I’ll venture I’m not alone in saying that 2020 brought unprecedented challenges to many small and mid-sized businesses. Stay-at-home orders and social distancing meant changes for the way we work. Some businesses even lost the ability to stay open and serve customers. Stretching operating dollars can help your organization ride out the storm. With that in mind, let’s look at some ways to make the most of your IT budget in the coming months.
Leverage the Shared Computing Power of the Cloud
Cloud computing is simply renting resources, like storage space or CPU cycles, on another company’s computers. The company providing these services is referred to as a cloud provider. Some example providers are Microsoft, Amazon, and Google.
In a cloud scenario, your company only pays for what you use. Plus, the cloud provider is responsible for the physical hardware required to execute your work, and for keeping it up to date.
Email is the number one application used by small and mid-sized businesses. It should be the first thing you consider for cloud computing. Migrating your email to the cloud can be accomplished with limited interruption to business. Many of Invario’s customers have already switched to cloud applications such as Office365 for email.
If your company has Office365, be sure to take advantage of features that can save you money. Here are two ways we’ve done this at Invario:
- Moved our online booking calendars from a 3rd party software application to Microsoft Booking. By utilizing this free add-on to Office365, we eliminated the monthly fee we were paying to the 3rd party provider.
- Leveraged Microsoft Teams, which is included in Office365, for our video meetings. Using Teams meant we saved on the cost of purchasing another popular teleconferencing solution.
Want more Office365 ideas? See my post on the 5 Features in Office365 you should be using.
Re-evaluate Your Telephony Costs
Last year Invario saved hundreds of dollars on our phone bill by moving to a Voice Over IP (VoIP) system that has call path pricing. Not only does it cost less, the new system also offers more features. When we moved to remote work during the pandemic, it was easy for team members to plug in a phone at their home offices with no interruption in service. I also recommend replacing any old phone-line dependent fax machines with eFax services to save on both hardware and telephony costs.
A review recurring service contracts is another good place to look for hidden cost savings. Be sure to include services such as cell phones and internet, along with other types of connectivity like old phone lines that are no longer in use.
Stop Wasting Money on Old Computers
This may come as a surprise, but a TechAisle survey found the total cost of ownership of a owning a PC more than four years old is $2,379 US* – far more than the cost of a new PC. This includes lost productivity due to downtime, which increases significantly when computers are past their prime. Old PCs waste your time.
For the modern office worker, I recommend purchasing a laptop and docking station rather than a traditional desktop system. Laptops now have the computing power most businesses need, with the added benefit of portability. Consider setting up a second docking station in your home office to support remote work.
*TechAisle SMB PC Study for Microsoft, July 2018.
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Referral$
If you know of a company that would be interested in the services of Invario, please email me the company name along with the phone number and email for the person we should contact.
That is all you have to do! Upon completion of the onboarding of a new customer, Invario will pay the equivalent of one month of Invario service to that customer. Recipients that cannot or do not wish to receive a referral payment may elect to have the referral fee donated to a charity of their choice or put into a company entertainment fund.
Referral$
If you know of a company that would be interested in the services of Invario, please email me the company name along with the phone number and email for the person we should contact.
That is all you have to do! Upon completion of the onboarding of a new customer, Invario will pay the equivalent of one month of Invario service to that customer. Recipients that cannot or do not wish to receive a referral payment may elect to have the referral fee donated to a charity of their choice or put into a company entertainment fund.