we’ve been asking, “what’s the best way to economize on technology costs in this economy?” and you’ve been answering….
alex vuchnich, cpa, cfe
owner at alexander g vuchnich, cpa
i was interested to see many of the responses so far started with something like the best way to economize on technology costs is either ‘don’t spend’ or find free solutions. this is an indicator to me that most firms are still stuck in the technology is a ‘cost center’ rather than a strategic resource.
my suggestion is that firms should try spending some of their technology budgets on training in evaluating and using technology so they can maximize the benefit of what they already have and so they can identify the right solutions going forward.
one response to “top tips for tech savings: invest in training”
alan plastow, mat, pmp
this comment is right on target! we’ve found that a majority of enterprises – small to large – could easily locate cost reduction opportunities if they only knew where – and how – to look. getting even a single individual trained in software management or it asset management can yield incredible results. (one individual i trained actually located nearly $400k in savings after a single two-day course in software management! his example is far from rare.)
i suggest folks who want to reduce costs begin with technical support and maintenance fees. these represent some of the most glaring it over-spend scenarios as, given freedom of choice, techs tend to opt for the best and, conveniently, most expensive options in these agreements. a close look at actual support & maintenance usage and a clear needs analysis will almost always yield reductions in these two items. sometimes by as much as 50%!
another common it cost issue is invoice reconciliation. all too often enterprises that carefully monitor invoices find that they are frequently incorrect – in favor of the supplier. (no. this isn’t about dishonesty. it’s about ineffective business processes & practices.)
two very simple, common sense, and virtually no cost options for reducing it spending! there’s more but this isn’t the place…