Businesses and in particular start-ups are managing costs like never before.
It’s time to move towards the principle that unless your IT purchases – improves your customer experience – directly – don’t invest in it.
With the economy perpetually in flux, businesses are struggling to find ways to keep afloat. When it comes to IT costs, businesses spend large sums on IT staffing, PC hardware and software, Internet service, and networking components.
While many of these things are necessary, not all of them require the funds businesses think they need. In fact, there is a new buzzword in town and it’s called – Zero Cost Computing.
Here are 15 ways your business can use new technologies or think differently about IT and save serious cash in the process.
1) Use Google Apps.
Why use Microsoft Outlook and Office products when the much-cheaper Google Apps are available for business users? Google’s platform for businesses allows access to excellent e-mail, document editing, and calendar services for $50 per user, per year. Individuals get 25GB of space for Gmail and 1GB of storage for Google Docs, plus the ability to sync with BlackBerry Enterprise Server and 24/7 phone and e-mail support for critical problems. Using Google Apps could also cut down on the level of IT support your business needs because it’s so simple to administrate.
2) Get freeware that works.
Free solutions for word processing, photo editing, and more are available to anyone looking for them. Most notably, companies should take a look at the productivity suite from OpenOffice.org. The suite has a fully-featured word processor, spreadsheet maker, and presentation creator, which are basically clones of Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. For basic photo editing needs, there’s no need to splash out on Adobe Photoshop when there is GIMP or Paint.net, which let the user retouch, crop, or enhance photos.
3) Use Skype for VOIP, instant messaging, and video conferencing and calls.
Skype is a great option for free person-to-person voice and video calls using a microphone or webcam attached to your computer. Skype can also be used on the iPhone and Android smartphone platforms. As long as you have high-quality Internet, VoIP is a big opportunity to cut costs. It’s not the new technology that is holding back VOIP applications but rather our mindset – that won’t release it from our current technology platforms.
4) Consider a cheaper ISP.
Over the years, new Internet providers have popped up, and established players such Axxess, WebAfrica and Mweb are challenging the more established older ISP’s. When several companies compete for your business, you have the advantage. Call up your ISP and tell them you are thinking about switching to a competitor and ask if there is anything they can do to make their services cheaper. If your current ISP doesn’t want to work with you, call a competitor and start comparing rates. Axxess currently offers IGb data for R19 rand and MWeb has excellent unlimited data options.
5) Go with shared hosting or a virtual private server.
If your website isn’t receiving more than 50,000 page views a month, it’s time to get rid of that expensive dedicated server. Hundreds of sites offer consumer-grade shared web hosting, which is a great, less expensive alternative. less expensive than a physical dedicated server. In the past hosting could have cost up to R1000 per month- now it is less than R250 per year for small companies. Your ISP will be able to assist you with prices. Prices have plummeted and continue to do so.
6) Learn how to solve technical problems – yourself.
Got a virus on your pc, something is not working properly or you just need to upgrade your Netbook with an extra 1GB ram. Go straight to Google and type in the problem and I guarantee you the prom will be solved – My two most recent queries save me about R500 per call out and about two days delays. (My exact Googles were1)How to upgrade my Lenovo Netbook with 2GB ram and 2)How to get rid of ‘Ask” toolbar. I was spoilt for choice as I was able to choose from YouTube as well as a host of web support sites. I solved the problem myself within 5 minutes.
7) Avoid upgrade costs later.
Why buy cheap equipment now when you’ll have to worry about upgrading later? Notebooks and desktops with higher build qualities will last longer and require less maintenance. Because the cycle is shorter for laptops, it’s better to buy a device that can handle high-level productivity tasks. It saves your company from fiddling with repairs.
8) Turn down extended warranties.
Almost every PC manufacturer will ask if your company wants extended warranties for those products. In most cases, there’s no need to oblige. Manufacturers’ warranties often cover a product for 6 months or more–often enough time to identify any serious problems with hardware or software.
9) Use the cloud for storage and sending large files.
Microsoft is now offering 25GB of storage space on its servers. There is now no excuse not to be able to store important company information on the nest for retrieval anywhere in the world. Backing up important emails and data is straightforward and will save you a fortune in the vent of theft, or a damaged hard drive, or a fatal virus.
10) Spend less on your website support.
This is one set of charges that you can avoid almost completely. It is no longer necessary to have your website designed for R5000 – with monthly charges for every small change you need to make. Google ‘’free website templates’ and will be able to choose from literally thousands available. If you want something a bit more professional then download the Serifs web design program. The free version is more than adequate and you can always upgrade to the professional version for only 70 USD.
11) Use a cloud-based software solution.
Make a decision now to say to yourself that you are NOT going to buy off-the-shelf software again that remains resident on one pc. Instead, buy cloud-based solutions directly from the net – for prices ranging from 10usd to 500usd that all your staff can use anywhere in the world. Not only will you never have to worry about hardware compatibility ever again-you will also not have to worry about viruses, theft, or damage to the PC where the application is loaded.
12) Set up a wireless network.
For companies with less than 20 employees, a wireless network could be less costly than a wired network. And it means you can skip hiring someone to drill holes in your workstations or lay down Ethernet cables. With a wireless network, employees with Wi-Fi-enabled laptops and smartphones can be up and running on the web in a jiffy. For desktops, a wireless card can be installed to get Wi-Fi. Thanks to the enhanced range and speed of 802.11n, your employees should enjoy wired-like performance along with mobility.
13) Cut your energy costs.
It sounds simple, but plugging your expensive electronic devices into surge protectors can protect your investment while lowering energy costs. For real cost-saving consider a ‘3watt’ slave computer hub that allows a monitor, mouse and keyboard to run directly off another PC in the office.
14) Buy a networked laser printer.
A high-quality single laser printer that connects to office networks and efficiently handles a high volume of printing can be less expensive than printers for every desk. Look for office printers that are connected via a Ethernet cable . They usually have the letter ‘N” attached to the model number. This means they are network ready.
15) Let employees use their own notebooks and smartphones.
Suppose an employee wants to use his or her personal computer or smartphone for work. Instead of having employees use only company-owned assets, businesses should encourage the office to bring in their own equipment. When you don’t have to provide a work PC for an employee, that’s one less machine that you need to invest in.
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