subject: The Fastest Way To Save Money On New Technology [print this page] In this economy, nearly every organization is looking for new ways to cut costs and save money. Often, however, they struggle to reduce their technology budgets, simply because they don't understand their hardware and software well enough to make important decisions without hurting their capabilities. Or worse, they accidentally cut from the budget equipment and packages they need to serve their customers.
To avoid making the same mistakes, follow this quick tip: The fastest way to save money on new technology is to avoid buying it at all.
That's less of a riddle than it sounds like. The reason has to do with the fact that most companies, both large and small, buy lots of new computers, software, etc., that they could just as easily do without. When going over their needs and budgets, many companies come across three different things:
Specific performance bottlenecks. In other words, it isn't always that a new laptop is needed to make your hardware and software run faster, or to improve performance in general. Sometimes replacing a minor component (like a memory chip or video card) is sufficient to do the trick. The same principle works across networks and bigger systems, too. Businesses can often save large amounts of money by swapping out components, rather than going through wholesale upgrades.
Compatibility issues. If certain computer systems, software packages, or other components are put together, they just aren't going to play well. This can result in chronic problems that are hard to diagnose without a technical background, like frequent system crashes, lost data, or just very slow performance. In these cases, it isn't a matter of any individual piece of the puzzle being at fault, but the combination as a whole or the way they are put together. Careful IT planning and consultation can quickly solve these issues.
Minor repairs and upgrades. Most businesses are either too quick or too slow to replace certain pieces of technology. For that reason, they are either spending more money than they would need to be, or not getting the most from other parts of their technology plan because they have put off minor expenses for too long. This is another situation that is completely understandable when you consider that most technology decisions are made without the help of an IT professional. Once you get an informed opinion and review, however, it's easy to start saving money.
If you would like to stop spending so much money on technology, and start getting more from what you actually do purchase for your business, then it's important to have the right outsourced IT partner on your side.
