Cost containment is a hot button issue for many IT programs. It’s a constant struggle to ensure that your departments have the systems, hardware and software they need while keeping in mind the corporate mandate to control costs. Predicting costs in advance is one of the more important aspects of the entire process. These tips will help your IT maintenance plan and keep your costs in check.
Identify Deficiencies
It’s impossible to control and predict costs if you don’t have information about the strengths and weaknesses of your program. An in-depth assessment of your IT program will help you identify potential problems that could be costly to address. If you do spot problems or deficiencies, it may be possible to create a multi-step plan that will spread costs over several years.
Take Advantage of Cloud Computing
The cloud offers one of the best ways to control IT costs and prevent them from spiraling out of control. Virtualizing servers, networks and storage improves both efficiency and flexibility and can even decrease the cost of mobile networking. Thanks to virtualization, there’s no longer any need to buy expensive equipment when you want to increase capacity. Companies that move operations to the cloud often reap significant benefits. In fact, 56 percent of companies that use the cloud reported an increase in profits, while 86 percent said that the cloud improved their ability to innovate, according to a Rackspace Hosting survey of 1300 US and UK companies.
Focus on Efficiency, Not Just Costs
How old is your network infrastructure? Aging systems often require frequent fixes to maintain the desired level of efficiency. If your infrastructure is 15 years old or older, expect maintenance costs to continue to rise as you struggle to make your system meet increasingly complex demands. When you consider all of the money you’ve spent in the last few years to tweak your systems, it may be better to focus on the long-term savings of newer, more efficient equipment.
Make Maintenance a Priority
If you don’t change the oil in your car or keep up with other basic maintenance services, sooner or later, you’re going to have an expensive repair bill. Skipping regular maintenance can keep your IT costs down, at least in the short-term, but one major issue can blow your entire budget. Performing maintenance at the recommended intervals is essential aspect of cost containment, but one that is often overlooked. A realistic IT maintenance plan can help you ensure that there are no surprises that increase costs unexpectedly.
Maintenance can eat up precious man hours and drive up payroll costs. It often makes more sense to take advantage of a preventative maintenance plan from an IT consulting firm than to handle maintenance in-house. Certified technicians will not only perform regularly scheduled network maintenance, but also predict network failures with trend analysis. Thanks to remote access, problems are resolved quickly to ensure minimal downtime. An IT maintenance plan offers an excellent way to predict and contain costs, plus your employees are free to handle other tasks when they’re no longer responsible for maintenance.
Could your IT program benefit from a preventative maintenance plan? Contact us to find out how we can help you achieve predictable cost ceilings with our plans.
