three questions to ask about licensing:
- Are we paying for anyone who has left, or for accounts nobody uses?
- Is each person on the right plan, or did everyone get the same plan by default?
- Are we adding AI tools, such as Microsoft Copilot, and for whom? Budget for a trial with a few people before a company-wide rollout.
3. Security
Security spending is easiest to justify when you tie it to specific risks: stolen passwords, ransomware, fake invoices, a lost laptop. Budget for endpoint and firewall protection renewals, multifactor authentication for everyone, and some staff training time. Ask what your cyber insurance renewal questionnaire will ask, and budget to answer “yes” honestly.
4. Backup and continuity
Budget for backup storage growth, at least one real restore test, and battery backup maintenance. If the office cannot work without the Internet, a second connection may belong here too. For remote sites, satellite service such as Starlink has made a backup connection practical in places where it was not a few years ago.
5. Projects
List the one-time work: a server migration, a move to Microsoft 365 from an older email system, a website move to secure hosting, a new office. Put each in the quarter it makes sense, not all in January.
2027 dates worth budgeting for
| Date | What happens | Source |
|---|---|---|
| April 1, 2027 | Exchange Web Services (an older way some applications connect to Exchange Online mailboxes) is permanently retired. Phased shutdown began October 1, 2026. | Microsoft |
| October 12, 2027 | Windows 10 ESU Year 2 ends; Year 3 is the last. | Microsoft |
| October 12, 2027 | Windows 11 version 25H2 Home and Pro reach end of servicing; those PCs need the next version. | Microsoft |
The Exchange Web Services date matters if you use older software that reads or files email, such as some CRM, document management or scanning tools. Ask your software vendors now whether they are affected, and budget for any upgrade.
Leave room for the unexpected
Something will break that nobody planned for. Set aside a contingency line so a failed switch or a flooded closet does not derail the rest of the plan. If you do not spend it, it becomes a head start on next year’s replacements.
Year-end timing
If budget remains this year, November and early December are a sensible time to buy planned equipment, renew subscriptions that are due early in the year, or prepay project work. Talk to your accountant about how year-end purchases affect your taxes; that is their call, not ours.
Order early. Shipping to Alaska takes time, the holidays can add more, and new equipment should be set up and tested before it lands on a desk.
How FTI helps
For clients on our managed IT services, we bring the inventory, license list and ticket history to the budget meeting. Our Kaseya-based platform tracks every device we manage, and our AI-assisted operations help our engineers pull together what is aging, what is unsupported and what keeps causing trouble. We turn that into a plain-English plan with priorities you can defend to your board or your bank.
