Cut-backs rule the day, but according to Ben Worthen, staff reporter for the Wall Street Journal, not all cuts are equal. Some cuts provide longer terms savings; some, more immediate.
Tip #1: may be a good time to replace older IT servers with new servers, more efficient technology. New technology is more powerful and efficient, doing the work of several, older servers. Save on energy bills, amount of storage space and cut software costs. This investment in cost cutting will provide business savings.
Tip #2: use web-based software when you can. Worthen reports that one university switched its 50,000 email and calendar accounts to an online provider called Zimbra. In my own small business, I bought a new laptop and did NOT load Microsoft Office – rather I downloaded Sun’s OpenOffice saving the cost of Microsoft’s software license.
Tip #3: replace travel with online meeting technologies. Video VOIP systems can enable video conferencing. Webcasting software, even on a per usage basis, demands less of your cash than travel and per diem as well as the soft costs associated with someone out of the office. Interactive online services abound – find one that works for you.
The hot technology of 2009 may well be the tools that will save your business operating expense. It demands some time on your part to investigate, but it will be time that could have a nice ROI when smart cuts are need to survive and grown in a down economy