4 Ways Businesses Can Save on IT

The average small business spends 6.9 percent of its revenue on IT, and that can have a major impact on a company’s bottom line. IT services are extremely important, but you should be searching for new ways to keep your ongoing expenses as low as possible. Here is a look at a few tips and tricks that your business can use to save money on IT. (ref)

Rent Your Software

Software as a service (SaaS) is essentially a licensing model that lets you rent out software as it is needed. Some companies spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on software every single year, and they might not use all of the programs and applications that they purchase. With the SaaS model, you only pay for the software that you need. When an application is no longer required, you will be able to quickly drop it from your service plan.

Use Software Asset Management Solutions

Software asset management (SAM) is a practice that helps you optimize and control your company’s software. With SAM, you and your IT team determine exactly what type of software your company needs. You can then procure that software with an affordable licensing agreement. Software asset management solutions lower your licensing expenses as well as your maintenance costs. This practice can also prevent conflicts and reduce your security risks. (ref)

Don’t Store Your Data Locally

Maintaining a local server is more expensive than most business owners realize. In addition to purchasing the servers themselves, you also need to worry about regular maintenance, rising utility bills, and additional digital security. Those are just a few of the reasons why many businesses have switched over to managed cloud servers. Using cloud servers will free up more of your resources so that you can continue to focus on building up your company.

Implement a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Policy

There are quite a few reasons why companies are switching to a bring your own device policy. With BYOD, your employees are responsible for the acquisition and maintenance of their own devices, and this shift in culpability could cut your expenses substantially. That being said, you will need to make sure that all of your employees understand basic digital security practices. A BYOD policy can save you money, but it might also be risky if your employees aren’t diligent and well-trained in proper use. (ref)

When it comes time to lower overhead costs, business owners should take a close look at their IT needs. With a little bit of planning and some research, you might be able to lower your IT expenses by quite a bit.

If you found this article helpful and are looking for more advice regarding technology that you can use for your business, check out our technology column!