At the same time, it is important that you don’t remain archaic when your competitors pass you by. An example of where organizations are being left behind is when they fail to adopt workstation virtualization. Workstation virtualization comes in many forms, and one way is when programs all run on a server and the computers your users use merely act as screens and keyboards. This means the users can be using Windows, a Mac, a Tablet, or just about anything. Workstation virtualization solves a myriad of problems—probably more than you can imagine—that organizations otherwise have to spend a great deal of money, increase complexity, and choose not to implement due to the cost. For example, just by moving to workstation virtualization, there are business continuity and disaster recovery features “built in” for no additional expense.

Use server virtualization to save money on servers. Server Virtualization is when you use fewer physical computer boxes that “behave as if” they are three, five, or even more physical servers. In technological language, the physical servers host other guest operating systems.

Even though you are a business, don’t be afraid of allowing your IT professionals to buy refurbished equipment and sell your old equipment on auction sites. There are security concerns that need to be addresses, but other than that, reusing equipment is a lot better than having tons of it stored in offices and storerooms around the world. Some of the IT professionals I get to visit during on-site portions of IT Vital System Reviews show me storerooms full of old equipment. Sometimes, due to space constraints in the company facilities, so much old equipment is stored in the IT professionals’ offices that it is squeezing the IT professionals out of their desks! Even manufacturers sell “previously owned” refurbished equipment backed by a warranty—and it is often more than adequate for your needs.

And last, stop killing alligators and drain the swamp. Too many IT professionals run around like fire fighters rather than just fixing the root of problems.

The post Reduce IT Spending Now–Part 2 appeared first on Foster Institute.

Second, just like with about everything else, stop paying for extended warranties. Paying for “on site emergency responses” may be important in some circumstances where equipment is mission critical. Just be sure the risks are high enough to justify the cost of the warranties.

Third, stop paying for bandwidth you don’t need. It seems like the large carriers are always offering a “special deal” to upgrade to their “new faster service.” It is a good idea to “shop around” every 12 months or so to find out the lowest going rate. Additionally, unless the price is the same, there is no need to pay for a 100Mbps connection to the Internet when you never exceed 30Mbps of traffic.

Fourth, use the power of the IT hardware and applications that you have already invested in! Most of you already own hardware and applications that can perform more functions than you’ll ever need. Most everyone wants to find happiness in life by getting rid of old frustrating technology. That sometimes makes us over-eager to adopt the “latest and greatest” solution that we decide “will finally make all our problems go away.” Often, executives and even IT Professionals have unreasonable expectations of what technology can solve. It is often better to utilize what you already invested in.

Next week, expect part 2 of this topic about saving money in IT.

The post Reduce IT Spending Now–Part 1 appeared first on Foster Institute.