Ways to Manage and Reduce Your IT Costs

During COVID-19, many businesses were allowing staff to work from home, because of physical distancing requirements and work from home mandates. COVID-19 restrictions are being lifted, but many businesses still want to provide flexibility for staff to work from the office and from home.

It is important to review your remote security setup to make sure you are not compromising security and productivity.

• • Review with your IT team about the remote connections for home users and make sure it meets your security needs.
  • Make sure any personal device has antivirus software running to protect your business information and work.
  • Many businesses can benefit from reviewing their Internet Services to see if there is a better internet plan that can save money and increase bandwidth.
  • Review your communication methods with your team to make sure everyone is being productive and focused. Look at tools like video conferencing and chat programs like Microsoft Teams.
  • Review your business phone system to see if using a business VOIP system will allow your staff greater freedom and flexibility, and reduce expensive telecom costs.

Remember, protection and prevention always saves time and money.

Doing a network or software review can make sure your business is not oversubscribing and ensure you are only paying for the services you need.

• • Review all your licenses for services like Office 365 and accounting software. You can reduce the number of licenses you have to meet the current staff that is working.
  • Review your email accounts. Emails accounts for laid off staff can be forwarded to other staff members and this may provide additional cost savings.
  • Review your internet and phone services. Reduce any services that make sense so it can match your current staffing levels and needs.
  • Consider upgrading your Office 365 licenses from monthly subscription to annual subscription to take advantage of additional savings.

Conducting a network and licensing review can help identify areas that can be trim spending and improve cost savings.

Hardware gets old, works slowly and breaks down. We had lots of conversations with our clients about what are the best financial options when choosing between upgrading an existing workstation or buying a replacement. They want the best options that is cost effective and doesn’t negatively impact productivity for their staff.

• • Get an initial assessment from your IT team to get the right information to help choose so you aren’t wasting time and money.
  • Look at their work requirements and make sure the existing computer meets their needs. Make sure it is powerful enough for the kind of work the staff does.
  • Look at installing new SSD drives and adding memory. Older systems can get a performance boost with those simple upgrades
  • Reallocate under-used computers in your office
  • Setup dual monitors for staff so they can complete tasks more efficiently
  • Upgrade existing workstations to laptops so staff can work more flexibly, both in the office and at home

Sometimes the user may have a slow system, but it is due to too many programs or malware on the computer. Sometimes there are simple fixes that can be done at anytime by your IT team to speed up existing computers, so it is great to have it checked first.

The math is simple. Less hardware means less fees. Reducing servers provides you with the opportunity to:

• • Reduce your licenses
  • Reduce your electricity
  • Reduce the number of servers you need to monitor and maintain
  • Reduce the strain on your hardware which may reduce the cost of upgrades and repairs

Bring in your IT team to review your network and talk about what servers and services can be reduced or suspended to help save money.

Now is a great time for businesses to review their workflow and look at different options to improve their productivity. Choosing between a Third-Party application and building a custom software solution is complicated and hard to know which option is the most cost-effective option.

Third-Party cloud applications can offer initial savings on licensing, support requirements and equipment purchases. It also can seem to be faster to time to setup and implement.

Custom Software solutions can have long-term cost saving benefits, can be more efficient for staff training, and meet your business needs more accurate. (Read more about Custom Business Apps.)

The key to deciding between a Third-Party application and Custom Software is to do an assessment to determine which approach makes the most sense.

• • Consider your requirements. Do you need any addons or customizations to adapt a third-party application? Addons and customizations can increase the cost of third-party applications
  • Review the licensing structure for the Third-Party solution. Subscription costs maybe more expensive over the long term versus a Custom Software solution
  • Involve key staff members when assessing software applications. This can prevent wasted time and investment by choosing the wrong option
  • Talk your IT team and get their expert advice. Often, they can help identify pitfalls and things to avoid.

We have seen situations where clients are spending significantly more for third party applications with limited customization for their workflow. In one case we determined that our client could have a custom software solution that worked exactly the way they wanted for less than the annual licensing fees for the third-party solution.

There can be opportunities to reduce your costs by talking with your IT team. Find out if there are incentives for long-term contract commitments or if there are any potential discounts to help with your IT expenses. Talk about options to prepay for services and if there are any incentives.

There are win-win approaches to reducing vendor fees without creating long term resentment or conflict.