Most small businesses spend a significant amount of money on technology covering everything from the printer on your desk to your business phone lines to your antivirus software and website fees. Here are 9 ways you can reduce those IT expenses while actually improving the quality of your IT services and infrastructure.

  1. Replace the Ink-Jets Printers – Ink-Jet printers are cheap to purchase and can be bought anywhere from Tescos to PC World — but they are very expensive to maintain and the cost of ink can sometimes be more than the printer itself. The more sensible option is to consolidate any ink-jet printers into a few reliable laser jet printers. Most small businesses will see their printing costs reduce in the first year alone.
  2. Consolidate Servers – It’s cheaper and more cost effective to operate a few powerful servers than a bunch of older, single-function servers. There are several platforms available, from Microsofts Hyper-V to VMware’s EXSI –  virtualization can be used to make the physical to virtual migration seamless.
  3. Get rid of your leased line – If you are paying €500 per month for your leased Internet connection, it’s time to look at alternatives. DSL ( Eircom / Magnet ), cable ( UPC ) and other options ( 4G Connectivity, Imagine Wimax etc ) offer a lot more bandwidth for much less money.
  4. Remote Employees – New remote access technologies such as Logmein, Teamviewer, Remote Desktop coupled with new telecommunications such as VoIP allow employees to be productive from anywhere, anytime. Save on valuable time by offering employees the ability to work remotely.
  5. Thin Clients – If you’re thinking about purchasing new computers this year, why not consider some thin clients instead. A thin client is a small device that lets users share a central server rather than each having their own dedicated PC. Thin clients cost less than PCs and are much easier to maintain and manage.
  6. Phone Bills –  Many VoIP users contest to using VoIP instead of regular PSTN / ISDN lines because the costs are more effective. While a massive contributing factor, there are also dozens of other reasons to make the switch; it’s perfect for conference calls with employees, inter-office calls, or calls to remote employees.
  7. Hosted Servers – Most small businesses already host their website with a hosting company. Which other applications could you host externally? You might be able reduce the number of inhouse servers that you manage.
  8. Web-based Applications – Web-based applications are easy to deploy and require almost no on-going maintenance.  Services like PayCycle.com for payroll, Salesforce.com for CRM and FreshBooks.com for invoicing can all be accessed via the web, on any platform and on any device.
  9. Outsource Your IT Department – If you are paying a full-time or part-time IT person to manage your network, you should consider outsourcing to a professional IT support company. IT outsourcing offers 24×7 support, a higher level of expertise and professionalism, and fewer management headaches.

Bottom line: you get better IT support for less money.

If you have any queries on the above or would like more information on the services we provide, drop us a call on +353 818 288 500