Ten Approaches from IT to Save Money

Written on January 24, 2009  |  by RP Mickler  |  Leave a Comment  | 

What the small business needs right now – in this economy – is a new metaphor for doing business. All indications are that we’re in an economic restructuring that’s here for the long haul. A dramatic change that could be implemented next Monday which could save your company thousands of dollars on an annual basis.

Hey, if you were my CEO and I was your CIO, here are ten imaginative approaches to leveraging IT to save you a lot of money in a little time.

1. Lock Asset and Software Purchases.

If you were looking to spend money on acquiring new hardware or software, don’t. Tuck those funds away for the rainy day; if anything, the industry will be hurting so bad around Q3 2009 that the consumer will have stronger purchasing power and OEM’s will be offering steep discounts to cycle their excess inventory. Live within your means, and with what you presently have, right now.

2. Reduce/Eliminate Licensing and Service Renewal Commitments.

Eliminate or reduce those recurring fees and charges. I have several dates marked on my calendar to end those recurring charges hitting my card every month for web-based services. Terminate or suspend automated renewals of software licenses; perhaps you can negotiate a better deal with your provider. If your circuit/telecom term comes due in 2009, talk to your provider about lower-cost, higher-bandwidth options, or, consult with competitors: get more bandwidth at a lower monthly rate to preserve cash-flow.

3. Skype.

Litterally, I paid $20 for a full year of phone calls for 2009. That’s it. I cut down my usage on my BlackBerry and was able to switch to a lower-cost plan, saving cash flow. You can, too. Skype offers unlimited calls, unlimited long distance, anywhere in the domestic US. Calls on Skype can be routed from Skype to my mobile and to Skype Voicemail. Instead of paying your LD and LEC carriers for long distance and local calls – on top of what you’re already paying your ISP – leverage your Internet bandwidth. Also, Skype can be used for IM, peer-to-peer calls on the Internet, and for video/audio conferences for up to 20 people. Really: re-think your phone expenses. Buy everyone in your office a cheapo USB headset and a $20 annual subscription to Skype.

4. Efax.

Right now, you’re paying at least $35/month for an analog line for the priviledge to send/receive faxes on an ordinary fax machine.  Ditch the line and throw away the fax: many LEC’s offer an electronic fax option that can even keep your existing phone number. They’ll receive the fax and route it to you electronically via email. Otherwise, take a look at your local server resources: chances are you’re not using an electronic fax solution native to your small business server. As a last resort, think of subscribing to EFax which will route faxes to your email. Save on toner, maintenance of the fax machine, the productivity loss for handling paper documents, and the monthly expense of the fax line.

5. Work Anywhere/Telecommute.

Realistically: the modern knowledge worker can work from anywhere. We’ve been able to do this for ten years now. Therefore, what is required to make it happen is a change in thinking and in policy – enable your team to work from anywhere by simply allowing it through policy; to exercise the privilidge, have them sign a release if workman’s comp claims trouble your decision-making, and tell them that you’ll be reviewing them more frequently to provide corrective action over solo-behaviors. These are dire times: stop worrying about it and just do it! You’ll find that you can trust your employees more than you think. Meanwhile, leverage small business resources you might already have with your Windows network like Remote Web Workplace and Remote Desktop Services; sign up with Microsoft Office Live for free and consolidate documents online, accessible from anywhere and secure; consider Windows Terminal Server to offer up applications to any PC on the web. Limit driving, insurance payments, utility expenses, take advantage of municipal and state tax breaks for offering telecommuting options, move to a 4/10 workweek or offer variable flexibility in schedules to both inspire your employee and give them the flexibility to save a buck or two themselves.

6. Ditch the Server – Centralize to the Cloud.

Managing and maintaining a server on your premises raises Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for your network. Instead, have your services professionally managed. Whether or not you need file sharing, Exchange hosting, application or web hosting, or Terminal Server hosting, contain this expense by shifting your server away from you and to a professional hosting service. They’ll manage it professionally, patch it, contain security risks, and offer you a scale of bandwidth and disaster recovery that your small business couldn’t possibly afford on its own. If your crew is telecommuting, you’ve effectively shifted bandwidth and maintenance costs for the server to a fixed, static agreement that makes your costs more predictable, yet eliminated your administration burdens. You’ve also enabled Option 5 because of more bandwidth available in the hosted facility than in your own premises, and you’ve arguably repositioned to leverage Option 2 because you don’t need as much bandwidth coming into your facility. You can do more with less!

7. Try Open Source or Low-End Competitors.

Software and hardware are commodities: every manufacturer offers the same value to you. If you must make purchases this year, try going down the road of open source or purchasing licenses from low-end competitors. Shop around. Get the functionality you need at the lowest possible cost.

8. Online Backups.

If you must maintain your own server, get out of the business of managing your backups. Tape management, rotation, staging, and flipping costs you money in labor. Avoid all that by leveraging your Internet connection and turn your backup process into an automated service on your server. Many solutions are available. Get out of the business of worrying about tapes and disaster recovery, and automate it.

9. Lock Down the PC.

Lowering TCO on every machine is critical. The average TCO on a standard microcomputer is $2,300 annually – more often, that’s more than three times the asset’s cost! Have your administrator or consultant put tighter controls over the PC as to prevent users from introducing malware or configuration issues that would increase the cost of time spent with each PC.

10. Audit.

Finally, just because you’re cost cutting, don’t cut your attention to security. Make sure that holes are patched, terminated employees’ network access are suspended, that access to critical documents and files (read: your intellectual property) are patrolled and that confidentiality is maintained, and that risks are investigated. It would take little time at all for a disgruntled employee to reach inside the network and cause disasterous harm – pay attention to the details.

By exercising just a few of these ideas, I’m sure there’s some substantial cost savings to be had. Bold, innovative approaches to the way you do your business may very well be your saving grace when it comes to controlling expenses, as well as give you a leg up on the competition.

R