Home > IT Support & General Technology > How Your Business Can Leverage Technology to Manage IT Costs

How Your Business Can Leverage Technology to Manage IT Costs

July 9, 2009

Business success starts with great products and sound strategy. However, an efficient IT network infrastructure can help facilitate, and even drive success by providing employees and management with the necessary tools to help the business grow.

For many companies that made the leap from being good to being great, a competitive IT framework was crucial for business growth to take place at the soonest possible time. In most cases, technology has even served as an accelerator. Since then, this has become a standard for every startup and small business.

Not many businesses however, have been able to leverage technology with complete efficiency. It is not unusual to see a small business that has an IT network bigger and with more juice than what the business actually requires. On the other hand, many businesses are burdened with an IT network that performs lower than what their business needs.

No Cookie-Cutter Approach to IT Network Service

IT needs differ from one business to another. It is a common mistake among businesses to have an IT strategic plan that comes from a marketing manager or other high-level executives who have limited knowledge of IT strategic planning.

To correct this mistake, businesses can opt to hire a chief information officer. A more cost-effective measure is to get help for your IT strategic planning needs from IT network support services. Businesses do not have to hire a full-time CIO to make sure that their IT system will optimize their operations. A support team with a high level of industry knowledge can complete a company’s IT strategy.

IT consultants use a team approach to make sure that all aspects of IT in your business will be covered. All Covered uses this approach in order to deliver the best possible IT service. If a business signs up for IT support from All Covered, the service they receive is composed network servicing, IT strategic planning, and remote monitoring of back office capabilities for maintenance and support.

All Covered designs its IT support services for small businesses and startups. However, the service is similar to what Fortune 500 companies receive from their own IT team.

Cost-Effective Technology for Small Businesses

Another area of IT where businesses can reduce costs is their telecommunications. It used to be that the only way that businesses can save on telecommunication expenses is by shopping for the lowest-priced service provider. However, businesses need to be careful because there is always a reason behind the price. If the service adds value to the business, vendor costs are usually high but reasonable. A cheaper alternative can make your business sacrifice customer service quality.

A number of simple things can be done to manage IT costs without sacrificing performance quality. By leveraging technology, you can reduce telecommunication expenses by as much as 50 percent.

For one, your business can make a shift from the traditional telephone lines to hosted Voice-over-Internet phones or VoIP. Hosted VoIP is significantly cheaper than traditional business phone lines. It can considerably reduce telecommunications costs because VoIP has cheaper rates. The rates are also the same throughout the day, unlike traditional phone calls that charge higher rates during peak hours.

In addition, hosted VoIP is also useful and less expensive when you have multiple offices. Businesses dont need to have separate phone systems in every office they have because their actual telecommunication facilities are hosted on their own IT network.

Aside from telecommunication requirements, businesses can also leverage technology in conference calls, work collaborations, and other parts of the office operations. Lifehacker lists down a number of open-source programs that can replace their paid counterparts without a significant decrease in performance. If you are mistrustful of downloading free software, you can try a number of free apps online that this blog has narrowed down in this list.

For more information and other valuable tips about IT cost management, please visit AllCovered.com or call 1-866-446-1133.

Download PDF