IT should be a liberating asset, not a constraining liability. With a rapidly developing digital landscape continuing to create new efficiencies and opportunities, businesses will increasingly need to leverage technology to cut costs, operate faster, and deliver market-leading services.
As a dedicated IT support and services provider, we know that effectively utilized IT can be a game-changer for businesses, and so we’re passionate about educating our clients and followers about what is possible in this area.
In this short article we will explore 5 ways your business can re-shape and develop its IT systems to save money while accomplishing better outcomes. As a bonus, these strategies will also keep your team productive, agile and resilient in the competitive business landscape.
Explore Virtualization
In your office, you likely have many desktop computers hosting communication tools and productivity applications, and perhaps in-house servers that house business critical applications and services, such as your business email platform and databases. The issue here is that this often leads to a lot of unutilized capacity that nonetheless, the business still pays for!
Virtualization is a technology that allows you to create virtual instances of hardware and software resources and consolidate them onto single devices (or fewer devices) to optimize resource allocation and simplify IT management. The benefits of virtualization are numerous, and include:
- Server Minimization. By virtualizing servers, business applications can be consolidated onto fewer physical servers. This allows for physical servers to be removed from the stack, which frees up space, reducing energy costs and lowering hardware lifecycle overheads.
- Greater Flexibility. Virtual Environments can be provided and adapted with ease since they aren’t dependently linked to underlying infrastructure. Virtual desktops for example, can be quickly set up, providing employees with a tailored workspace that’s accessible from their own devices or using a lightweight, low-cost computer known as a ‘thin client’. The computing power is instead provided mostly from the virtual environment.
- Simplified, Centralized Management. Using centralized management tools, virtual environments can be monitored and configured from a central governance portal. This makes the lives of your internal IT staff easier, as they will be able to monitor and act across your networks more seamlessly.
Standardize Your Technology
Technology standardization is what it says on the tin, it involves adopting a code of practices that are aimed towards aligning technologies across an organization in a complementary way, to maximize the consistency and compatibility of hardware, software and network configurations. This streamlines your operations and IT management.
By standardizing your technology as much as is practical, you’ll benefit from improved compatibility, integration and efficiency across your network, as well as a host of other benefits that could save your business money:
- Easier IT Management. With fewer operating systems, software programmes and device models to deal with, your IT team will be able to complete maintenance tasks more efficiently and troubleshoot issues faster.
- Bulk Discounts. With hardware products and software services rolled out en-masse across your environment, you’ll be better positioned to negotiate volume discounts from vendors.
- Streamlined Training. With fewer systems for staff to familiarize themselves with, employees will be able to apply their IT training across your network without the need for further education and support.
- Enhanced Interoperability. By selecting systems and hardware that integrate seamlessly, you’ll eliminate the need for complex, custom integrations or time-consuming staff workarounds.
- Greater Scalability. Standardized technology allows you to hold pre-configured devices on standby that are compatible with multiple business departments. This can be ideal for scaling up at short notice, thus improving business agility.
Empower your team to work flexibly
According to recent research, around a third of remote-capable jobs in the USA are continuing to operate on a remote basis, with most of these operating to a hybrid office/home working schedule. Whether on a full or hybrid basis, remote working practices carry a range of benefits for both employees and employers, including enhanced productivity, work-life balance and a reduced reliance on dedicated office space and its associated costs. This last point in particular could be a particularly effective way to save on costs, as by operating on a hybrid remote work schedule you could reduce the number or size of dedicated workspaces that you need to provide, and thus rental and other costs.
Remote working can also improve staff retention and hiring capabilities, with employees less tied to a fixed location, you’ll be able to source talent from a wider pool in a way that might meet their needs better, such as time flexibility for family commitments.
Lastly, while we all hope that the challenges of the last few years won’t resurface any time soon, many businesses have discovered the value of remote work capabilities in general and in times of crisis. By maintaining quality remote-capable infrastructure, you’ll ensure your business is able to remain operational through any challenging circumstances that may arise, whilst ensuring financial losses are kept to a minimum.
Outsource IT Support and Management
Here’s a shocking statistic, around 24% of US small businesses have either an informal IT department, where often non-technical employees are assigned IT-related tasks, or no IT department at all. This is understandable due to the resource constraints that small businesses face, but it comes with its own substantial opportunity costs and risks, such as crippling downtimes, data breaches and many missed opportunities to streamline and upgrade operational capabilities. Often the lack of investment into IT arises from an attitude of seeing it as a needed cost, rather than as an asset that can enhance profitability and efficiency and unlock opportunities.
If you’re struggling to find the time for IT management, then you should consider outsourcing some or all of your IT services to a dedicated IT support provider. By doing so, you can benefit from a range of technical capabilities on a cost-effective, fixed-fee basis, with ongoing maintenance and swift technical support designed to prevent costly outages and remove obstacles whenever you need it. Your IT support provider will be able to help you to optimize and restructure your IT for improved efficiency and elevated security.
Integrate AI and Automation into Your Workflow
So far, we’ve mainly discussed ways to reduce your IT spend by making IT efficiency savings and adopting innovative working practices. Another way to save money is to harness technology to save time on repetitive, menial tasks and create more space for activities that carry strategic value for your business. These time savings can be achieved through automation. By integrating AI and automation into your workflows you’ll get the mundane jobs out of the way more quickly, and give your team room to develop valuable customer relationships, nurture sales opportunities and make decisions that drive your business forward.
There are many ways to introduce simple, no-code automations into your workflow, from dedicated Robotic Process Automation (RPA) software that can be applied across segregated data stores to APIs that enable cross-platform communication and seamless data transfer between software programs.
Artificial intelligence can now be applied across countless processes to improve decision-making, reduce human error and improve efficiency. Some use cases include:
- AI-Powered Chatbots: AI chatbots can be deployed to handle simple inquiries, resolve support requests, gather customer data, schedule appointments, and much more, without human input! By leveraging data from previous interactions, some chatbots can provide personalized and curated customer experiences, which is another opportunity here that can enhance customer satisfaction and improved sales.
- Predictive Analytics: AI-Powered business insight tools can give organizations insights that harness the value embedded within their data. With applications ranging from inventory management and demand forecasting to financial planning and marketing optimization.
- Human Resources: AI-powered HR software reduces the recruitment burden on staff by pre-screening job applications for the most qualified candidates and streamlining the employee onboarding process. Some systems can even be used to monitor employee wellbeing, with satisfaction surveys they help HR teams ensure that staff remain happy and productive.
Conclusion
Once upon a time IT was synonymous with costly, capital-intensive projects and profit-denting maintenance. Today however, IT is widely recognized as a strategic asset that can be exploited to improve profitability and almost every aspect of business performance. By exploring virtualization, standardizing your technology stacks, implementing automation and outsourcing your IT support, you can unlock the potential of your IT systems to deliver growth, efficiency and security in your business.
Ready to harness the power of technology in your business? Talk to us!
SystemSeven IT are expert dedicated providers of outsourced IT services, based in Austin, Texas. We offer the best IT support in Austin and the best IT support in Corpus Christi. We’re local experts with a global reach, bringing passionate and tailored support to businesses that are looking to leverage their technology to grow and streamline their services. If you’re looking for some expert guidance for the technological challenges you’re facing, get in touch with us today!